Smoking

Smoking cigarettes is a health risk and can even destroy the smoker’s appearance. Cigarette smoking is financially draining; smoking addicts spend up to $4,000 a year on their addiction. In the U.S., smoking kills more people than cocaine, heroine, alcohol, fire automobile accidents, homicides, suicides, and AIDS combined. Cigarette butts are the most littered item in America and even the world. I used to be the only member of my family that did not smoke cigarettes. I am very proud that I helped my two older brothers and my mom take smoking cigarettes out of their life. Today I would like to talk about all of the horrible effects smoking cigarettes have on your body and also others. (Transition: Cigarette smoking makes a huge impact on an individual’s life.)
As you all know smoking always comes with health risks. Cigarette smoking is the major single cause of cancer mortality in the United States. Smoking greatly increases the smoker’s risks for cancer of the lungs, kidneys, pancreas, esophagus and so many others. When an individual smokes, less oxygen reaches the lungs. Nicotine, the addictive stuff, stimulates the central nervous system, making the heart beat faster and raising the blood pressure. Over time, smoking obstructs or narrows the small airways in the lungs and destroys the air sacs there. It clogs arteries and causes blood clots. Research has shown that smoking reduces the life expectancy by seven to eight years. Studies show that men or women who quit smoking at the age of 40 lived just one year less than those who had never smoked. Men and women who quit at 50 increased their life expectancy by six years. Men and women who gave up at 60 added an average of three years to their life. (Transition: Smoking is not only bad for a person’s health, but their appearance too.) As well as affecting the smoker’s general health, quitting smoking can make a big difference to the way they look. The myth that gets many teenagers to take up the habit in the first...