The department of health does everything to discourage people from smoking. Even the individual local government implements certain rules and regulations about smoking. And it is very clear that it is Not Allowed to Smoke in a Public Place. Yet, it seems that many smokers still smokes in public places. It’s quite annoying finding yourself breathing the smoke of their cigarettes inside a bus or a PUB. Imagine, you never engaged in smoking because you love your “lungs” and there comes these “pasaway” smokers, lighting their cigarettes inside a bus or in a public place.. Aww!

But, why do people smoke?

Well here are some facts I have read that I want to share with you guys:

• First, they believe it will change their image
• they think it will make them more popular
• want to experience the physical effects of smoking produces
• started when they were young and have become addicted

What will you get from smoking?

• Nicotine
• Tar
• Carbon monoxide

85% to 95% of nearly all the compounds in smoke stay in the lungs!

Obviously, there are NO Good Reasons to Smoke!

But.. there must be one good reason to smoke…

Fact is, there is no single one!

Facts about Smoking:

• Smoking is the cause of approximately 390,000 premature deaths annually.
• Smoking is the single most important preventable cause of diseases such as emphysema, lung cancer, heart disease, and cardiovascular disease.
• Smoking is the leading cause of home fire deaths. More than 2,000 people die annually from fires caused by careless smokers.
• Tobacco smoke contains about 4,000 chemicals, 200 of which are known Poisons!

But.. won’t smoking make me look cool?

Nope!

• Smoking stains your teeth yellow and makes your smile dingy!
• It stains your fingers yellow due to constant handling of cigarettes.
• It speeds up the aging process!
• It causes premature wrinkles and makes you look up to ten years older than you really are.
• It causes bad breath even after you brush your teeth, your breath will smell.
• It makes your hair and clothes smell bad – certain chemicals in the cigarette smoke help the odor absorb and remain in your clothes.

Won’t smoking make me look grown up?

• A child who smokes doesn’t instantly look more mature. He or she only looks like a child who is trying to look like a grown-up!
• A study in a group of high school seniors revealed that two-thirds of those interviewed prefer to date a nonsmoker!

If you smoke one pack of cigarettes a day you will spend approximately Php 200.00 a week, Php 800.00 a month and Php 9,600.00 a year! Just to support your habit! That’s money that could be used for something else you want or need!

I’m young and healthy, I won’t die from smoking!??!

It’s true, if you will never START smoking!

Smoking causes:

• heart disease
• cardiovascular disease
• cancer of the mouth and larynx
• lung cancer

Smoking…

• is responsible for about 1 in every 6 deaths in the US
• For smokers, the risk of sudden death from heart disease is 3 times higher than for nonsmokers.
• 95% of all cases of lung cancer are dependent on cigarette smoking.
• the risk of dying from oral cancer is 4 times higher for smokers than nonsmokers.
• 1 in every 2 deaths from cardiovascular disease is caused by smoking.
• only 4 cigarettes a day doubles your risk of a fatal heart attack!

Immediate health effects of smoking:

• Heartburn
• Increase in heart rate
• Coughing
• Nausea
• Decrease in stamina
• find they are out of breath more quickly than nonsmokers
• sleep poorly
• get sick more frequently than nonsmokers because mucus piles up in the lungs and germs don’t get swept out
• find that certain medications become ineffective
• have diminished senses of smell and taste

Smoking Harms Every”BODY”!

Secondhand smoke is smoke exhaled (mainstream) and smoke from the burning end of a cigarette (sidestream). It is extremely dangerous to anyone breathing it!

• A child’s chances of getting chronic ear infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, and developing a respiratory problem are increased when both parents smoke.
• A child’s risk of getting lung cancer doubles if the parents smoke.
• A spouse of a smoker is 34% more likely to develop lung cancer than the spouse of a nonsmoker.
• A nonsmoker exposed to long term secondhand smoke has a 1 in 6 chance of getting lung cancer!
• Others who breath in secondhand smoke are breathing in the equivalent of 1 to 3 cigarettes a day!

Smoking Harms the Unborn Child!

A woman who smokes while pregnant can harm her unborn baby in many ways:

• miscarriages and premature births
• low birth weight
• infant heart and lung disease
• an increase in the chances of the baby dying in one year
• chronic breathing problems in the infant
• physical and developmental abnormalities
• learning disorders

SO QUIT NOW!

Remember… if you don’t smoke yet, DON’T START! If you already smoke, STOP NOW!

• within one year of quitting, the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease declines rapidly
• Ten years after quitting, your risk of death from this disease is almost the same as if you never started!

There’s no excuse for NOT quitting! There are more than 34 million ex-smokers!

PS

Low tar and low nicotine cigarettes DO NOT reduce your risk of dying; you simply inhale more frequently to accommodate for the difference!

…Excerpt from NCSC…