What does Smoking Do for You?
If there's all these smokers out there, they must be getting something out of cigarettes other than just diseases, right?
So why do people smoke?
- Stimulation - Smoking wakes you up, helps you organize your energies and keep you going.
- Handling - Handling a cigarette keeps your hands busy - and that can be very satisfying, but there are many ways to keep your hands busy without lighting up.
- Pleasure - Those who do get real pleasure out of smoking often find that an honest evaluation of the harmful effects that smoking produces is enough to help them quit.
- Reduce Stress - Smokers use cigarettes as a crutch to reduce stress during anxious moments.
- Addiction - Smoking causes both physical and psychological addiction. Quitting for the addicted smoker is difficult. For him or her the craving for the next butt begins to build the moment he or she puts one out.
- Habit - The habitual smoker is no longer getting much satisfaction from cigarettes, lighting them frequently without even realizing what they're doing.
Smoking causes Disease and Death - but you already knew that, right? Well, here's some more information about...
Diseases tobacco causes and how
First of all - you need to know that smoking probably won't cause you to get sick right away. Most of the diseases that are caused by smoking tend to show up late in life - 20 years or more after you start smoking. That doesn't mean you shouldn't worry about them, though - you may not care now... but you will later! This is your life we're talking about here!
So what does it do to you now?
Even as a teen, smoking causes increased phlegm production, increased heart rate, more respiratory problems and reduced lung capacity, not to mention bad breath and yellow teeth. Nicotine addiction begins early as well, with teens experiencing withdrawal symptoms identical to adults.
What will it do to you later?
Cancer. There are nearly 5,000 new cases of lung cancer each year in North Carolina; about 87% of those are because of smoking. Smokers are also more likely to get many other cancers, such as cancers of the mouth, throat, pancreas, cervix, kidneys, bladder, colon, bone marrow and more. (American Cancer Society, 1996)
Heart Disease. Most people don't realize that more smokers die of heart disease than of lung cancer. Cigarette smoking is a major cause of heart disease among both men and women. Smokers have twice the risk of heart attack of nonsmokers. Nearly one-fifth of all deaths from heart disease are caused by smoking. (Surgeon General's Report, 1980)
Lung Disease. Nearly all victims of emphysema are current or former cigarette smokers. Smokers also increase their risk of dying of bronchitis and emphysema by more than 10 times. (Centers for Disease Control, 1993)
Fertility Problems. Smoking has been linked to fertility problems in both men and women. This means that smoking now may cause you to be unable to have children later on in life! (Surgeon General's Report, 1980).