The Shocking Facts About Smoking
There seems to be a new study or a new bit of research being done every day that warns people to the dangerous facts about smoking. The one thing in common among all of these studies and reports is that the facts about smoking are not good.
Imagine a product that, every year, killed off just under half of the population of Rhode Island. OK, Rhode Island is a very small state, but cigarette smoking does just that – kills off over 400,000 people every year, or just under half of Rhode Island’s population! To reduce that down even further, that means that 20% of deaths in the United States are smoking related. A depressing fact about smoking is that it is the single most preventable reason for premature death in the United States.
Many women of course are very worried about breast cancer and respond to this worry with yearly tests, the results of which they wait for nervously. On the other hand, between 1960 and 1990, deaths from lung cancer among women have increased by more than 400%—exceeding breast cancer deaths in the mid-1980s. The American Cancer Society estimated that in 1994, 64,300 women died from lung cancer and 44,300 died from breast cancer.
When it comes to the strength of your respiratory system, the facts about smoking are that there is virtually no part of this system that is untouched. Male smokers increase their risk of death from lung cancer by more than 22 times and from bronchitis and emphysema by nearly 10 times. Women smokers increase their risk of dying from lung cancer by nearly 12 times and the risk of dying from bronchitis and emphysema by more than 10 times.
Some other shocking facts about smoking are that smoking triples the risk of dying from heart disease among middle-aged men and women. Think about that – the risk is tripled! Furthermore, smoking affects every part of your body, from your mouth and throat to your bones, your blood, and your digestion.
But perhaps the saddest facts about smoking are those that affect “passive” smokers, or those that don’t smoke themselves but that are exposed to it from others. Annually, exposure to secondhand smoke (or environmental tobacco smoke) causes an estimated 3,000 deaths from lung cancer among American adults.
So if you’re someone who smokes, it’s time to stop. You can see that there is no good news about smoking, nothing beneficial or healthy about it. You can doubtless recognize the harm it does to you and those around you – once you get your facts about smoking straight, that is!
If your trying to quit smoking I can highly recommend Allen Carr’s book ‘Easy Way to Stop Smoking’ It’s available in the USA from Amazon.com and in the UK from Amazon.co.uk
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I just found out my son who will turn 19 a week from today has been smoking since just after his 18th birthday. I was heartbroken. I work for the Cleveland Clinic. I lobbied to get the law passed to ban smoking in public places. I’ve talked to both my boys about the dangers of smoking, alchohol and drugs their whole lives. I was just stunned that a seemingly very intelligent young man would make the decision to take up a habit he KNOWS will cause him harm. I talked to him about quitting but I’m not sure I made any real impression on him. He is 19, so therefore an adult. But he’s still my son. Is there anything you know of that has made a true impression on young people? My dad just died from complications related to mouth cancer. I told my son, “do you think for one minute if he had been told that FOR SURE you will die because of this habit. You’ll leave your wife you dearly love, married for 43 years, and a wonderfully happy life filled with loads of friends and family that love you IF you start chewing tobacco. Do you think he would’ve started? No one ever thinks it will hurt THEM. That always happens to someone else, not me. But the fact is, no one knows when it will take you out, or how it will take you out BUT IT WILL, TAKE YOU OUT.” I’m so desperate to get him to see how dangerous this habit is and make him want to quit. Can you offer any suggestions?