What makes smoking so bad for my health?
Smoking is the number one cause of preventable health problems and death. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals and 50 of these are known to cause cancer. There is a 50% chance that a smoker will die prematurely due to the effects of smoking, shortening life expectancy by approximately 22 years. Smokers experience higher risk of heart disease, cancer, and stroke.
Can my smoking harm others?
Yes, second hand smoking has been proven to harm children, other adults, and even pets.
If a woman is pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant, will smoking affect the baby?
Yes, there is significant risk to both the baby and the mother. These increase risks include:
- Spontaneous abortion, double the rate of non-smokers.
- Miscarriage
- Premature delivery
- Low birth weight
- Having a baby who is weak or unhealthy.
- Increased chance of the baby having intellectual problems.
- Increased chance of the baby being hyperactive or having ADHD.
- Increased likelihood the baby cries more often.
- Effects of second hand smoke puts the baby at risk for serious physical and developmental problems.
Is it better to smoke “light” cigarettes?
No. Most smokers get as much tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide from light cigarettes as they do from regular ones. Smokers tend to inhale more deeply when smoking light cigarettes.
Are there any safe cigarettes?
Cigarettes are perhaps the only legal product that can kill when used as directed. Cigarettes advertised as light or ultra mild contain similar amounts of harmful chemicals as other cigarettes.
Is all smoking damage permanent?
No. Not if stopped soon enough. With smokers who have stopped before the onset of irreversible heart and circulatory disease, the body starts to repair itself. Normally, after a year of non-smoking the risk of heart attack is cut in half and after 10 to fifteen years of non-smoking it is about the same as that of someone who has never smoked.
Smokers who have had a heart-attack will greatly benefit from quitting. The risk of other cancers levels off and has been demonstrated to fall over time.
APC’s very own, Sara Gibson joined Good Parenting Radio to discuss My Worry Box, a simple little suggestion box to hep you stay in tune with your child’s emotions.