The facts about smoking health risks are staggering. The increasing rates of smoking resulted to subsequent increases in smoking-related diseases. Because of the health risks of smoking, different countries tried lowering smoking rates by establishing anti-smoking campaigns. Increased awareness of the health risks of smoking may encourage smokers to quit. Are you aware of these risks?A smoker’s increased risk of acquiring a disease is directly proportional to the length of time that he continues to smoke as well as the amount smoked. The association between smoking and lung cancer is the strongest. People who have smoked tobacco at some point in their lives have a one in ten chance of developing lung cancer. In men who continue to smoke tobacco, the risk increases to one in six. In the United States, 87% of lung cancer cases are related to smoking.

Long term exposure to substances found in smoke, like carbon monoxide and cyanide, increases the risk of acquiring emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Secondhand smoke increases the heart disease risk of nonsmokers by 25 to 30% and their lung cancer risk by 20 to 30%. It has been estimated to cause 38,000 deaths annually, with 3,400 deaths caused by lung cancer in nonsmokers.

According to a study, smokers below 40 years of age are 5 times more likely to have a heart attack. Smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day increases the risk of tuberculosis by 2 to 4 times.

These are just some of the health risks of smoking. And the most important is the fact that for every cigarette, a smoker loses 11 minutes of his life! That is a reduction in life expectancy by 2.5 to 10 years!

Will you trade your health and your life for a puff of cigarette? Quit smoking now and help your body recover from its hazardous effects!

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