I first started reading on the effects of smoking when I found my father has become completely addicted to smoking.In the morning after a cup of tea, after each meal, in his thoughts, in expressing his views, in stress, in laughter and in sadness it seems cigarettes is my father's best friend. But cigarettes are not best friend they are the greatest enemies. And it is true for the whole civilization around the globe.

According to the facts:
• Smoking is set to kill 6.5 million people in 2015 and 8.3 million humans in 2030
• Around 5.4 million deaths a year are caused by tobacco.
• Every 6.5 seconds a current or former smoker dies, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
• 1.2 million people in China die because of smoking each year. That's 2,000 people a day.
• Between 33 percent and 50 percent of all smokers will die an average of 15 years sooner than nonsmokers, the Tobacco Atlas from the World Lung Foundation and the American Cancer Society believes.

However these facts become more legible when we go deep into some alarming facts of how cigarettes are made. Around 4000 chemicals (including 43 known cancer-causing (carcinogenic) compounds and 400 other toxins are used. Some are mentioned below:
• Ammonia: Toilet cleaner
• Angelica root extract: cause cancer in animals
• Arsenic: mainly used in rat poisons
• Benzene: Used in making dyes, synthetic rubber
• Carbon monoxide: Poisonous gas
• Cadmium: Used in batteries
• Cyanide: Deadly poison
• DDT: Insecticide
• Ethyl Furoate: Causes liver damage in animals
• Formaldehiyde: Used to preserve dead specimens
• Methoprene: Insecticide
• Acetone - nail polish remover
• Napthalene: Ingredient in mothballs
• Methyl isocyanate: Its accidental release killed 2000 people in Bhopal, India in 1984
• Polonium: Cancer-causing radioactive element

Just think do we ever think of buying a house before a chemical plant. I believe the answer is no. Only because we don't want to inhale, or consume any way the chemicals produces, cause we in our heart know that with every breath , with every drink, with every food in that atmosphere we may harm our body. It may happen that the chemical plant emitted a number of toxic wastes that had seeped into the drinking water. So that every time you took a drink of water, it did a small amount of damage to your body. In the same way, every cigarette you smoke damages your body. The more you smoke, the greater the damage.A lot of what is inhaled turns to tar. This tar isn't unlike what you might use to pave the roads. It is examined that only 30 percent of cigarette tar is sent back in exhalation and the rest remains attached to the throat and lungs. It may be noted that tar kills healthy lung cells. A smoker ingests a full cup of tar into his or her lungs every year, if he inhales only a single packet of cigarettes per day. Also your body undergoes a massive infusion of toxins. Nicotine, coupled with tar molecules are drawn into the lungs, and from there ride through the bloodstream into the brain, as fast as 8 seconds.

The chemicals in tobacco damage the blood vessels and affect the fat levels, thus increasing risk of atheroma, the main cause of heart disease and stroke. It worsens asthma by increasing inflammation of airways. Smoking can also cause early ageing by decreasing Vitamin A and making skin paler and more wrinkled. Chest Infections diabetic retinopathy, tuberculosis multiple sclerosis are common effects of smoking. Also to mention the different types of Cancer, in various parts of body, due to carcinogen present in tobacco. The list is long and it is growing day by day. Below is a list of diseases, illnesses and other effects that are caused from smoking:

• Heart attack
• Pneumonia
• Coronary heart disease
• Asthma
• Cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes
• Congestive heart failure
• Stomach ulcers
• Stroke
• Cataracts
• Atherosclerosis
• Gum disease
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm
• High blood pressure
• Peripheral artery disease
• Crohn's disease
• Angina
• Premature aging of the skin
• Leukaemia
• Loss of smell and taste
• Emphysema
• Osteoporosis (women)
• Chronic bronchitis
• Reduced fertility

Chantix, a drug by the company Pfizer has been introduced to help adults quit smoking which is also approved by FDA (Food and Drug Administration). for its benefit to public health. Zyban is another drug approved by FDA for the same purpose.Zyban works by increasing levels of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a chemical that produces pleasure

Smoking badly affects the health of a smoker and of those who come in contact with cigarette smoke. It's never too late to stop smoking which could protect you and your family from many fatal diseases. After all, Health is the Wealth..

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