Yes, I did search and there was only a topic on "What is more dangerous? Marijuana and Tobacco?", so I'm going to post this here.

Introduction
I know most of you are tired of hearing "Don't smoke! Don't smoke!" but I've been trying to encourage people at a young age to never start and hopefully convince smokers to try to tone it down.

To pursue great things in life, you need to be at optimal health, no? If you have the burden of having to smoke half a pack of cigs a day, knowing it's going to harm your lungs and knowing one day you'll end up in the hospital, are you at optimal physical health? No. Are you at optimal mental health? No.

So, here are a few things you should keep in mind.

Effects of Smoking...

Cigarettes:

- Bronchitis
- Emphysema
- Lung Cancer
- Heart Disease

1 cigarette contains 4000 chemicals, 40 of which are cancer-causing chemicals and 3950 are poisons. Is it really worth it?

Each puff of nicotine and tobacco temporarily increases heart rate and blood pressure, but your blood cells have less healthy oxygen! Smoking causes the blood to clot and causes heart and lung failure.

Pipe or Cigar:

- Bronchitis
- Cancer of the Mouth
- Heart Disease

--

If you've already started or if you're just curious...

Tips on Quitting

- Tell others about your plans.
- Have friends support your decision.
- Avoid places where other smokers may be.
- Get rid of any smoking-related objects.
- Set a quit date.
- Communicate and coordinate with other non-smokers.
- Forget about smoking and think of the benefits of quitting!!

Benefits of Quitting

Quit for ...

20 minutes - Blood pressure, pulse rate, and body temperature of hands and feet should be at a normal level.

24 hours - Chance of heart attack decreases.

48 hours - Less sluggish, senses are sharper and body feels more refreshed.

2 weeks to 3 weeks - Circulation improves, moving about is less difficult and lung function increases up to 30%.

1 to 9 months - Body's overall energy level increases, lungs are functioning much better, coughing, fatigue or other minor effects should diminish. The cilia regrows in lungs.

1 year - Risk of coronary heart disease is half of a non-smoker's risk.

5 years - Overall health is about half that of a non-smoker's. Lung cancer death rate is decreased by 50%.

10 years - Lung cancer death rate is very similar to a non-smoker and risk of mouth, esophogus, throat, bladder, kidney and pancreas cancer decreases.

15 years - Risk of coronoary heart disease is that of a non-smoker.

REMEMBER- IF YOU QUIT SMOKING, YOU SAVE MONEY!!

Interesting facts:

- Every year, 390,000 to 400,000 Americans die from smoking and millions worldwide!
- Cigarette smokers have a doubled risk of heart problems.
- A pregnant smoker increases her baby's chance of birth defects, miscarriage, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
- About 87% of lung cancer victims suffer from it because of smoking.
- Smokers are 10 to 15 times more likely to get cancer than non-smokers.
- Smokers die an average of 10 years sooner than non-smokers.
- With lung cancer, one has a 15.2% chance of survival.
- Smoking is not cool. Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray.

Pictures:

Healthy Lung-



Emphysema Lung-


Cancerous Lung-



What are you getting from smoking? Thumbnail-



Would you want to inhale some of this?



"It's easy to quit smoking! I've done it several times." - Mark Twain

References

- Red Cross
- Purchon
- Smoking Dangers at Blogspot
- Smoke Away

Ugh.. disgusting.. Especially that last lung one. That juss shows ya.
I will never start smoking.

Good topic , had me thinking about quitting.

And if you insist you're not addicted but can't go a week without smoking, you're wrong.

Woah.
Again, learn something new everyday.
o___o

yeah, i saw these 14 year olds and they were smoking already! .. some of them they were smoking weed and we went away from them.

Also, kissing a person is like licking ashtray ! Include that fact, kathy !



If you smoke at least once, it does great damage. Especially if you inhale a 2nd handed smoke when you pass by.

I also heard that smokers have a greater chance to have sight problems when they age, and some may even become blind.

I need to show my Mom this.. =/ anyway, smoking is bad. good topic. I will never start smoking.

It's true. I show my dad about this topic. He's so into drugs.

