Forty Reasons to Quit Smoking

Everybody seems to know the phrase, "smoking is bad for you." They seem to know that it can make your lungs black and terribly diseased. They know snoking can shorten lives. However, not many people know other reasons why it is good to quit smoking.

Here is a list of reasons that are taken from Tidy's Physiotherapy, Butterworth and Heinemann 13th edition (2003) London by S Porter

1. Smoking kills half of all smokers worldwide
2. Smokers are at increased risk of back pain
3. Smoking accelerates aging
4. One person every five minutes dies because of smoking in the UK
5. Smokers suffer from skin problems. Most smokers have paler, dryer skin, with more wrinkles due to a reduced blood supply that allows the skin to lose its elasticity
6. Smoking depletes the body of vitamin C by 30%
7. Smoking damages the gut
8. Nicotine increases cholesterol in the blood
9. Smoking damages your teeth and gums and causes mouth ulcers
10. Smoking doubles the risk of dementia
11. Smoking causes cataracts to form in the eyes
12. There are 6000 chemicals in tobacco including cyanide, butane, ammonia and carbon monoxide
13. Smoking makes you six times more likely to suffer a stroke
14. Smoking during pregnancy kills 5000 foetuses a year, increases the risk of intellectual impairment, produces small, underweight babies that are more prone to allergies and brain damage.