Facts about Smoking

• The relative risk of stroke in heavy smokers (more than 40 cigarettes a day) is twice that of light smokers (less than 10 cigarettes per day).
• One in two smokers will die from their habit, losing an average of 15 years of life. One third of all deaths in middle age (ages 35-69) are caused by cigarettes.
• Smokers have more back pain than non-smokers, and heal slower.
• Cravings may not be due to nicotine withdrawal. Nicotine withdrawal is a physical affliction which lasts for two or three weeks. Beyond that period, "cravings" are entirely based on psychological factors: exposure to common "triggers" to smoking, and lack of alternative ways of coping with stressful situations.
• Cigarette smoking damages the lungs, blood vessels, and, to a lesser extent, other organs, such as the heart.
• Although the sale of cigarettes to persons below the age of 18 is not allowed in the United States and other countries, tobacco remains one of the most easily obtained addictive drugs.
• Cigarette smoking increases the likelihood of arteriosclerosis and doubles the risk of coronary thrombosis.
• Smoking one cigarette increases blood pressure by 5-10mmHg for 30 minutes. A pack a day smoker will increase their average daily blood pressure by 5mmHg.
• Nicotine is present as a liquid in tobacco leaves. When the leaves are burned, the nicotine evaporates, and is inhaled with the cigarette smoke, it then passes into the bloodstream, and is in the brain within 20 seconds.
• Nicotine, a drug found naturally in tobacco, is highly addictive and makes it very hard for a person to quit smoking once they have begun the habit.
• As soon as the smoker finishes the cigarette, the levels of nicotine in the bloodstream immediately start to drop. It continues to drop over time, until the smoker has to feed the craving once again. It is this property that has caused nicotine to be grouped with heroin and cocaine, in the way it creates addiction.
• A cigarette smoker is 2.5 times more likely than a non-smoker to die before the age of 55 and twice as likely to die before the age of 75.
• Cigarettes are the leading cause of fire death in the United States.
• The tobacco industry spends about four billion dollars per year to promote smoking, far more than is spent on the advertisement and promotion of any other product.
• A pack of cigarettes costs about $0.05 to produce. However, most smokers spend $5.00 or more per pack.
• If both parents smoke, a teenager is more than twice as likely to smoke than a young person whose parents are both non-smokers.
• Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, many of which are highly toxic. There is no safe 'low tar' cigarette and no safe level of smoking.
• Several studies have found that women who smoke have decreased fertility. Of these, one study has found that smokers have about 72% of the fertility of non-smokers.
• Many people are picking up these habits when they are young - in fact, 90% of all adult smokers started when they were kids.
• Smoking causes widespread permanent destruction of the tiny air sacs (alveoli) and narrowing of small blood vessels in the lungs, decreasing the oxygen supply, requiring a higher blood pressure, thus causing extensive circulatory problems and premature heart attacks. Smokers have difficulty running and exercising.
• The smoker's body requires more sleep every night. This extra sleep must come from his spare time. Besides needing more sleep, smokers don't sleep as well.
• Smoking destroys vitamins, particularly vitamin C and the B.
• Smokers get into more auto accidents due to being less alert, having slower reflexes, and also due to fussing around while driving.