Why one shouldn’t smoke

I’ve been smoke free now for three days and although I have stopped many times over the years this time I have decided that enough is enough. It’s amazing what one can get away with as a young(ish) person and believe me – during my time I have done more than my fair share of self abuse. Turning 50 has certainly influenced my decision to stop the absolutely useless habit that cigarette smoking is.

Here’s some of the cold hard facts (courtesy “Did you know?” ) as to why smoking is not such a smart choice:

Tobacco is a $200 billion industry, producing six trillion cigarettes a year – about 1,000 cigarettes for each person on earth. And this is what you’ll find in cigarettes:

~ Formaldehyde, which embalmer use to preserve dead bodies;
~ Toluene, which is commonly used as an ingredient in paint thinner;
~ Acetone, an active ingredient in nail polish remover;
~ Ammonia, which scientists have discovered lets you absorb more nicotine, keeping you hooked on smoking.

If you smoke, you’re also inhaling arsenic, benzene, cadmium, hydrogen cyanide, lead, mercury and phenol.  In all, 4 000 harmful chemicals, including 44 types of poison, of which 43 are proven cancer-causing substances.

Bad business
Life insurance companies charge smokers nearly double the amount they charge non-smokers for term assurance. Some tobacco companies also own shares in life assurance companies. What appears to be a good deal for tobacco companies is a bad deal for taxpayers: the health care costs caused directly by smoking, and the lost economic productivity, cost governments up to three times as much as the total earnings of the tobacco industry.

Death
Smokers are ten times more likely to suffer from lung cancer than non-smokers, three times more likely to have a stroke, and twice more likely to suffer a heart attack. Carbon monoxide in cigarettes deprives the heart of oxygen. Smoking can cause headaches, infertility, blood vessel disease, digestive problems, mouth and throat cancer, and blindness.

Tobacco causes more deaths than those caused by all the wars of the past 100 years, including World Wars One and Two. More than three million people die each year as a result of smoking.

Nicotine is a drug. It is more addictive than cocaine, heroine or mandrax. Nicotine is a natural insecticide. Plants such as tomatoes produce it in their leaves to discourage bugs from eating them.

The benefits of stopping…

- Within 20 minutes the body begins a series of changes that continue for years. Your heart rate reduces.
- 12 hours the carbon monoxide level in your blood reduces dramatically
- 2-12 weeks your heart attack risk begins to reduce. Circulation improves. Exercise is easier. Lung function improves.
- 1-9 months coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
- 1 year your risk of coronary heart disease is halved compared to a continuing smoker.
- 5 years your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat and oesophagus decreases and your risk of stroke is dramatically reduced.
- 10 years your risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker and your risk of cancers of the bladder, kidney and pancreas also decreases.
- 15 years your risk of coronary heart disease and risk of death fall to about the same as someone who has never smoked.