Health
This is the most common incentive that smokers have for quitting. Over half a million people per year in the United States die from smoke-related illnesses. These illnesses kill more Americans per year than AIDS, drug abuse, car accidents and murder combined.
Smoking-related illnesses and disorders include, but are not limited to:
- Cancer of the lungs, mouth, esophagus, throat, larynx or voice box, kidneys, pancreas, cervix, stomach and blood (Leukemia)
- Cardiovascular Diseases: Hardening of the arteries, Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), Stroke, Heart Attack, Chest Pains, tingling or numbness in hands or feet
- Respiratory Diseases: Emphysema, Asthma, Bronchitis, Pneumonia, Persistent Cough
- Smokers tend to contract more infections, colds and flu than non-smokers, due to reduced immune system functioning.
- Osteoporosis
- Gum Disease (Periodontal Disease)
- Dental Discoloration
- Stomach Ulcers
- Cataracts
- Increases risks of complications associated with diabetes
- Increases risk of allergies for the smoker as well as for those subjected to second-hand smoke
- Smoking reduces sexual functioning in men
- Smoking increases health risks to women who use oral contraceptives
- Smokers tend to have a reduced sense of smell, as well as a dulled sense of taste.
- Quitting smoking increases life expectancy as well as improves the quality of life.
Pregnancy
Smoking before, after, and especially during pregnancy can have extreme detrimental effects on the baby.
Smoking and Pregnancy Complications:
- Reduces fertility in both men and women
- Increases risk of complications during pregnancy
- Increases risk of premature labor and stillbirth
- Damages the unborn child’s lungs
- Increases the risk of low birth weight for the baby, which can lead to developmental delays, illness and death
- Increases incidence of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or Crib Death)
- Children and Others in the Home
- Children who live in a home with a smoker have a higher risk of developing allergies, as well as respiratory illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis. Other adults in the home are also at increased risk, however the ramifications are worse for children, as they are still physically developing.
- Children who grow up in homes with smokers are more likely to take up smoking themselves. The vast majority of adults who smoke began smoking before the age of 18. The younger a child is when he or she begins smoking, the greater the likelihood is that they will become heavy smokers as adults. Children who have not smoked by the age of 18 are less likely to become smokers.
Financial Cost
You may have already figured out how much money you literally burn on cigarettes, or perhaps you have purposely not done the math so as not to face the ugly bottom line. Think about it now. How much do you spend on a pack of cigarettes? $5.00? $7.00? $10.00? How many packs do you smoke per week? 5? 10? 20? Multiply that by 52 weeks per year. Is there anything else that you can think of to do with that money, if you did not spend it on cigarettes?
Other Smoking Expenses:
- Smokers tend to spend more money on dry cleaning.
- Accidental cigarette burns in clothing necessitates more frequent replacement.
- Smokers spend more on dental procedures such as teeth-whitening.
- Homes in which a smoker lives have a lower re-sale value than those of non-smokers.
- Damage to vehicle interiors and ensuing reduced re-sale value.
- Smokers must pay higher health and life insurance premiums than non-smokers.
- Smokers tend to spend more on health care.
- People who smoke are less productive as employees due to frequent smoke breaks and more frequent absenteeism. This may reduce the smoker’s career advancement and job placement opportunities.
- Over 50% of fires are caused by smokers. How big is your scorched-earth footprint?
Physical Attractiveness
- Smokers tend to develop premature facial lines and wrinkles.
- Smoking may cause skin discoloration.
- Smokers have increased incidence of yellowing of the teeth.
- Smoke odors linger on the smoker’s clothing and breath.
- Non-smokers are viewed as more desirable romantic partners than smokers (even by those who smoke).
Social Stigma
A couple of generations ago smokers were viewed as glamorous and sophisticated. Smoking was an acceptable activity and permitted in public place, like restaurants, hospitals and office buildings. That is definitely not the case today. Due to increased bans on smoking, smokers need to find out-of-the-way designated smoking areas. Rather than portraying a positive image, smokers tend to be viewed as individuals lacking in self-control. Smoking is viewed as a dirty habit, or recognized as an addiction.
