4.1 Million Underage Smokers
According to a survey done by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2000, around 23.3% of the United States population is a smoker. It also states that there are more male smokers than female smokers.
Unfortunately, the data of this survey was taken for people who are eighteen years and above which means that underage smokers were not included in this survey. Right now, there around 4.1 million underage smokers in the United States. Before lighting that cigarette, make sure that there are no teenagers in the area. They might pick up the bad example and add to the number of underage smokers in the United States.
440,000 Deaths
Among all the smoking facts mentioned in this article, this is the most disturbing thought to consider before smoking that cigarette. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. It has caused more than 440,000 deaths each year and has quite a significant contribution in medical costs.
Worse, around 80% of the adult smokers of today began smoking before the age of eighteen. And, around 4,000 people under the age of 18 have their cigarette each day. For this reason, more than 6.4 million children are predicted to die prematurely because of a decision that they have made. So, before taking that whiff, make sure you know what you are getting into.
Smoking is Addictive
If the two smoking facts that were mentioned at the beginning of the article aren't good enough, here is another one. Cigarettes contain nicotine, a substance that is as addictive as heroin and cocaine. As the nicotine intake of a body increases, it becomes physically and psychologically dependent on it. A lot of people have a hard time quitting because of these dependencies.
Because nicotine is easily absorbed into the bloodstream, it can affect many parts of the body such as the heart and blood vessels, the hormonal system and the body's metabolism. Most users cannot let go of smoking because they crave for the pleasurable feelings that nicotine induces. Some of them feel that they need it as a depressant. What they don't know is that nicotine interferes with the flow of information between nerve cells, causing slower reactions. For this reason, a lot of smokers do get involved in car accidents.
Still Lighting That Cigarette?
After having read all the smoking facts listed in this article, one should think twice before lighting a cigarette. A cigarette is all it takes to be stuck with a bad habit that is difficult to get over throughout your lifetime. Worse of all, this bad habit can be the future cause of your own untimely death.