Cigs are Dead- The Generation to End Smoking

It's over...


Well, at least it seems that way sniffin' around the place.
Have you noticed as many tobacco smokers around lately?

They seemed to have either died away or
gotten rid of that disgusting habit.
I've dragged my fair share of marlboros, but it seems that now days, you're totally gross if you smoke cigarettes.


Tobacco has been growing in the Americas wildly, for over 8000 years. It was typically used during ceremonies by the Natives to cure illness, to purify and as a form of prayer. It is an ancient plant, that was meant to be respected, not abused. About 5.8 trillion cigarettes are smoked worldwide. 480,000 people will die in the U.S. alone this year, from this leading cause of preventable disease. That's one in five people who cut their lives short.

On the bright side, people are becoming more aware of how unhealthy smoking actually is, and of the harm of secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals causing 41,000 deaths per year.

Appreciatively, the rate of smoking has dropped to 15% last year from 20.9% in 2005.

Nicotine, (the main drug in cigarettes) is as addictive as cocaine and heroin. It may be as hard to quit as these drugs too. That is why there are support groups and organizations with strategies to help you quit. Immediate results of quitting now, show that just after twenty minutes your heart rate and blood pressure drop. As more time passes and you haven't had a cigarette, greater benefits appear. Within 2-12 weeks of quitting, the carbon monoxide level in your blood goes back to normal. Your circulation improves and your lung function increases. http://www.tobaccoatlas.org

Cigarette smoking causes cancers of the bladder, oral cavity, kidney, pancreas, stomach and lung. It is linked to cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness and neoplasticity disease. Pretty much anything that keeps you alive and healthy, smoking does the opposite. Smokers also earn less money, probably because they spend it on cigarettes. Just one pack alone averages at six bucks, that's a lot of money to be killing yourself with.


Certain populations are smoking more than others. Smoking remains high in: males, young adults, below poverty level, disabled, low-education and in certain ethnicities. Globally, around 820 million people, are current cigarette smokers. China has one third of all male smokers worldwide. Teenagers still dabble with stogies if they're not hitting an ecig.

http://www.teensmoking.us/content/social-consequences-of-smoking.html

The main concern here is, why aren't countries implementing more effective tobacco control policies to increase cessation and decrease initiation? Could it be because the tobacco industry's profits are much more precious than other people's lives? There is a call to action for organizations and governments to help tobacco farmers ease the transition to alternative crops beyond tobacco. Crops like white mushrooms, and grapes could increase their profits by as much as 110%.


https://quitsmokingcommunity.org/effects-smoking/
We have to be righteous examples in order to influence next generations. If kids don't see grown adults smoking, there is less of a chance that they will.

Reasons why we must make smoking socially unacceptable are pragmatic; there are no benefits of smoking, you are lessening your time every time you smoke, and causing harm to others through second-hand smoke. Oh, and you smell like ash.

With the facts that we know now, there is no reason we should accept cigarette smoking. I invite you to join me in being the generation to end smoking. By not smoking yourself, and by supporting those who decide to quit.

Despair smoky air.

Pavli Papadakis
http://pavlipsportfolio.weebly.com/no-smoke.html