What Smoking Facts Should I Consider Before Getting Into The Habit?

My friends are all smokers and I often feel like I am the odd one out. I’m seriously thinking of joining the bandwagon because I’ve heard that secondhand smoke can be more harmful to me than when I’m puffing on a cigarette myself. Is that one of the true smoking facts? Are there other smoking facts that I should know about? 

We all know this but experts won’t tire of reminding us of these smoking facts. Smoking is an addiction. In the United States alone, there are more than 400,000 deaths each year brought about by smoke-related illnesses. Smoking increases the risk of not just lung cancer, but many other cancers, as well as a score of other lung and heart problems, most commonly emphysema, pulmonary tuberculosis, arteriosclerosis, and high blood pressure.

It is one of the most common smoking facts that when you smoke you are not only hurting yourself but you are also hurting others. You are harming family members, coworkers, friends, and others who breathe your cigarette smoke secondhand. Smokers would argue that everyone is at risk of lung problems with the current state of air pollution. This is one of the most erroneous smoking facts. A smoker will have an increased risk in incurring lung problems from air pollution. A non-smoker, however, won’t succumb as easily, having lung-cleaning cilia that are alive and fully functional.

Parents should think twice about lighting up in consideration of the following smoking facts. Infants are particularly vulnerable. There are more than 300,000 cases of bronchitis and pneumonia in infants each year associated with secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke also increases the chances of a child incurring ear problems, coughing and wheezing, and asthma. A teenager is more than twice as likely to smoke if one or both parents smoke. Babies born to a mother who smoked during pregnancy will weigh an average of 6 ounces less and will have a pulse rate that’s 30% faster. Premature birth is very likely, and withdrawal symptoms can be observed with the baby after birth.

There are also economic, psychological, and logistical smoking facts to consider. A smoker obviously needs to spend money to buy cigarettes, lighters, ashtrays, and other smoking paraphernalia. The cigarettes alone average nearly $750 a year, plus tax. Imagine what you could do with $750. A smoker’s life expectancy is reduced by 12 to 14 minutes with every cigarette. That’s a decrease of about 8.3 years. By dying early, a smoker loses thousands of dollars in social security and other benefits. Insurance rates are often higher for smokers.

A smoker requires more sleep but does not sleep as well as non-smokers. This extra sleep eats into the smoker’s spare time. Valuable time is also wasted on buying and looking for smoking paraphernalia. Smoking often makes a person irritable and belligerent. Smoking has also been related to brain damage and senility.

If you have come this far without getting into the habit, then there really is no reason to start. There is much loss and very little to be gained by smoking. That, in itself, really sums up all the smoking facts there is.