SMOKING KILLS!

My mom handed me a brochure she got from a clinic she recently visited. It has SMOKING KILLS mentioned on the front page in huge bold letters. Come to think of it, it does deserve this much attention especially when a lot of our loved ones are involved.

Of all the ugly facts about smoking, it always boils down to how much it reduces your life span. Every cigarette you smoke shortens your life by 14 minutes. Let's do the the math. That's over 4 hours per pack! If you make it a regular habit, it will decrease your life span by around 15 years if it doesn't actually cause your death.

MORE UGLY FACTS:

Smoking is the leading cause of blindness.  

Tobacco smoke contains at least 4000 chemical compounds and at least 40 cancer-causing agents. 

Smoking causes oral, pancreatic and lung cancer.

Smoking kills your looks. It makes you look wrinkled, pale and gray. It makes you look 20 years older than your actual age.

Smokers have a limited sense of smell.

Both active and passive smokers have a greater risk of developing chest infections.

Smoking worsens asthma.

Smoking causes serious heart and lung problems in both active and passive smokers.

Babies and children in their formative years are the most vulnerable to the effects of passive smoking.

THE BOTTOMLINE: WHEN YOU SMOKE, YOU'RE PAYING TO KILL YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES.

If you are reading this, probably you are trying or have tried to quit smoking. If you are having some difficulty with achieving this goal, it is essential to know that a lot of people who have tried to quit smoking did not succeed in their first attempt. This is because of several factors including the fact that the body must suffer withdrawal symptoms from nicotine use. Most smokers who quit "cold turkey," without any aid of nicotine in the form of gum or patches may feel moody, dizzy, tired and may have an intense craving for tobacco. 

The benefits of enduring this brief period of discomfort are amazing, however, and start within minutes of extinguishing the last cigarette. For instance, within 20 minutes of quitting, the heart rate and blood pressure begin to drop to healthier levels. Within 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level of the blood is back to normal and safer levels. Within 2 weeks, the circulatory system has improved dramatically.

With this in mind and the fact that smoking causes around 4 million worldwide deaths each year, kicking this habit is definitely worth the effort.

SAVE YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES TODAY. 

*** Kudos to the UAE government for starting the anti-smoking campaign in 2010 during Ramadan because "if a person can avoid smoking for 14 to 15 hours during the first, second and third day of fasting, nicotine will start to reduce by default, and this can help encourage a person to quit," as mentioned by a HAAD official.