The old days of smoking looking cool are slowly fading away. The tobacco industry has been the target of many lawsuits, and studies have shown that the nicotine in cigarettes is highly addictive, which makes it extremely difficult to quit. Many people need extreme motivation in order to try to stop smoking. Here are 10 reasons not to smoke.
1. Live Longer. Smoking is one of the top killers in America and leads to more deaths than alcohol. Smokers die on average around 12 years earlier than those who do not smoke. At least 400,000 people die each year from smoking. Some health problems for smokers are cancer, heart disease, and gangrene. You will live a much longer life if you do not smoke.
2. Save Money. Cigarettes cost about $4.30 a pack. If you smoke a pack a day, this means you will spend about $1559.50 a year on smoking. You can buy an awesome Plasma TV for this amount. Smoking is a very expensive habit.
3. Breathe Easier. Smoking leads to emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and asthma. Many people who have smoked for years and years have to be put on oxygen tanks. Others have to use an inhaler. Smoke leaves black tar on the lungs, which inhibits breathing.
4. Look Better. You can sometimes tell a person smokes by looking at his skin. Smokers often have pale skin, and usually age much faster than the rest of the population. They also tend to have stained teeth. People who smoke often just don?t look very healthy.
5. Smell Better. There is nothing worse than being in a confined place with a smoker. The rancid smell of smoke sticks to their skin, clothing, and hair. No matter how clean someone is, all that it takes is one cigarette to make a person smell gross.
6. Improve Your Sex Life. Most smokers do not have as much of a libido as their non-smoking peers. In addition to decreasing a person?s sex drive, smoking will decrease fertility. Studies show that smokers usually have DNA mutations in their sperm. Many women who smoke also have higher increases in miscarriages, and are less likely to get pregnant.
7. Be More Productive. Nicotine often makes people agitated and lose their concentration. Also, people lose a lot of time in the office from going outside for constant smoke breaks. When people give up smoking their memory improves, and they accomplish more.
8. Help the Country Be Healthier. Over 40,000 people each year die from exposure to secondhand smoke. Many states like California and New Mexico have implemented non-smoking laws where smokers cannot smoke in most businesses such as restaurants and hotels. The purpose of these laws is to protect people from second hand smoke.
9. Improve Fetal Health. Women who smoke during pregnancy have more complications, and this also leads to more costs in medical care. These babies are often born pre-maturely, and when they are born to term, they tend to have more medical problems such as allergies, ear infections, asthma, and colds. Women who smoke when pregnant are more likely to have stillborn babies, or have infants who die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
10. Improve your Brain Function. Smoke not only harms your lungs and heart, it also harms your brain. Recently, Scientists and Medical Doctors have discovered that lifelong smokers are more prone to Dementia in later years.
