What You Should Know About Tobacco
Cigarettes Slang - Smokes, butts, cigs, cancer sticks
Get the facts...
Q. What's the big deal about smoking? I only smoke a little and I can quit anytime.
A. Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the U.S., causing heart disease, cancer and strokes, and accounts for approximately 443,000 deaths each year from smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke.
Nicotine in cigarettes, cigars and chewing or spit tobacco is addictive in ways like heroin and cocaine.
Q. What effects do cigarettes have on a person?
A. There are as many as 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke. Smoking narrows your blood vessels and puts added strain on your heart. In addition, smoking can wreck lungs and reduce oxygen available for muscles used during sports and other activities.
If you participate in sports, know that smokers run slower and can't run as far, affecting overall athletic performance.
Light, low-tar or additive-free cigarettes are still harmful. Cigars and chewing/spit tobacco are not safe alternatives to cigarettes either.
Young people who use tobacco may be more likely to use alcohol and other drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine.
Tobacco and Personal Appearance
Tobacco smoke makes your hair and clothes stink.
Tobacco stains teeth and fingers, and causes bad breath and facial wrinkles.
Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Maine Township High School students said they prefer to date non-smokers, according to the 2010 Illinois Youth Survey.
Know the truth.
Despite tobacco use on TV and in movies, music videos, billboards and magazines, MOST teens and adults don't use tobacco. In fact, among Maine Township High School students, cigarette smoking decreased 38% from 2008 to 2010.
Cigarettes are expensive. Don't burn money (pun intended) on tobacco. Spend it instead on fun stuff like music, clothes, computer games or movies.
Each year, cigarette manufacturers spend an estimated $15.3 billion on advertising.
If you don't use tobacco by age 18, you most likely will never start.
By September 2012*, cigarette packages must depict one of nine vivid color images that show what can happen to people who smoke and one of these warnings about the consequences of smoking:
"Cigarettes are addictive."
"Tobacco smoke can harm your children."
"Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease."
"Cigarettes cause cancer."
"Cigarettes cause strokes and heart disease."
"Smoking during pregnancy can harm your baby."
"Smoking can kill you."
"Tobacco smoke causes fatal lung disease in nonsmokers."
"Quitting smoking now greatly reduces serious risks to your health."
*This action has recently been challenged by cigarette manufacturers and is now on hold.
Quit Smoking Options
1-800-QUIT-NOW
When you call 1-800-QUIT-NOW, you'll have access to different types of cessation information and services, including free support and advice from an experienced counselor, a personalized quit plan and self-help materials, social support and coping strategies to help you deal with cravings, and the latest information about cessation medications.
www.iquitathitops.com
Click on this link for a unique technology-based approach to helping you become a non-smoker...like podcasts, text messages and videos.