Say "No" to Caner Sticks! Eat Pocky Sticks instead! ^_^

i can't say i'll never smoke. but at the moment, i would never want to. my brother smokes... ugh, it's gross.

i want to quit but im addicted, and yeah u can never say u will never try it cuz u never know, thats what i said and look at me now im a smoker,

just yesterday i got suspended from school 4 5 days 4 coming to school under the influence of marijuana...=[

addiction is a disease. does it takes over your mind ?

But, dont you have a choice to stop it ? It's your decision. No one force you with a gun at least. Good luck.

uh huh
c'mon kids, use your brain

LOL i love that pic sally


i will never ever smoke. it's easy not to. JUST USE YOUR DAMN HEAD.

It's not so easy once your addicted. I'd like to see you try o.O
Fortunately I stopped before I was heavily addicted to it.

i don't smoke or anything but i think there can be a way to smoke "smart"..

like... would u get any problems if u were to smoke like one cigarette a day? i'd imagine if u did that, nothing would happen because depending if u workout and stuff, that would overcome smoking so it wouldnt have a effect... or no?

idk i just had that thought.

My dad smokes. I'm gonna show him this. Thanks for posting!

I think most people smoke to increase their self-esteem level.

lol, I do smoke from the age of 12-13's something like 2-3 packs per day/night and guess what i was in a Hospital 1 time in my whole life (excluding the one when i came to this world), and only because i had broken leg while i was playing in a Soccer Team. And even i drink lots of coffe too, i didnt had any Health problems because any of that, but that doesnt mean i have to encourage others to do the same thing, because everyone has his own body, his own problems and nor even one of us are the same. SO be as Healthy as you can, because anyway anyhow, even you do NOT smoke, but your friends or your relatives or any other people who does smoke around you can affect you in the same time, so even you do or not smoke, you're getting affected by all those :)

Um, yeah, no, not really. Anything you smoke can have a large impact on your health, so even just smokiung one a day won't matter. And if you keep smoking, it will become more and more difficult to excersize well, so that's not eaxactly a solution. If you're out of breath all the time, what good does it do? Plus, the more you smoke, the more addicted you'll get, so smoking only once a day won't last long. Besides which, smoking can't possibly be so great that people have to go through great ordeals like that just to do it. All in all, a stupid idea (smoking in general, but that post specifically, I meant)



Yes, because yellow teeth, bad breath, and the stench of smoke always make me feel f**king great about myself.

Not to mention the later problems, like loss of eyesight, wrinkles, other general skin problems, lung cancer, etc etc

Yeah, a real self-esteem booster they are. I love to flaunt my stupidity.

i understand why people start smoking.

if you smoke properly you get a calming sensation. people want taht if they are stressed. smoking mite be the easiest way to do it. it doesnt matter that you can get cancer from it, because at that moment in time you dont have cancer. the after efects dont matter becasue they are not happening yet. that appllies to many things btw.

So? That's pathetic. There are better ways to manage stress than to rely on a substance. How weak of a person if one who can't overcome their problems on their own, so they think smoking something will actually help? It won't. It'll only cause more problems in the future. It's incredibly stupid and shortsighted. I cannot respect people who smoke. I cannot. I've tried to be accepting and think, well, they can get cancer and what not if they want because it's not my problem. But it's more than that. It's the same with smoking weed. I mean honestly, you can have fun without it. If you don't let yourself know that there's an option, you won't need it. Smoking may relax you now, but those effects won't last forever. People try to quit for a reason. People fail to quit for a reason also. And while I'm sure people around me are just having so much more fun getting drunk and high than I am sober, I don't care, because I know that it's perfectly possible to have fun in geeky ways, and I honestly don't need substances to allow me to do things otherwise. I may be a stressed out mess all the time, but smoking won't make my problems go away, so why would I bother trying to use ciggerettes to relax myself?

I remember hearing this crap in 6th grade when Red Cross came to visit my school.... I don't smoke so idk why I'm here... but really, I am tired of hearing this crap everyday... I used to be a "don't smoke" person but now I'm like, "I don't f***ing care anymore. If people want to do stupid things then let them learn their lesson. After all, that's how the world works."