Smoking Will Kill You Softly

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Do you smoke? Have you ever stopped to think about how smoking is affecting your body and your life? Smoking has been shown to be dangerous to health. It is dangerous not only to those who smoke, but to non-smokers and unborn children who are exposed to secondhand smoke. That exposure can be significant, especially to those who live or work with a smoker. In reality, most of the smoke from a burning cigarette does not get sucked down into a smoker’s lungs – it escapes into the air, where it can be inhaled by anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby. Research has shown that non-smokers can suffer health problems if they spend long periods of time among people who do smoke (Vogin).

If you smoke, you owe it to yourself to find out about the effects of smoking on your life. Smoking and health go hand-in-hand, since smoking impacts nearly all aspects of your health.

Why is cigarette smoking bad for you? A cigarette contains about 4000 chemicals, many of which are poisonous (“Center of Young Women’s Health”). Every time you inhale smoke from a cigarette, small amounts of these chemicals get into your blood through your lungs. They travel to all parts of your body and cause harm. Learning about smoking and health are important things to think about to help you decide if you should continue smoking.

The effects of cigarette smoking on the cardiovascular are multifold. It lowers HDL (“good” cholesterol). It deteriorates the elastic properties of the aorta, the largest blood vessel in

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the body, which increases the risk for developing blood clots. It increases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, putting additional stress on the system that regulates the heart and blood vessels (“Discovery Fit and Health”). In Uni...

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... be avoided or

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given up at the earliest. The longer you smoke the more damage you do to your body and your health. The decision to start or continue smoking is all up to you and no one can make you stop, but you should think really hard about whether it is the best thing for your body and your life.

References:

Vogin, Gary D. MD. “Smoking Cessation Health Center, Effects of Secondhand Smoke.”

WebMD.com. WebMD 17 July 2009. Web 4 April 2011.

“Information About Smoking.” Youngwomenshealth.org: Center for Young Women’s Health.

Children’s Hospital Boston, 3 December 2006. Web. 15 April 2011.

“Smoking’s Impact on Health Is Not Limited to Lung Cancer.” HowStuffWorks.com. Discovery

Fit & Health, 1 August 2005. Web. 15 April 2011.

Jones, Sam. “Health Benefits of Smoking.” Organicfacts.net. Organic Facts Network, 7 Oct. 2009. Web. 17 April 2011.

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