In our days, smoking, active or passive, kills 6 million people a year, including 600,000 non-smokers, because governments do little to lead men to stop smoking, or to protect others, says WHO (World Health Organization).
The epidemic of smoking-related diseases and deaths caused by cigarettes has just begun but statistics are grim. It is supposed that by the year of 2030, 8 million people will die each year from smoking.
UN urged more governments to sign and implement the treaty of smoking control, warning that if the trend continues, this vice could cause up to 1 billion deaths in the 21st century, which would represent a dramatic increase from the 100 million deaths caused by smoking, registered in the last century.
So far, 172 countries and the European Union signed the Convention on Tobacco Control, established in 2005, which required the states to take serious steps to reduce the percentage of smokers and to protect the non-smokers from the smokers’ cigarettes smoke.
Smoking cigarettes shorten your life
Half of tobacco-related deaths occur between 35 and 69 years of age. Smoking causes about 30% of cancer deaths. 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and 70% in women are due to smoking.
Fetal tobacco syndrome, infertility, impotence, frail immunity, cancer, bronchitis, emphysema, arteriosclerosis, heart attack, decay, headaches and bad breath are only some of the diseases and issues that can be caused by smoking.
Tobacco and cancer
Although there is no connection between any substance inside tobacco and cancer, smoking tobacco belongs to another story.
Smoking tobacco is harmful to your organism because it means to inhale smoke, a fact that affects your throat and your lungs, especially, because it means inhaling carbon monoxide and tar, which are systematically attacking the respiratory system.
Besides, cigarettes producers add chemical fragrances and aromas to the raw tobacco, in order to confer the smoker with a specific flavor, typical of any cigarettes brand in part. These flavoring additives are purely chemical and contain benzene, nitrosamines, Propylene glycol, acetone, aldehydes, and other 4000 chemical compounds.
Nicotine, which is the natural addictive substance in tobacco, is not the main cause of cancer, at is commonly, but falsely believed. Nicotine is somehow good as it is improving the focus power and attention.
Well, if you’re not a cigarettes smoker, but still a tobacco addict, it means that you prefer to chew tobacco, smoke pipe, or smoke cigars. Even though, these habits don’t involve inhaling smoke are still dangerous and can cause serious health issues, and even cancer.
Chewing tobacco can cause tooth decays, teeth loss, bad breath, and even oral cancer because of the flavoring additives.
Smoking pipe and cigars don’t involve inhaling the smoke, also, but dragging the smoke into the mouth to feel the taste. Thus, it can cause dental issues and oral cancer.
Another danger is represented by the modern electronic cigarette. Vaping on the e-cigarette is not at all safe since the liquid that is used for vaping contains almost the same substances and flavoring additives as the cigarette smoke. Therefore, vaping can also cause cancer.
Cigarettes linked to 1 in 4 cancer deaths
In the US, cigarettes are linked directly to 1 in 4 cancer deaths, and a recent study conducted on almost 200,000 Americans by the American Cancer Society confirms that statement.
40% of the Arkansas men deaths were caused by smoking, that representing the highest percentage in smoking-related men deaths, while the highest percentage of women deaths caused by smoking was 30% and it was discovered in Kentucky.
In the US, the smokers are getting outnumbered, but there are still 40 million smokers, according to the CDC, but still, smoking remains on of the biggest cause of death in the US.
How to quit smoking?
To quit smoking is much harder than trying to change another habit you might have. It’s hard, but you can do it! You can quit directly or gradually reducing the number of cigarettes. There is a plan, a strategy available to everyone, and you should visit your doctor to seek help and directions in order to reach your goal.
You can double or even triple the chances of success using the medication in parallel.
Methods that can help you quitting smoking are:
- medication
- taking part in programs and anti-smoking associations
- constant communication with your doctor
- psychological therapy
You can quit smoking and you can get back to it several times until you’ll finally succeed. The majority of smokers have more attempts before they manage to escape forever from the habit. It is important not to stop but to keep trying.
But why is it so hard to quit smoking?
For most, it is very difficult to quit because of the nicotine addiction. It is believed by some specialists that the nicotine addiction is as powerful as it is the heroin addiction.
Quitting smoking can give insomnia, irritability, depression, moods that are only making the whole process to become very difficult. Besides these physical symptoms, psychological and emotional reactions may occur.
Once you have decided to quit smoking, you have to try to handle these different annoying situations, stress, and emotion with your own iron will, without lighting up another cigarette.
The cigarettes linked to 1 in 4 cancer deaths fact should be more than enough to make you thinking on quitting and living a much healthier life.
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