Smoking? It’s Time To Quit!
Someone you know, perhaps even you, need to quit smoking. You understand the dangers and realize there is not one cell in your body that is unaffected by cigarettes and/or snuff. You even understand that no one in your immediate vicinity is safe from the fumes of your cigarettes or the fumes you exhale.
Dangers – Smoking and Your Health
Both Wales and Ireland have forbidden smoking in public places, such as restaurants and pubs, reminding us again of the dangers of smoking to our own health and the health of those around us. But will this new move bring about a change in attitude? And more, importantly, will it bring about a change in behaviour?
Despite the fact that we have known for years that smoking is the main cause of lung cancer and many other diseases, the number of people who die from smoking related illnesses is huge – you might be surprised to realize that as many as half a million people die due to diseases directly related to smoking each year. And that’s in the US alone. And smoking is on the increase amongst young people, partly as a result of peer pressure, the idea that it’s cool and of course, the fact that kids just don’t imagine that smoking might kill them.
So just how dangerous is smoking? Although we know about the risks, many people seem to believe that cancer is something which will happen to other people. This is especially true amongst younger people, but the problem is that the younger you start smoking, the less likely you are to give up later. As a result, you could be condemning yourself to a long and protracted terminal illness and you could knock as much as twenty years off your life.
The reality is that cigarettes, as well as being addictive and expensive, contain thousands of toxic chemicals and cause horrific illnesses, including several types of cancer, emphysema, stroke and heart disease. With so many dangers smoking doesn’t sound quite as cool as it once did.