Almost everyone of us knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart disease. Excessive tobacco use can actually shorten a person’s life by 10 years or more. Based on records, this pernicious habit can cost a smoker thousands of dollars every year. So how come a lot of people find it difficult to quit smoking? The answer, in a word, is addiction. Once a person starts smoking, it’s going to be a very hard habit to break. Nicotine addiction is one of the most difficult addictions to beat.
Smoking kills half a million Americans each year. It surpasses combined deaths from AIDS, car wrecks, homicides, suicides, drug overdoses, and fires. Even a non-smoker is placed at high risk when he or she is exposed to second-hand smoke. Each year, about four million children fall ill from second-hand smoke.
Studies link smoking to miscarriage, stillbirth, birth defects, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Pregnant smokers increase their child’s risk for attention deficit disorder (ADD), conduct disorders, depression, substance abuse, and lower intellectual achievement.
Research shows that every time a smoker tries to quit smoking, it boosts the...