Baptist Hospital East : Health Information - More Reasons to Quit Smoking

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Second-hand smoke
There was a time when smokers thought they were only hurting themselves. Now research has shown that breathing second-hand smoke can cause illness in the people around us.

Inhaling someone else's cigarette smoke (passive smoking) can be harmful. Some of the irritating and poisonous gases drift off the end of a cigarette in even higher concentrations than what the smoker inhales. The 1986 U.S. Surgeon Generals report concluded that the risk of lung cancer is 30 percent higher for non-smoking wives of smokers than it is for non-smoking wives of non-smokers.

Don't model cigarette smoking to your children! Studies show that the highest number of teen-agers who smoke are those from families in which one or both parents smoke.

Smoking isn't socially acceptable today
It's getting harder and harder to find a place where it's OK to smoke. Smoking has been banned on airplanes, in movie theaters, in many public buildings and in many businesses. Even if you do find a place you can smoke, non-smokers are becoming very outspoken about their rights.

Sexual attractiveness
Despite the fact that tobacco companies strive to make smoking look sexy in their ads, smoking is actually detrimental to a person's sexual attractiveness, because it:

Causes early wrinkling of the skin
Stains teeth and fingers
Affects the color of your complexion
Makes your clothing and breath smell
Makes you cough and clear your throat frequently

The cost of smoking
Cigarette smoking is an expensive habit. If you saved just $1 a day by quitting and put it in a bank where you received 8 percent interest, over time you would have saved:

Elapsed Time	Financial Savings
After 5 years	$2,245
After 10 years	$8,595
After 20 years	$18,045
After 30 years	$45,751

Damage to furniture and clothing
Inevitably, smokers end up with little burns on their clothing, furniture, carpeting and car upholstery.

Increased insurance costs
Smokers are now being asked to pay more for life insurance policies. Some medical insurance policies are also requiring smokers to pay more, since they have more claims than non-smokers.