Smoking: It's Never Too Late to Stop

When I was a child, I was hospitalized and could hear the agony of the man in the next room as he died from lung disease. He was in such agony, still he longed for a cigarette. He would moan day and night. I could hear every moan. He even got out of his bed, somehow, and snuck down to the hospital lobby and purchased cigarettes.

Yes, they used to have cigarette machines in hospital lobbies. I would be very surprised to see that is in this day and age.

After this man, who was dying in agony, was discovered to have purchased cigarettes, the hospital staff restrained him so that he couldn't sneak down to the lobby and purchase cigarettes again.

I was released from the hospital, but returned three weeks later for surgery. This time I was given the same bed this poor man had been in. I asked the nurse if the man had died, and she hesitantly admitted that he had.

Needless to say, this made a profound impression upon me, as a young child. I can be very happy to say, that as a result of this I have never smoked. Have I had other heath problems? Sure. But they weren't as a result of smoking. However, I did have have health problems as a result of second hand smoke, as a result of working in offices and spending time with smokers.

Smoking has been the subject of many studies that have revealed it's harmful effects for as long as I can remember.

The harm that smoking tobacco causes has been detailed exhaustively. For some reason, however, cigarette smoking has barely declined since 1990. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that 23% of Americans continue to smoke. All kinds of research demonstrates that if you want a long, healthy life, you should make sure you are not among them.

American Cancer Society statistics estimate that there are approximately 440,000 premature deaths every year, between 1995 and 1999, were the result of smoking. Smoking is responsible for almost a third of all cancer deaths. Research shows evidence that smoking increases the risk for more than ten cancers including lung, bladder and colon cancer.

Smoking is also associated with heart disease, osteoporosis, emphysema, stroke and even the common cold.