Effects_of_Smoking

The Effects of Smoking In the early 1900’s smoking was seen as healthful and fashionable. How foolish that notion seems to us today. When it comes to smoking all effects should be considered before you even light up that first time. Some of the effects about smoking that I know about personally are the addiction, heart disease and the damage it does to your lungs. First and foremost smoking is very addicting and one of the hardest addictions to quit. I know firsthand as I was a smoker for fifteen years. I recently quit in June of this year. Nicotine is so powerful that even though the majority of smokers say they want to quit, less than ten percent of smokers succeed without help. It is great if you have people around you that encourage you and motivate you to not smoke. The biggest part about quitting is for you to have the will power to tell the nicotine “NO!!” The second effect that I feel is important to know about smoking is that heart disease is the leading cause of death among smokers. The research shows that heart disease is blamed for smoking one out of five deaths. In younger people it is three out of four. Not only is there heart disease but there are also strokes and heart attacks that have been associated with smoking. My mother was a smoker for about thirty years and started having trouble with her heart around the age of forty five. She passed away at fifty from a heart attack that was believed to have been caused by her smoking. The third effect of smoking I feel is important has to do with the damage that can be done to your lungs. The carbon monoxide from cigarettes can cause your airways to swell up and let less air into your lungs. Emphysema is an illness that slowly rots your lungs. People with emphysema often get bronchitis again and again, and suffer lung and heart failure. My grandmother has emphysema and it is believed that she got it through being in contact with second hand smoke for many years. Lung cancer from smoking is caused by the tar in tobacco smoke. Men who smoke are ten times more likely to die from lung cancer than non-smokers. My uncle recently found out that he has the first stage of lung cancer. He has been a smoker for about twenty-five years. In conclusion, I know smoking is one of the hardest addictions to quit, not only can it lead to heart disease but it can also lead to many diseases that can damage your lungs. Smoking doesn’t always lead to death, but it can lead to other problems that make living more difficult. Having had people in my family that have everlasting effects from smoking, has made it very easy for me to stop smoking. As a smoker for fifteen years, I know that it is an everyday struggle, but they say for everyday being a non smoker your body begins to heal itself. I am very thankful and feel very blessed to have given it up now before it was too late. [541]