There are about 4000 chemicals in tobacco, and out of the 100 identified poisons, 63 are known to cause cancer

Nicotine is an addictive drug that takes only 6 seconds to reach your brain

Smoking kills more people than cocaine, heroin, alcohol, fire automobile accidents, homicides, suicides, and AIDS combined.

Every 8 seconds, someone in the world dies from a tobacco related illness

More than 3 million people under the age of 18 smoke about a ½ billion cigarettes each year, over half of those people consider themselves dependent on cigarettes

Smoking is responsible for every 1 out of 5 American

deaths

About 430,000 people die needlessly every year from

smoking, which means smoking kills about 1,200

people every day

A person who smokes dies an average 7 years earlier

than someone who doesn’t smoke

Kids who smoke experience changes in the lungs, and

reduced lung growth. They risk not achieving normal

lung function as an adult

Here Are Some Ingredients Found In Tobacco:

Arsenic (used in rat poison)

Acetic Acid (hair dye and photo developer)

Acetone (main ingredient in paint and fingernail polish remover)

Ammonia (typical household cleaner)

Benzene (rubber cement()

Cadmium (found in batters & artists’ oil paint)

Carbon Monoxide (poison)

Hydrazine (used in fuel for jet ad rockets)

Formaldehyde (used to embalm dead bodies)

Naphthalene (used in explosives, moth balls, and paint pigments)

Nickel (used in the process of electroplating)

Polonium Radiation Dosage (equal to 30 chest X-rays in 1 year

Peer Pressure

They think it’s “cool”

Their parents smoke

Because they want to be skinny (fashion)

Because they find it relaxing

Rebellion

Decision to start smoking is almost always made in the

teen years

Smoking is the # 1 preventable cause for premature

death

90% of adult smokers are addicted to tobacco before

they reach the age of 18, 50% are addicted before the

age of 14, and currently the age of initiation to tobacco

is 11.

An estimated 3000 non-smoking Americans die of lung cancer every year

Kids who have 2 smoking parents are more likely to become smokers than the kids who have non-smoking parents

Among infants up to 18 months of age, secondhand smoke is associated with as many as 300,000 cases of bronchitis and pneumonia every year.

Secondhand smoke from a parent's cigarette increases a child's chances for middle ear problems, causes coughing and wheezing, and worsens asthma conditions.

Pregnant women who smoke are more likely to deliver babies whose weights are too low for the babies' good health. If all women quit smoking during pregnancy, about 4,000 new babies would not die each year.

Smoking can cause chronic lung disease, coronary

heart disease, and stroke

It can cause cancers of: cervix, pancreas, kidneys

Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to

give birth to babies with low birth weight

Nicotine causes short-term increase in blood pressure,

heart rate, and flow of blood from the heart

Arteries narrow

To live longer

Better breath

You’ll save a lot of money

You’ll be around to see your grand children

You won’t harm people around you

You’ll cough less

You won’t have to hide the habit from family

You’ll be able to smell and taste food better

Your teeth will become whiter

You’ll have a smaller chance of getting emphysema

Set a date for quitting

If you feel like smoking, chew on gum or suck on hard candy instead

Keep yourself busy and occupied

Change your morning routine

Put away your ash trays and cigarettes

Eat regular meals

Tell friends and family you’ve decided to quit, and tell them why

Reward yourself at the end of the day by going to a movie or out for dinner

http://www.tobacco-facts.info/

http://www.unitedlearning.com

http://www.costkids.org/tobacco/tobacco/tobaccoframeset.htm

http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/whatsinit.htm

http://www.smoking-facts.net/Teen-Smoking-Facts.html

http://dccps.nci.nih.gov/TCRB/Smoking_Facts/about.html

http://dccps.nci.nih.gov/TCRB/Smoking_Facts/tips.html

http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/drug_guide/Tobacco

http://www.uri.edu/personal/avye5598/ingredents.html

http://www.globalink.org/tobacco/trg/Chapter19/Chap19_Ingredients_Additives.html