A census taken in July of 2004 revealed that approximately 1/3 of the worlds population were smokers which equates to 1.2 billion people. While many developed countries are taking steps to reduce the number of smokers, many other places in the world are actually seeing an increase in both the smoking habit and health problems related to it. If you have not yet decided that its time to quit then here are some facts that may help to persuade you. This article will look at the properties of tobacco, the health affects related to smoking, how smoking affects woman and pregnancy, and the results of the ever increasing smoking bans occurring around the world. If you are a smoker then you probably think you know what tobacco is because you ingest it on a daily basis. But did you know that the act of burning tobacco actually creates new substances and that cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 separate chemicals with 69 of them being shown to cause cancer. Some of these chemicals are considered so dangerous that they actually on a list of banned items for placing in landfills. If this makes you think that smokeless tobacco is safe, think again as un-burnt tobacco hosts thousands of chemicals that can destroy your health. While everybody realizes that nicotine is the chemical that causes addiction to tobacco, many dont realize that nicotine is more addictive then even cocaine. It is even said by some sources that there is a chemical in tobacco that is more addictive then the nicotine. Now that you have a better understanding of what tobacco is, lets talk about the health affects related to tobacco use and smoking. While anybody can get lung cancer, it is important to realize that smoking causes around 90% of the cases and if this isnt enough to scare you, smoking can also cause emphysema, chronic bronchitis, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Smoking also can affect blood circulation and the immune system so that smokers may have a tendency to heal slower then non smokers. This reduced circulation also contributes to a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes. For smokers with children, keep in mind that second hand smoke increases the rate of asthma, colds, ear infections and pneumonia in children under 18. The cost of treating smoking related illnesses is estimated to be $167 billion per year in the United States alone with 440,000 Americans will die each year to smoking related illnesses. While these thoughts can be disturbing, woman who smoke have even more to worry about. The chance of a female smoker developing lung cancer is higher then her male counterpart with more woman now dying of lung cancer then breast cancer. There are also studies that indicate that it is harder for a woman to quit smoking then a man. And smoking and pregnancy is a great concern with over 12% of pregnant woman being smokers. While some woman do quit during pregnancy the statistics show that 70% of women smokers will continue to smoker throughout there pregnancy. This can result in low birth weight, the baby being born addicted to nicotine, and a host of other health related problems for the new born infant. Hopefully all of this information will persuade you that it is time to quit smoking but if not, keep in mind how the changes in society may affect you. A great many states in American, not to mention numerous countries around the world are beginning to take serious steps to stamp out smoking and the health related cost involved in treating smoking related illness. It is estimated that 70% of Americans now work in a smoke free workplace and this number is sure to rise. In addition to this, many states and countries have or will implement smoking bans in hospitals, restaurants and bars. There are even communities where it is now illegal to smoke anywhere in the neighborhood, including your own home and for renters; some apartment complexes and condominiums have initiated a no smoking neighborhood as well. I realize that these new laws can create a lot of negative emotion and some of them border on violating smokers rights. After all, you should be allowed to smoke in the privacy of your own home or car, even if it is bad for you. But the laws being implemented to ban smoking in public places are being put into affect to protect the health of non-smokers. Hopefully these facts will make you consider quitting your smoking habit but I suspect that if you are reading this article then you already had at leases some desire to quit. Maybe you want to quit and are not sure where to turn but let me tell you that there is help available for somebody that truly wants to quit.
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Randal Heath
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