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Smoking - The Facts!
Deadly mix
Tobacco smoke contains over 4000 chemicals. Hundreds are
poisonous and many cause cancer. The worse ones include Nicotine
- a drug that affects the brain and the heart. Nicotine
is a highly toxic nerve chemical. It constricts the arteries and
at the same time speeds everything up— it is not relaxing to the
body. Then there's tar. Burning tobacco creates tar -
similar to what's on roads. Sticky tar coats and damages the
lungs making it hard to breathe. Tar causes throat and lung
cancer. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that starves
the body of oxygen. It makes blood thick and sticky and more
likely to clot.
Also included in this deadly mix is ammonia, cyanide,
arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde and DDT.
Your looks
Smoking destroys your appearance. Smokers have dull
complexions, age early and by the age of 40 have
wrinkles of someone 20 years older, who doesn't smoke.
That's because smokers have to manage on less oxygen. The body
needs oxygen to keep the skin healthy and to make new cells to
replace the old ones. Also smokers suffer with yellow teeth and
fingers, bleeding gums and bad breath.
Money
The
average smoker spends £2000 a year on cigarettes, that’s a good
holiday or two! That’s £100,000 during the smokers life time
(the average smoker dies aged 65).
Health
Smoking causes 114,000 deaths every year. Half of all
smokers will die from it. Also you may have to have a limb
amputated or suffer with severe breathing problems,
like emphysema.
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