♥ Reduce your risk of heart disease ♥
Smoking is “the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking…
- Is 2 to 6 times more likely to suffer a heart attack than non-smoking women (risk varies by number of cigarettes smoked per day)
- Shortens your lifespan – smokers get heart disease at a younger age than non-smokers, and that affects the total lifespan
- Increases risk of stroke
- Increases risk of lung cancer – death rate from lung cancer for women is now higher than the death rate for breast cancer
- Increases risk of other types of cancer – mouth, urinary tract, kidney, and cervix
- Causes most cases of chronic obstructive lung disease – includes bronchitis and emphysema
- Endangers people around you for all the same things through secondhand smoke – a risk if you smoke indoors or in your car
- Harms infants and children – causes breathing problems, ear infections, asthma attacks, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) – that’s from secondhand smoke
- Interferes with lung growth, causes respiratory illness, increases risk of heart disease and cancer in young smokers
If the health concerns don’t scare you, maybe the vanity concerns will stop you.
- Bad breath
- Bad taste – it’s true – kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray
- Yellow teeth
- Smelly clothes
- Smelly house and furniture
- Greasy windows in your car
There is simply no safe way to smoke. Low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes do not lessen the risks of heart disease or other smoking-related diseases. The only safe and healthful course is not to smoke at all.
