Facts

There are about 4000 chemicals in tobacco, and out of the 100 identified
poisons, 63 are known to cause cancer

Nicotine is an addictive drug that takes only 6 seconds to reach your brain

Smoking kills more people than cocaine, heroin, alcohol, fire automobile
accidents, homicides, suicides, and AIDS combined.

Every 8 seconds, someone in the world dies from a tobacco related illness

More than 3 million people under the age of 18 smoke about a billion
cigarettes each year, over half of those people consider themselves
dependent on cigarettes

Smoking is responsible for every 1 out of 5 American deaths

About 430,000 people die needlessly every year from smoking, which
means smoking kills about 1,200 people every day

A person who smokes dies an average 7 years earlier than someone who
doesnt smoke

Kids who smoke experience changes in the lungs, and reduced lung
growth. They risk not achieving normal lung function as an adult

Here Are Some Ingredients Found In Tobacco:

Arsenic (used in rat poison)

Acetic Acid (hair dye and photo developer)

Acetone (main ingredient in paint and fingernail polish remover)

Ammonia (typical household cleaner)

Benzene (rubber cement()

Cadmium (found in batters & artists oil paint)

Carbon Monoxide (poison)

Hydrazine (used in fuel for jet ad rockets)

Formaldehyde (used to embalm dead bodies)

Naphthalene (used in explosives, moth balls, and paint pigments)

Nickel (used in the process of electroplating)

Polonium Radiation Dosage (equal to 30 chest X-rays in 1 year)

Teen Smoking

Decision to start smoking is almost always made in the teen years

Smoking is the # 1 preventable cause for premature death

90% of adult smokers are addicted to tobacco before they reach the age of
18, 50% are addicted before the age of 14, and currently the age of
initiation to tobacco is 11.

Harming Others

An estimated 3000 non-smoking Americans die of lung cancer every year

Kids who have 2 smoking parents are more likely to become smokers than
the kids who have non-smoking parents

Among infants up to 18 months of age, secondhand smoke is associated

with as many as 300,000 cases of bronchitis and pneumonia every year.

Secondhand smoke from a parent's cigarette increases a child's chances

for middle ear problems, causes coughing and wheezing, and worsens
asthma conditions.

Pregnant women who smoke are more likely to deliver babies whose
weights are too low for the babies' good health. If all women quit smoking
during pregnancy, about 4,000 new babies would not die each year.

Smoking can cause chronic lung disease, coronary heart disease, and
stroke

It can cause cancers of: cervix, pancreas, kidneys

Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to
babies with low birth weight

Nicotine causes short-term increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and flow
of blood from the heart

Arteries narrow

How to quit

Set a date for quitting

If you feel like smoking, chew on gum or suck on hard candy instead

Keep yourself busy and occupied

Change your morning routine

Put away your ash trays and cigarettes

Eat regular meals

Tell friends and family youve decided to quit, and tell them why

Reward yourself at the end of the day by going to a movie or out for
dinner