We all know now that smoking is not good for you, and anyone who has tried to quit knows that quitting is not easy. Cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemicals, and 80 known carcinogens that cause cancer and other life threatening illnesses. For years big tobacco companies lied about the consequences of using their deadly products. They knew that cigarettes were killing hundreds of thousands of people every year, and did nothing to warn users and future users of their products lethal side effects.
Facts About Smoking:
- 1 in every 2 smokers will die of a tobacco related disease.
- Most smokers (83%) regret that they ever started smoking
- Every 6.5 seconds someone in the world dies from tobacco use = 1.5 million people dying needlessly each year.
- In Ireland, 5500 people die every year from a smoking related illness.
- How does smoking effect your health?
- Cigarette smoke contains about 4,000 different chemicals which can damage the cells and systems of the human body. These include at least 80 chemicals that can cause cancer (including tar, arsenic, benzene, cadmium and formaldehyde).
- When a smoker inhales, these chemicals are drawn into the body where they interfere with cell function and cause problems ranging from cell death to genetic changes which lead to cancer.
- This is why tobacco smoking is a known or probable cause of approximately 25 diseases. According to WHO figures, smoking is responsible for approximately six and a half million deaths worldwide every year.
- Smoking is a greater cause of death and disability than any single disease. By 2020, the WHO expects the worldwide death toll to reach 10 million, causing 17.7 per cent of all deaths in developed countries.
List of Smoking Related Illnesses:
Heart Disease
Smoking causes atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.
Lung Diseases
The risk of getting pneumonia, emphysema and chronic bronchitis increases because of smoking.
Lung and Other Cancers
Lung cancer has long been connected to smoking, which can also contribute to cancer of the mouth, voice box or larynx, throat and esophagus.
Diabetes
Smoking increases the risk of developing diabetes. There is also an increased risk in complications arising from diabetes, such as eye disease, heart disease, stroke, vascular disease, kidney disease and foot problems.
Impotence
Smoking is a major risk factor for peripheral vascular disease, which narrows the blood vessels that carry blood to different areas of the body.
Blindness
Smokers have an increased risk of developing macular degeneration, a cause of blindness.
Gum Disease
Aside from cancers in the mouth and throat area, smoking increases the risk of gum disease as well as causing tooth and breath problems.
C.O.P.D.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), also known as chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD), and chronic obstructive airway disease (COAD), among others, is a type of obstructive lung disease characterized by chronically poor airflow.
For more information on the effect smoking can have on you and your family, please visit:
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