Some of the costs, facts, figures and myths about smoking.

SOME OF THE FACTS ABOUT SMOKING

The facts on smoking – young people and smoking

Save your life

Smoking contributes to cancer, heart disease, bronchitis,
strokes, stomach ulcers, leukemia, gum disease, gangrene, asthma, wrinkles, bad breath.

Keep fit

Smoking makes you short of breath, making sport and exercise
more difficult.

Passive smoking

Breathing in other people’s smoke is called passive smoking.
This can cause headaches and lack of concentration. Each year around 17,000 kids under the
age of 5 go into hospital with complaints caused by smoke from their parents’ cigarettes.

You care

Children as young as 5 years old have tried cigarettes. Kids
are more likely to try smoking if they have seen their brothers or sisters doing it.

The facts on smoking – the myths

It helps me unwind

Cigarettes don’t make you relax. Nicotine is a stimulant. It
actually speeds up your bodily functions – especially your heart rate.

Do you think I’m sexy?

Kissing someone with a mouth like an ashtray isn’t sexy.
Having smoke blown in your face isn’t sexy. Lung cancer isn’t sexy. However, buying
someone special a gift with the money you didn’t spend on smoking is definitely sexy.

Shape shifter

If you think you’ll put on weight if you stop smoking, then
think again. Cigarettes don’t keep your body weight down and they can even cause
cellulite. Some people replace cigarettes with food when they give up therefore may put on
a few pounds. If you’ve managed to give up smoking, you’ll be able to tackle any weight
gain, without any problems.

Something to do with your friend

So you want to while away the time with your friends by
killing yourself? Alternatively, there are plenty of other more body-friendly and exciting
things to do: try out a new sport, go and see a movie, listen to your favourite music,
read the latest bestseller.

I’m independent; I can smoke if I want to

Smoking is addictive, and being an addict makes you more
dependent than independent.

It makes me look mature

Only in the sense that smoking gives you wrinkles before your
time. There’s nothing mature about smelling like an ashtray and inhaling vast amounts of
grim chemicals.

Consider the money

This is just a snapshot of a very interesting page
providing a great deal of smoking related facts, which I believe was produced with students and young people in mind.  I feel it is, however,
pertinent to a far wider number of people and I am, therefore, delighted to have been given permission to reproduce it on Hints and Things.  
N.B.  the figures have been updated as the originals were collated
in 2012.

Some lesser known
facts about smoking as seen by a stroke victim.