FLORIDIAN'S WANT TO QUIT
Melinda |
| My Quit date is June 1.One day to go. I have been smoking for 30 years. I am 45 years old. |
EVENT PHOTOS
Statistics
Just a sampling from our friends at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention...
Each day, nearly 6,000 children under the age of 18 start smoking. One third of these will become regular smokers. That’s 800,000 kids a year who become addicted.
The average male smoker dies 13.2 years earlier than their nonsmoking counterparts. Females die 14.5 years earlier than female nonsmokers.
Tobacco use is responsible for nearly 1 of every 5 deaths in the United States. Between 1997 and 2001, some 440,000 dads, moms, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters died as a result of their use of tobacco products.
Secondhand smoke is particularly harmful to little kids. Respiratory tract infections caused by smoke wafting around small children is responsible for 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children under 18 months of age. Sadly, nearly 500 babies die each year from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome due to the respiratory problems associated with secondhand smoke.
Children aren’t the only victims of secondhand smoke. Every year, 3,000 nonsmoking adults die of lung cancer because they were exposed to smoke from cigarettes. Another 35,000 adults die from heart disease that’s attributable to exposure to secondhand smoke.
While cigarette consumption is at its lowest point since World War II, approximately 24% of men and 18% of women still smoke, even in the face of the overwhelming evidence of the health risks associated with smoking, chewing or dipping.
In 1997, 48% of male high school students said they had used tobacco in a given month. That percentage has declined to 32% in 2005. The number of women using tobacco products dropped from 36% to 25% during that same period.
Cigar smoking increased an astounding 138% from 1993 to 2005. Since cigars have many of the same carcinogens as cigarettes, smokers run the risk of many of the same cancers, including cancers of the lung, mouth, larynx, esophagus and the pancreas.
Smoking costs Americans an additional $167 billion in health-related costs annually. This includes medical expenditures for adults and newborns as well as lost productivity by workers.
Every year, lung cancer claims more than 160,000 Americans, yet it is the most preventable form of cancer. 87% of all lung cancer deaths are due to smoking. In 2007, it is estimated that there will be more than 213,000 new cases of lung cancer.
Many young people are using hookahs instead of smoking. These are not a safe alternative since the smoke that is inhaled still contains concentrations of toxins such as carbon monoxide, nicotine, tar, and heavy metals. Since the pipe is shared with others, infectious diseases – including tuberculosis and heliobacter (which can cause stomach ulcers) – can easily be transmitted from one person to another.
Clove cigarettes aren’t any better for you either. Also known as kreteks, they contain 60% to 70% tobacco, the balance being ground cloves. They deliver more nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar than regular cigarettes. In fact, kretek smokers have up to 20 times the risk of abnormal lung functions compared to nonsmokers.
The average male smoker dies 13.2 years earlier than their nonsmoking counterparts. Females die 14.5 years earlier than female nonsmokers.
Tobacco use is responsible for nearly 1 of every 5 deaths in the United States. Between 1997 and 2001, some 440,000 dads, moms, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters died as a result of their use of tobacco products.
Secondhand smoke is particularly harmful to little kids. Respiratory tract infections caused by smoke wafting around small children is responsible for 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children under 18 months of age. Sadly, nearly 500 babies die each year from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome due to the respiratory problems associated with secondhand smoke.
Children aren’t the only victims of secondhand smoke. Every year, 3,000 nonsmoking adults die of lung cancer because they were exposed to smoke from cigarettes. Another 35,000 adults die from heart disease that’s attributable to exposure to secondhand smoke.
While cigarette consumption is at its lowest point since World War II, approximately 24% of men and 18% of women still smoke, even in the face of the overwhelming evidence of the health risks associated with smoking, chewing or dipping.
In 1997, 48% of male high school students said they had used tobacco in a given month. That percentage has declined to 32% in 2005. The number of women using tobacco products dropped from 36% to 25% during that same period.
Cigar smoking increased an astounding 138% from 1993 to 2005. Since cigars have many of the same carcinogens as cigarettes, smokers run the risk of many of the same cancers, including cancers of the lung, mouth, larynx, esophagus and the pancreas.
Smoking costs Americans an additional $167 billion in health-related costs annually. This includes medical expenditures for adults and newborns as well as lost productivity by workers.
Every year, lung cancer claims more than 160,000 Americans, yet it is the most preventable form of cancer. 87% of all lung cancer deaths are due to smoking. In 2007, it is estimated that there will be more than 213,000 new cases of lung cancer.
Many young people are using hookahs instead of smoking. These are not a safe alternative since the smoke that is inhaled still contains concentrations of toxins such as carbon monoxide, nicotine, tar, and heavy metals. Since the pipe is shared with others, infectious diseases – including tuberculosis and heliobacter (which can cause stomach ulcers) – can easily be transmitted from one person to another.
Clove cigarettes aren’t any better for you either. Also known as kreteks, they contain 60% to 70% tobacco, the balance being ground cloves. They deliver more nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar than regular cigarettes. In fact, kretek smokers have up to 20 times the risk of abnormal lung functions compared to nonsmokers.