The Hazards of Smoking Smoking is the largest health problem in America today, and quitting is the single best thing you can do to prevent the onset of deadly diseases, improve your health, and better the quality of your life. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes an estimated 440,000 deaths, or about 1 of every 5 deaths each year. This estimate includes 35,000 deaths from secondhand smoke exposure. Based on current cigarette smoking patterns, an estimated 25 million Americans who are alive today will die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses, including 5 million people younger than 18. Employees who smoke are at increased risk of heart disease, cancer, and other smoking related illnesses that contribute to these premature and preventable deaths. Nationwide, medical care costs attributable to smoking (or smoking related disease) have been estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be more than $50 billion annually. In addition, the CDC estimates the value of lost earnings and loss of productivity to be at least another $47 billion a year. There's no longer any doubt that cigarette smoking is very destructive to your health and your social appeal. But did you realize just how destructive smoking is? Consider the following facts: • Between 1950 to 1990, 2.5 million people in America died from lung cancer, which is a very painful death. Since 87% of lung cancer is caused by cigarette smoking, that means 2,175,000 people died prematurely. • Nicotine - which is a poison commonly used in pesticides - has been found to be as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Yet the tobacco industry has been able to prevent the government from passing laws that require cigarette labels to state such a fact and reveal the nicotine content. • The tobacco industry has spent several billion dollars in manipulating the chemical makeup of cigarettes to make them as addictive as possible. You're not just smoking some weed wrapped in paper, you're smoking a sophisticated and proprietary recipe of addictive chemicals. • There are more than 4,700 chemicals contained in cigarettes - more than 200 of which are toxic and poisonous - that accumulate in your body when you smoke. So far the tobacco companies have been able to avoid revealing their secret blend of chemicals, even though consumers ingest these. Compare this to any other products you ingest - like groceries - that are required to list their ingredients. What are they trying to hide? • Cigarette smoke contains many poisonous fumes like carbon monoxide, cyanide, and formaldehyde that aren't even allowed to emanate from landfills. • Smoking kills 435,000 people in America every year. That's more than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs combined. • Smoking is the leading cause of emphysema (92%; another painful way to go) and many types of cancer, accounting for over 30% of all cancer deaths. It more than doubles your chances of developing heart disease and having a stroke. • It is estimated that if there were no smokers in the U.S., health care costs would be cut in half. Smoking: • Impairs your immune system • Increases the frequency and severity of illnesses • Raises your blood pressure • Promotes arthrosclerosis (hardening/deteriorating of the arteries) • Robs you of vitality • Leaches vitamins and minerals from your body • Shortens your breath • Dampens your mental clarity and capabilities • Wrinkles your skin • Ages you prematurely • Will very likely kill you before your time. Please, don’t wait any longer.

The Hazards of Smoking Smoking is the largest health problem in America today, and quitting is the single best thing you can do to prevent the onset of deadly diseases, improve your health, and better the quality of your life. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes an estimated 440,000 deaths, or about 1 of every 5 deaths each year. This estimate includes 35,000 deaths from secondhand smoke exposure. Based on current cigarette smoking patterns, an estimated 25 million Americans who are alive today will die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses, including 5 million people younger than 18. Employees who smoke are at increased risk of heart disease, cancer, and other smoking related illnesses that contribute to these premature and preventable deaths. Nationwide, medical care costs attributable to smoking (or smoking related disease) have been estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be more than $50 billion annually. In addition, the CDC estimates the value of lost earnings and loss of productivity to be at least another $47 billion a year. There's no longer any doubt that cigarette smoking is very destructive to your health and your social appeal. But did you realize just how destructive smoking is? Consider the following facts: • Between 1950 to 1990, 2.5 million people in America died from lung cancer, which is a very painful death. Since 87% of lung cancer is caused by cigarette smoking, that means 2,175,000 people died prematurely. • Nicotine - which is a poison commonly used in pesticides - has been found to be as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Yet the tobacco industry has been able to prevent the government from passing laws that require cigarette labels to state such a fact and reveal the nicotine content. • The tobacco industry has spent several billion dollars in manipulating the chemical makeup of cigarettes to make them as addictive as possible. You're not just smoking some weed wrapped in paper, you're smoking a sophisticated and proprietary recipe of addictive chemicals. • There are more than 4,700 chemicals contained in cigarettes - more than 200 of which are toxic and poisonous - that accumulate in your body when you smoke. So far the tobacco companies have been able to avoid revealing their secret blend of chemicals, even though consumers ingest these. Compare this to any other products you ingest - like groceries - that are required to list their ingredients. What are they trying to hide? • Cigarette smoke contains many poisonous fumes like carbon monoxide, cyanide, and formaldehyde that aren't even allowed to emanate from landfills. • Smoking kills 435,000 people in America every year. That's more than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs combined. • Smoking is the leading cause of emphysema (92%; another painful way to go) and many types of cancer, accounting for over 30% of all cancer deaths. It more than doubles your chances of developing heart disease and having a stroke. • It is estimated that if there were no smokers in the U.S., health care costs would be cut in half. Smoking: • Impairs your immune system • Increases the frequency and severity of illnesses • Raises your blood pressure • Promotes arthrosclerosis (hardening/deteriorating of the arteries) • Robs you of vitality • Leaches vitamins and minerals from your body • Shortens your breath • Dampens your mental clarity and capabilities • Wrinkles your skin • Ages you prematurely • Will very likely kill you before your time. Please, don’t wait any longer.