Say NO to smoking!
Hey, do you think smoking is cool? Well if you do,you will regret it later.
I know,all you teenagers out there might be thinking ,'Oh no!Not another NO SMOKING lecture!'.
Well!I shall not waste much of your time.I just have a request for you all.
Please think once,only once about you parents and your beloved ones before having a cigerette next time.
Think how would they feel seeing you suffering from
the fatal disease of
CANCER !
Why do people,especially teenagers smoke ?
There are not many smokers about who started smoking after the age of eighteen. In fact, the majority of smokers took up the habit in their early or mid teens.
At such a young age, you don't really think about the health risks of smoking and you certainly do not realise how addictive smoking can be. As a teenager you probably think that you can try smoking a few times and then take it or leave it.
However, the reality is that it doesn't take long to become addicted to
nicotine 
and smoking.
Within a short period of time, children can experience the same cravings and withdrawal symptoms as an adult, as well as smoke as many cigarettes or more.
There are several reasons as to why children or teenagers start smoking.
- Peer pressure plays an important part. Many children start smoking because their friends have tried it or smoke themselves.
- Those children may have started as they have grown up in an environment where their parents, grandparents and older siblings smoke, and so they smoke in order to look and act like them.
- Other children start smoking as an act of rebellion or defiance against their parents or people of authority.
Why do people continue smoking ?
A lot of people think that they need cigarettes in order to cope with stress or nerves. However, nicotine is a stimulant; it makes your heart beat faster and raises your blood pressure.
So in fact, smoking does not really relax you at all or help you cope with unpleasant situations.
People probably think that smoking relaxes them, when in reality, smoking a cigarette, just stops the withdrawal symptoms that have begun to kick in after not having one for a while.
Active and Passive smoking
Active smoking is the intentional inhalation of smoke using cigarettes and cigars.
Passive smoking refers to the smoke that non-smokers are breathing in from active smokers.
Passive smoking is also called involuntary or secondhand smoking.
Effects of active smoking
- Heart:The effects of smoking on your heart are devastating. Nicotine raises blood pressure and makes the blood clot more easily.
Carbon monoxide robs the blood of oxygen and leads to the development of cholesterol deposits on the artery walls. All of these effects add up to an increased risk of heart attack.
- Lungs:Smoking causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of diseases that includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis and asthmatic bronchitis. COPD is called the "silent killer."
- Bones: Smoking can cause bones to get weak and brittle. Women need to be especially careful because they are 5 to 10% more likely to suffer from osteoporosis than non-smokers.
- Stomach: The damage to your stomach area can affect your vital organs. You have increased chances of getting stomach cancer, or ulcers.
- Mouth and Throat: Smoking causes unattractive problems like bad breath and stained teeth. It can also cause gum disease and damage to your sense of taste.
The most serious damage smoking causes in this area is an increased risk of cancer in your lips, tongue, throat, voice bok and oesophagus (gullet).
-
Eyes: Dangerous smoking effects on eyes include common eye diseases such as Graves' ophthalmopathy, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataract.
- Skin: Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen to the skin. This means that the skin ages more quickly and looks grey and dull.
- Reproduction and Fertility: The effects of smoking on reproduction and fertility are serious. Smoking can increase the risk of impotence. It can also damage sperm, reduce sperm count and cause testicular cancer.
Effects of passive smoking
- Cancer:Scientific evidence show an increased risk of lung cancer in non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke. This increased risk is estimated at 20% in women and 30% in men who live with a smoker.
- Respiratory diseases and problems:Passive smoking increases the risk of getting frequent lower respiratory tract infections in children. Passive smoking during childhood predisposes children to develop cancer as adults.
- Heart diseases:Exposure to secondhand smoke irritates the airways and has immediate harmful effects on a person's heart. It damages blood vessels, interferes with circulation and increases the risk of blood clots.
- Different infections:The chemicals in the cigarette smoke can cause irritation of the eyes, headache, cough, sore throat, and nausea.
- Low birth weight:Exposure to passive smoking during pregnancy can lead to the birth of low birth weight babies .
The Choice is Yours: Quit Smoking Today or Die an Early Death.
There are at least five reasons why you should quit smoking.
- First, if you quit smoking, you will definitely live longer and better.
- Second, each time you smoke, you take about 5 to 20 minutes off your life. Your chance of getting lung cancer, stroke or heart attack increases if you don't quit smoking.
- Third, the people you live with, especially the children, will be healthier only if you stop smoking. In fact, second hand smoke is more dangerous than the actual smoke users get from smoking.
- Fourth, if you quit smoking, you will have extra money to spend on other things than cigarettes.
- And lastly, if you're pregnant, chances of having a healthier baby is more likely if you quit smoking.
Stop smoking now!
