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Written by Webmaster
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Thursday, 31 January 2008 |
By Brenda Ventano
 If you want to know why you should give up smoking, just take a look at the risks and costs of continuing to smoke. First you should know that 22% of all male and 11% of all female deaths are due to smoking. Narrowed and hardened arteries, cold hands and feet, weakened bones, peripheral vascular disease, osteoporosis and decreased fitness are just a few smoking effects. However, the risk of developing smoking related illnesses can be reduced by giving up smoking.
Chemicals in Tobacco Smoke
There are over 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke. One major chemical is carbon monoxide which is a colorless, odorless gas that in large doses is lethal. In smaller doses it causes shortness of breath and increased heart rate.
Another harmful ingredient within cigarette smoke is hydrogen cyanide, another colorless gas that even with short-term exposure can lead to vomiting, dizziness, headaches and nausea.
And let us not forget about nicotine, the reason why cigarettes are as addictive as they are. In large quantities nicotine is extremely poisonous. A person would die within minutes
if you were to place 60g of pure nicotine on her/his tongue.
Costs of Smoking
If you want to give up smoking, just think about the cost involved, and I am not just talking money. Besides the financial costs, smoking also has physical costs such as wheezing, reduced fertility, risky pregnancy, damaged circulation, damaged taste buds, nicotine-stained fingers, heart attack, lung cancer and the list goes on. And do not forget about the social costs like polluting the air with carcinogens, dusty and stuffy home, spoiled and smelly clothes and furniture, burnig eyes and so on.
Second-hand Smokers
Smoking also affects your loved ones. Non-smokers are also exposed to the 4,000 chemicals when they breathe other people's tobacco smoke. Secondhand smoking can affect your children. They are more likely to get chest illnesses, ear infections, wheezing and childhood asthma, tonsillitis and are likely to smoke themselves. Exposing people around you to secondhand smoke will put them at risk of the same diseases as you.
But its not all doom and gloom. The minute you give up smoking your body starts to recover. Your circulation improves, you breathe more easily, your skin warms up, your risk of disease starts to fall, you will have a cleaner, fresher house, you will no longer put the persons around you at risk and you will be a lot richer!
Brenda Ventano quit smoking 14 years ago. She writes many articles to assist others in doing the same. Read more at Stop Smoking. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 31 January 2008 )
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