Ten Facts About Smoking
The main health effects from smoking are well known. There is plenty of information and facts about smoking risks. Some of these smoking facts may be essential motivators for you or those close to you who want to quit smoking.
Fact 1: The first thing to know is that cancer can hit younger people too. Smoking-related cancers are more likely than some others to affect people in their 40s, for example. That is an age when many people still have kids at home who are dependent on them. It’s not a great time to die.
Fact 2: Smoking is also associated with higher risk of cancer in the mouth, throat and esophagus (the passage that leads to the lungs) – and also the colon, stomach, kidneys and many other parts of the body.
Fact 3: There are a big number of possible health problems that can result from nicotine and other chemicals getting into the bloodstream. A commercially produced cigarette contains thousands of different chemicals, hundreds of which are toxic – i.e. poisonous. They can do untold damage when they build up in the body over a few months or years.
Fact 4: Other problems are caused by the organs being deprived of the oxygen that they need to function correctly. One example of this is the skin. The skin is fed by the bloodstream just like any other organ. When the blood does not contain enough oxygen to nourish it correctly, it becomes wrinkled and unhealthy looking, causing a premature aging effect.
Fact 5: Male fertility may also be affected. Smoking often contributes to impotence as well. Men in their 30s and 40s who smoke have a 50% higher possibility of erectile dysfunction (impotence) than non-smokers of the same age.
Fact 6: Smoking also affects the sexual organs. In women this can decrease fertility and make it harder to get pregnant. Of course it also affects the growing fetus if the woman does get pregnant and continues to smoke. So the best thing that you can do if you want a baby, is to quit smoking.
Fact 7: Smoking can also have a negative effect on your career. For example, most people know that smokers take more time off work sick than non-smokers, plus they see smokers spending time in the parking lot taking a break while non-smokers are working. This creates a bad impression on the boss and resentment among colleagues. Smoking can also affect your dating since smokers usually have unpleasant smell of nicotine.
Fact 8: Children are very sensitive to smoke and if you smoke in the house, your kids are likely to get more respiratory infections than the children of non-smokers. Their immune systems are lowered and they have a hard time recovering from disease.
Fact 9: The financial cost of smoking is not limited to the cost of cigarettes – which you already know is very high. When you stop smoking, you will have a lot more money to spend on other things right away. You will also notice improvements in your health almost immediately.
Fact 10: Many companies prefer not to hire smokers even if they never take a cigarette break in working hours, just because of the sickness rates. In other companies, workers miss out on promotion or bonuses because they do not have the good health record of their non-smoking colleagues.
