Dangers of Smoking, Interesting facts Options

[Paradox of Life]

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

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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