More than 400,000 Americans die each year from smoking-related problems.
That's 400,000 preventable deaths.
One of them could be yours! This is not something that can happen only to other folks.
Besides death, what about the increased chances of strokes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, ulcers, lung ailments and other major sicknesses linked to smoking? Suffer from any of these and your quality of life will suffer, as will your family.
Until some years ago smoking may have been considered "cool.
" No longer! Today smoking is regarded as an obnoxious habit and as being very anti-social.
Most non-smokers, and they are an increasing majority of the population, will not want to associate with smokers.
People are now expressing their disgust when a smoker lights up.
The designated smoking areas one finds in many buildings are almost like leper colonies where the untouchable congregate to perform the offensive ritual.
Not only will your social life be affected, so will you family's.
Few people want to associate with a smoker or even a smoker's family.
Even if one person in the family smokes, the clothes of the rest of the family will smell of cigarettes.
Besides the effect on your social life, smoking can affect your professional life and your career.
With most of your colleagues not smoking, you will be regarded as an outsider in your company and this will affect your performance and your chances for promotion and advancement.
Once again, it is your family that will suffer along with you.
And the direct financial cost of smoking cannot be forgotten.
If a pack of smokes costs you $4 and you smoke a pack a day that totals nearly $1500 a year.
Think about what you could have done with the money that literally went up in smoke.
And then there are the indirect costs - frequent doctors' bills due to smoking related sicknesses and in the worst case extensive medical and hospital bills when you need specialized treatment or major surgery to help you get over the effects of what smoking has done to your body.
If you continue to smoke you are encouraging your family members to also take up the bad habit.
There is no greater disservice you could do them.
Next time you ask yourself "Why quit smoking" the answer should be because you love your family and don't want to hurt them by making them social outcasts, reducing your earning ability, wasting money you can't really afford and inflicting smoking-related damage on their health.
And finally, you are important to your family.
If smoking takes you away from them think how you have let them down.
That's 400,000 preventable deaths.
One of them could be yours! This is not something that can happen only to other folks.
Besides death, what about the increased chances of strokes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, ulcers, lung ailments and other major sicknesses linked to smoking? Suffer from any of these and your quality of life will suffer, as will your family.
Until some years ago smoking may have been considered "cool.
" No longer! Today smoking is regarded as an obnoxious habit and as being very anti-social.
Most non-smokers, and they are an increasing majority of the population, will not want to associate with smokers.
People are now expressing their disgust when a smoker lights up.
The designated smoking areas one finds in many buildings are almost like leper colonies where the untouchable congregate to perform the offensive ritual.
Not only will your social life be affected, so will you family's.
Few people want to associate with a smoker or even a smoker's family.
Even if one person in the family smokes, the clothes of the rest of the family will smell of cigarettes.
Besides the effect on your social life, smoking can affect your professional life and your career.
With most of your colleagues not smoking, you will be regarded as an outsider in your company and this will affect your performance and your chances for promotion and advancement.
Once again, it is your family that will suffer along with you.
And the direct financial cost of smoking cannot be forgotten.
If a pack of smokes costs you $4 and you smoke a pack a day that totals nearly $1500 a year.
Think about what you could have done with the money that literally went up in smoke.
And then there are the indirect costs - frequent doctors' bills due to smoking related sicknesses and in the worst case extensive medical and hospital bills when you need specialized treatment or major surgery to help you get over the effects of what smoking has done to your body.
If you continue to smoke you are encouraging your family members to also take up the bad habit.
There is no greater disservice you could do them.
Next time you ask yourself "Why quit smoking" the answer should be because you love your family and don't want to hurt them by making them social outcasts, reducing your earning ability, wasting money you can't really afford and inflicting smoking-related damage on their health.
And finally, you are important to your family.
If smoking takes you away from them think how you have let them down.