THETHEDANGERSDANGERS

OFOFSMOKINGSMOKING

Human Relations Media • www.hrmvideo.com • 800-431-2050

SMOKING TODAYSMOKING TODAY

Every day in the United States,

6,000teens try their first cigarette

and

4,000 young people become

regular smokers.

That means over

1.4 millionnew smokers each year.

What makes them do it?

ARE YOU AT RISK?ARE YOU AT RISK?

Four specific risk factors make it more likely that a teen will decide to begin to smoke. For instance:

1. Peer pressure Your risk of becoming a smoker is TEN times greater if you hang out with friends who smoke!

2. Self-esteemThe lower your self-esteem, the greater the risk that you will begin to smoke in an effort to “fit in” with your peers.

ARE YOU AT RISK?ARE YOU AT RISK?

3. Advertising If you own a single piece of tobacco-related gear (t-shirts, backpacks, caps), you are FOUR times more likely to start smoking than other teens.

4. Superman syndrome Most teens know the dangers of tobacco use, but many refuse to admit that smoking could eventually kill them. They think they’re too young to worry about cancer or heart disease.

TOBACCO’S TARGET: YOU!TOBACCO’S TARGET: YOU!

Since 1970, cigarette ads have been banned from TV and radio. Yet tobacco companies continue to spend billions of dollars to promote their products.

$ 5,000,000,000 a year

$ 13,698,630 a day

$ 570,776 an hour

$ 9,512 a minute

They spend this money to lure young new customers—replacing older smokers who have either died or quit their addiction.

SMOKING BY THE NUMBERSSMOKING BY THE NUMBERS

Over 60% of adult smokers say that they became addicted to cigarettes before their 14th birthday.

33% of all smokers will ultimately die of some tobacco-related illness.

Each cigarette smoked takes eight minutes off a smoker’s life.

For a pack-a-day smoker, that equals more than two hours each day!

WHAT’S IN TOBACCO?WHAT’S IN TOBACCO?

Cigarettes contain 4,000 chemicals, including 200 poisons and 43 ingredients that are known to cause cancer. Below is a partial list.

Acetone: a very flammable solvent

Arsenic: a poison that is deadly to all living things

Carbon monoxide: a gas that drives oxygen from the red blood cells, causing suffocation

Cyanide: a poisonous gas

Formaldehyde: a poison used to embalm dead tissue

Nicotine: an addictive drug, poisonous in large quantities

Tar: a cancer-causing material that forms a sticky mass inside delicate lung tissue

WHAT IS NICOTINE?WHAT IS NICOTINE?

Nicotine is a highly addictive drug that is found in the tobacco leaf.

Nicotine is so toxic that a person would die if the amount of nicotine found in two cigarettes was directly injected into his or her bloodstream.

Nicotine has been used in weed killers and insecticides (bug sprays).

Many lawn maintenance companies have stopped using nicotine-based products because they are too deadly to local wildlife.

NICOTINE FACTSNICOTINE FACTS

In 1988 the Surgeon General of the United States stated that nicotine is more addictive than heroin or cocaine.

Nicotine reaches the brain within seven seconds after the smoke is inhaled.

A pack-a-day smoker takes 200 to 300 hits of nicotine daily.

Nicotine causes chemical changes in the brain that can lead to addiction.

Addiction can occur within two weeks or less.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTSSHORT-TERM EFFECTS

These symptoms can happen after smoking just a few cigarettes for a few weeks:

• stained fingers and teeth

• ashtray breath

• smelly hair and clothes

• nicotine cravings

• pimples on the gums and tongue

• trouble exercising or playing sports

• increased phlegm in the lungs

• hacking cough

• decreased ability to taste and smell

• dry skin

• sore throat, tongue and gums

• greater risk of flu and pneumonia

LONG-TERM DAMAGELONG-TERM DAMAGE

Heart: Smoking doubles a person’s risk of developing heart disease. Heart disease includes irregular heartbeats, arteriosclerosis, angina and heart attack.

Eyes: Compared to non-smokers, smokers are twice as likely to develop cataracts, a disease that can lead to blindness.

Brain: Smoking reduces blood flow to the brain. Over time, this can result in a stroke. Smokers are nearly three times more likely to suffer a stroke than non-smokers.

LONG-TERM DAMAGELONG-TERM DAMAGE

Lungs: Exposure to cigarette smoke is known to cause lung cancer. Smoking tobacco is the main factor in 87 percent of all lung cancer cases.

Smoking causes emphysema—a disease that destroys a person’s ability to breathe normally by clogging the air sacs in the lungs. The average pack-a-day smoker inhales seven pounds of tar over a lifetime.

Stomach: Nicotine increases the amount of acid in the stomach, raising the risk of stomach ulcers. About 25 percent of all ulcers are caused by smoking.

SECONDHAND SMOKESECONDHAND SMOKE

In 1990, the Environmental Protection Agency placed secondhand smoke (air contaminated with tobacco smoke) on its list of Group A carcinogens, the most dangerous type of cancer-causing substances.

There are two kinds of secondhand smoke:

Mainstream smoke is the smoke that has been inhaled and then exhaled by the smoker.

