Everybody knows by now: smoking is harmful. It is harmful not just to smokers but to nonsmokers as well!What harm can smoking do to nonsmokers?
Secondhand smoking or passive smoking is also harmful. Exposure to smoke increases the heart disease risk of nonsmokers by 25 to 30% and their lung cancer risk by 20 to 30%. Every year, 3,400 nonsmokers die because of lung cancer.

If you are pregnant, smoking can cause miscarriages. And smoking while pregnant is also harmful to the fetus. Low-birth weight, small for gestational age, and sudden infant death syndrome are common problems in infants born by smoking mothers. In the United States, 430 infant deaths are caused by smoking-related sudden infant death syndrome.

What harm can smoking do to smokers?
Smoking is harmful because it causes a multitude of diseases and cancers. 87% of lung cancer cases in the United States are related to smoking. Other smoking-related cancers can be found in the oral cavity, esophagus, larynx, and pancreas.

Emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are caused by long term exposure to carbon monoxide and cyanide, two of the common substances in smoke.

The risk of acquiring tuberculosis is 2 to 4 times greater among smokers.

A smoker is 5 times more likely to have a heart attack.

And the most harmful effect of smoking is death! Smoking has caused an estimated of 58.8 million deaths worldwide! And a smoker’s life expectancy is reduced by 2.5 to 10 years.

Remember, these findings are supported by years of study. Even the government acknowledges these because it has instituted the printing of government warning labels on cigarette packages. Even television and radio commercials have these warnings! It’s about time that you acknowledge these harmful effects as well. Quit now and be a hero by saving your life and the people around you!

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