Smoking:The Strange Statistics (1)

The smoke that comes out of the end of a cigarette is full of about 4,000 chemicals including, of course, nicotine, but also formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, acetone, and hydrazine, just to name a few. Formaldehyde is used to embalm dead bodies. The chemical called hydrogen cyanide is a rat poison. Acetone is a chemical used in nail polish remover, and hydrazine is a component in rocket fuel. It is certain that nobody in their right mind would breathe in or consume any of these different substances on their own, so it is very strange how people can so successfully ignore all the terrible things they are inhaling into their lungs with each puff. The power over people that nicotine holds is staggering.

Worldwide there are nearly 5.4 million deaths that are the result of tobacco use. 1.2 million people in China die each year due to smoking, which is a huge percent of the 5.4 million all over the world. In Europe each year around 650,000 people die from smoking or smoking related illnesses. In India each year nearly 900,000 people end up dead from smoking related illness. Russia has an amazing 400-500 thousand people who die each year from diseases caused by smoking. All of these terrible numbers increase each year and if they continue on this path then in the year 2015 there will be 6.5 million people who die from smoking annually. Do not become one of these terrible statistics and make the commitment to quit for good.

Of the over 6 billion people who live on the planet, nearly 1.3 billion are confirmed smokers, which is the entire population of China. In America, of the entire population, 18 percent of women smoke, and an amazing 24 percent of men smoke. The problem with smoking is much worse in SE Asia where a staggering half of the entire population of the men in the country smoke.

Dangers Of Smoking:Social & Emotional Problems

Smoking can also cause social problems when trying to build a relationship. Most people who smoke will be limited to having to date and marry other smokers to find someone tolerant of their habit, which will severely limit the amount of potential husbands and wives. When you go over to your friends’ homes or ride in their car you may find they do not allow smoking, which could be a serious strain on your friendship. Smoking will cause a problem when trying to get health insurance as your rates could be higher. Another social risk of smoking could be that some landlords will not rent to people who smoke, due to increased costs of both insurance and maintenance. All of these social problems with smoking can not only distance you from friends and family but, can also limit where you are allowed to work and live.

Dangers Of Smoking:Brain Damage & Mental Issues

Surprisingly, another risk factor of smoking is brain aneurysms.(Brain Damage). Most people are not aware of the fact that the nicotine in cigarettes does damage to the blood vessels in the brain, often leading to aneurysms. Sometimes when you realize you are having an aneurysm, it is already too late. The key to treating an aneurysm is early detection, as it is with cancer. However, the best way to treat aneurysms is to prevent them completely, and this can be done in some cases, by not smoking ever or quitting as soon as possible for good.

Mental Issues
Mental problems of smoking are apparent to anyone who has seen someone addicted to nicotine who has had to go without their fix. The mental strain and cravings when the body gets low on nicotine are unbearable for some. People who are addicted to smoking find even the simplest tasks can’t be performed without first smoking. Lack of nicotine causes problems concentrating, thinking, and problem solving, or even deciding what to have for breakfast. Smokers become a slave to their habit and can’t function without the drug. When the need for the drug is so strong you can’t function without it then you are even more likely to not notice or simply deny the negative effects smoking is having on you mentally and physically. Do not let your strong addiction to nicotine rip away your chance of living a longer and healthier life!
The mental problems associated with smoking can lead to social problems. The lack of concentration and nervousness can be a real problem to people when out on a date or at work. Smokers can not get calm and feel normal without going for a smoke break, and this can cause terrible problems seeing as most places of business do not allow smoking indoors. Smokers have to wait until their breaks to get a fix and during the time in between they will not be able to work to their fullest potential. It is also true that employers are much more likely to hire non-smokers over smokers for a number of reasons, including the usual increase in sick days of smokers, the increased health costs, and so much more

Dangers Of Smoking:Heart and Lung Disease

Heart disease, as well as strokes, is the leading cause of deaths by smoking. In addition to the stress it puts on the heart to smoke, you also get a build up of plaque in your arteries from the toxins in the cigarette smoke, which ultimately leads to the hardening of the arteries. It is possible for smoking related heart diseases to lead patients to have congestive heart failure, which is one of the leading causes of death in the Western world. Smoking increases blood pressure, increases your risk for blood clots, and also decreases your tolerance for exercise, which can all add to your risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke. Although the damage to your heart and blood vessels from smoking is very serious, after five to fifteen years your risk of strokes goes back to that of a non-smoker, so the sooner you quit the better.

Smoking is the cause for emphysema in eighty to ninety percent of the cases of the disease diagnosed. This disease presents itself slowly and usually not until after many years of continuous exposure to cigarette smoke. Although emphysema is caused by a few other things as well as smoking, smoking does make you ten times more likely to die from emphysema than a person who has never been exposed to cigarette smoke. Some major symptoms of emphysema include anxiety, constant cough, shortness of breath, swelling of the ankles and feet, wheezing, and weight loss. Because emphysema is a slow developing disease, you do not even know you have it until it is already preventing you from breathing properly, which in some cases is too late to really do anything about it. Although the terrible effects of the disease are permanent and incurable once they develop, you can stop smoking right now, and help prevent any more damage from happening and possibly  increase some lung function. 

Dangers Of Smoking:Cancer

Cancer is one of the most severe consequences of smoking. Smoking is the cause of nearly thirty percent of all cancer related deaths. Smoking has been linked to cancers of the lungs, mouth or oral cancers, larynx, esophagus, and even the bladder.

Lung cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat in women and men, which is sad because most of the lung cancer that people develop is preventable. This type of cancer is the top killer of men and the second cause of cancer death in women, among the various types of cancer. A mere twelve to fifteen percent of treatments given for lung cancer are actually curing patients. The other 85 percent will face the ultimate consequence for their smoking habits. Cancer of the lung is preventable in over ninety percent of the patients diagnosed with the disease. Even with all the other reasons put aside, this

Dangers Of Smoking (1)

In addition to the health related risks of smoking, the social acceptance of smokers is dwindling day by day. One reason that smoking is becoming more socially unacceptable is that when you smoke, it not only affects your lungs and life, but it can have dramatic effects on people around you who are breathing in your smoke. If you smoke, your entire family, including your children, can be very negatively affected by your smoking. When parents smoke, especially mothers who are pregnant, their children are more likely to get asthma, ear infections, bronchitis, and many other problems with breathing. In this day with all the information available on how smoking will negatively affect the baby growing inside, it is absolutely unacceptable for expectant mothers to smoke during any part of pregnancy. In addition to the second hand health risks to children by their smoking parents, it is also more likely for children of smokers to start up the habit themselves. This is why it is crucial to set a good example by quitting smoking now. Your children will be grateful for all the newfound energy that you can devote to them, and also for the fact that you’ll live to be with them for a much longer time.