Sidestream smoke is the UN-smoked smoke from the burning end of a cigarette. It is more harmful than mainstream smoke because it releases more toxins into the air.

DID YOU KNOW…DID YOU KNOW…

About 3,000 non-smokers die each year from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke.

50,000 non-smokers die eachyear from health problems caused by passive smoking, such as asthma, emphysema or heart disease.

Cigarette smoke contains 43 ingredients that are known to cause cancer in anyone who inhales the smoke.

WHAT ABOUT CIGARS?WHAT ABOUT CIGARS?

Cigars are NOT a good alternative to other forms of tobacco.

Cigar smokers increase their risk of coronary heart disease, pulmonary disease and cancer of the lungs, mouth and esophagus.

Secondhand smoke from cigars is extremely dangerous, because cigars are smoked much longer—30 minutes to one hour—than cigarettes.

WHAT ARE BIDIS?WHAT ARE BIDIS?

Bidis—also known as beedis or beedies—are small, unfiltered cigarettes made of hand-rolled flavored tobacco tied with a string.

To make them more appealing, bidis are often sold in flavors such as strawberry, cherry, cinnamon, chocolate, orange, mint and licorice. Bidi smokers have an increased risk of heart disease as well as cancer of the mouth, lungs, stomach and liver.

One bidi contains seven times more nicotine and five times more tar than a cigarette!

HERBAL CIGARETTESHERBAL CIGARETTES

Herbal cigarettes are popular with young people who assume that this type of cigarette is somehow less risky than smoking tobacco.

These “natural” cigarettes may be made with catnip, jasmine, ginseng, clove, wild lettuce, passion flower or marshmallow.

These ingredients may not be harmful if eaten—but when smoked, they produce many of the same toxins found in tobacco smoke, including tar and carbon monoxide.

ADDICTION AND WITHDRAWALADDICTION AND WITHDRAWAL

Tobacco users trying to quit smoking often suffer powerful withdrawal symptoms as they fight their nicotine addiction. These symptoms may last from a few weeks to several months:

• heavy coughing

• changes in appetite

• changes in heart rate

• cravings for tobacco

• lightheadedness

• disorientation

• sleep disturbances

• fatigue or drowsiness

• flu-like symptoms

• anxiety

• hunger

• irritability

• depression

• nausea

• nervousness

• dry mouth

• sense of loss

• headaches

TOP TEN REASONS TO QUITTOP TEN REASONS TO QUIT

1. You’ll have more spending money when you stop buying cigarettes.

2. The smell of tobacco won’t cling to your clothes, hair and fingers.

3. You won’t expose your family and friends to secondhand smoke.

4. Your teeth won’t be stained and discolored.

5. You’ll look and feel healthier and you’ll have a new sense of personal control.

TOP TEN REASONS TO QUITTOP TEN REASONS TO QUIT

6. Your sense of smell and taste will improve.

7. You’ll feel energized and have more stamina.

8. You’ll reduce your risk of developing an ulcer.

9. You’ll reduce your risk of death from heart disease and lung diseases such as cancer, bronchitis and emphysema.

10. Non-smokers are more accepted in public places than smokers.

BENEFITS OF QUITTINGBENEFITS OF QUITTING

Within 20 minutes of your last cigarette:

Your blood pressure returns to normal.

Your pulse rate drops.

The temperature of your hands and feet rises to normal.

Within 8 hours:

The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

The oxygen level in your blood increases to normal.

BENEFITS OF QUITTINGBENEFITS OF QUITTING

Within 48 hours:

Your ability to smell and taste improves.

Within 72 hours:

The bronchial tubes relax, making breathing easier.

Your lung capacity increases.

Within 3 months:

Your circulation improves.

Your lung function increases by up to 30 percent.

Within 1-9 months:

There is a decrease in coughing, fatigue and breathlessness.

Your energy level increases.

New cilia grow in your lungs, increasing the lungs’ ability to handle mucus and infection.

Within 5 years:

The lung cancer death rate for an average ex-smoker is 72 people per 100,000.

Within 10 years:

Pre-cancerous cells are being replaced with healthy cells.

BENEFITS OF QUITTINGBENEFITS OF QUITTING

GETTING HELPGETTING HELP

More than 40 million Americans have successfully quit smoking. The first step is to SET A QUIT DATE. Once you have made the decision to quit, you can begin to prepare yourself. These resources can provide tips on how to kick the nicotine habit.

American Cancer SocietyNational Headquarters1599 Clifton Road, NEAtlanta, GA 30329-4251800-ACS-2345www.cancer.org

National Cancer InstituteBuilding 31, Room 4A-189000 Rockville PikeBethesda, MD 20892800-4-CANCERwww.nci.nih.gov

Office on Smoking and HealthCenters for Disease Control &Prevention, Mail Stop K-501600 Clifton Road, NEAtlanta, GA 30333404-488-5705

American Heart AssociationNational Center7320 Greenville AvenueDallas, TX 75231214-750-5300www.amhrt.org

American Lung Association1740 BroadwayNew York, NY 10019-4374800-LUNG-USA

STAT (Stop Teenage Addiction to Tobacco)511 East Columbus AvenueSpringfield, MA 01105617-373-7828