Dangers of Smoking

Why Smoking Is Bad For You

The fact that smoking is bad for you is no secret. We'll all seen the pictures of charcoal black lungs displayed in schools and in hospital and doctors waiting rooms. Despite these scare tactics people continue to smoke and new smokers adopt the habit every single day. Amazingly smoking can still be viewed as an adult thing to do and children continue to be influenced by this. Their parents or guardians smoke therefore they should smoke too if they want to be really grown up - or at least that's their perception. All smokers wish they had never smoked that first lousy cigarette and shake their heads in disbelief when they see their own kids or teenagers starting to smoke.

Tobacco can be "ingested" in more than one way. Some people chew it, others inhale it as snuff but the majority smoke it in the form of cigars and cigarettes - which is the habit we've all come to know and hate as smokers. Regardless of how you take tobacco it's dangerous. Smoking is the most popular method for people to use tobacco and as such has received massive coverage in both the media and from the medical profession.

Why Smoking Makes You Happy

When a smoker inhales a single "shot" of nicotine from a cigarette the lungs allow the nicotine to pass into the blood stream almost instantly. The smoker then feels the "hit" from the nicotine in their bloodstream and this is the sensation that they crave later on. Don't just assume that you're inhaling "pure" tobacco smoke either. That cigarette you're smoking contains up to 4,000 separate chemicals - many of which are extremely toxic.

That smoke you inhale from a cigarette contains 43 carcinogenic substances. These are substances which have been clinically proven to cause various types of cancer. Cigarette smoke also contains 400 other toxins that can be found in rat poison, nail polish remover and various types of wood varnish. Would you willingly eat any of these products? Of course not because you know that they're incredibly bad for you. As these carcinogens and toxins gather in the body they begin to cause serious problems for the heart and lungs.

Of all the diseases associated with smoking cancer is the most common. Cancer is a relatively new disease that has really only become prevalent since the beginning of the industrial revolution. In effect cancer is a manmade disease for which there is, as of yet, no cure.

Some facts:

90% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking.

30% of all cancer fatalities are caused by smoking.

Lung cancer is the most common cancer associated with cigarette smoking but you can also get cancer of the mouth, bladder, kidney, stomach, esophagus, larynx and pancreas. Some of these cancers can be treated and others are 100% fatal.

Cancer isn't the only disease that smoking causes - either directly or indirectly. 75% of all fatal cases of emphysema and bronchitis are linked to smoking. Both of these diseases cause extreme breathing difficulties and emphysema in particular is an extremely nasty disease as your ability to breathe on your own slowly vanishes.

Smokers have dramatically shorter lives than non-smokers. On average a smoker will die 15 - 20 years before a non-smoker. This is truly shocking when you think about it. That's 7,300 days deducted from your lifespan. Look at what you can achieve in a single day and then imagine what you might be able to achieve in over 7,000 days.

This is proof that continued exposure to the toxic substances found in cigarettes and cigars simply isn't good for you - no matter what tobacco companies might say. Smoking will kill you younger.

The Effects of Secondary Smoke

The risk from smoking isn't just limited to the smoker however. The serious effects of secondary smoking are now very well known. Smoking near your loved ones puts their health at risk also. Second-hand smoke is still as loaded with chemicals and toxins as it was when you inhaled it.

Numerous health problems are directly caused by secondary smoking and children are in the highest risk group because their internal organs and immune systems are still developing. Children exposed to secondary smoke are far more vulnerable to asthma, sudden infant death syndrome (cot death), bronchitis, pneumonia, and ear infections amongst other things.

If you love and respect your family do them a favour and don't smoke anywhere near them. Go outside. Nothing gives you the right to affect their health. Better again why not quit smoking altogether and spend the money you save on a family holiday? Or a new car? Get the ultimate revenge on the tobacco companies by  reducing their profits and living a healthier lifestyle.