Smoking
It's not good in any way, shape, or form
What Is Smoking?
The Poisons
These are the poisons in a cigarette:
Acetone: removes nail polish
Ammonia: Household cleaner
Arsenic: Used in rat poisons and in bullets
Butane: Gas; used in lighter fluid
Carbon monoxide: Poisonous gas
Cadmium: Used in batteries
Cresol: used in making bombs
Cyanide: Deadly poison; used in making chemical weapons
DDT: A banned insecticide
Lead: Heavy metal; used to make plumbing and other pipes; poisonous in high doses
Formaldehyde: Used to preserve dead bodies
Polonium: radioactive; very deadly
Vinyl Chloride: used in making PVC pipes; known to cause cancer
Five Poisons
Acetone
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element that has three allotropic forms; yellow, black and grey. It is famous for its toxicity and is a notorious poison. Arsenic kills organisms (including but not only, people) by preventing the proper action of an enzyme called lipothiamide pyrophosphate. This leads to death due to multi-system organ failure. Both the element arsenic, and arsenic compounds, are considered to be toxic and dangerous for the environment. One well-known use of arsenic is as a rat poison.
Arsenic is a poison
WARNING: The trees and shrubs on this property have been sprayed with ARSENICAL POISON. Do not allow animals to graze
Arsenic is also an element
Arsenic is an element with atomic number 33.
Arsenic poisoning
This is what can happen if you continue to smoke.
Carbon Monoxide
Lead
Lead is a soft, heavy, toxic and malleable metal that is bluish white when freshly cut but tarnishes to dull gray when exposed to air. It has the highest atomic number of all stable elements. Lead is used in building construction, lead-acid batteries, bullets and shot.
Lead poisoning affects nearly every system in the body, and may occur without noticeable symptoms. Low but on-going exposure over time can affect the developing nervous systems (children are most at risk) in subtle but persistent ways. Possible effects can include: stunted growth; reduced attention span; learning disabilities; reduced Intelligence Quotient (IQ); damage to hearing; and behavioural issues.
Polonium
TEN (10) MYTHS AND FACTS
1
Myth: I've smoked for so long; the damage is already done.
Fact: The damage caused by smoking is cumulative, and the longer a person smokes, the greater his/her risk for life-threatening ailments. But quitting smoking at any age brings health benefits.
2
Myth: My other healthy habits may make up for my smoking.
Fact: Some smokers justify their habit by insisting that proper nutrition and lots of exercise are enough to keep them healthy. Not so.
3
Myth: Switching to 'light' cigarettes will cut my risk.
Fact: Smokers who switch to brands labeled "light" or "mild" inevitably compensate for the lower levels of tar and nicotine by inhaling smoke more deeply or by smoking more of each cigarette.
4
Myth: Trying to quit smoking will stress me out -- and that's unhealthy.
Fact: True, tobacco withdrawal is stressful. But there's no evidence that the stress has negative long-term effects.
5
Myth: The weight gain that comes with quitting is just as unhealthy as smoking.
Fact: Smokers who quit gain an average of 14 pounds, Malarcher says. But the risk posed by carrying the extra pounds "is miniscule compared to the risk of continuing to smoke," Fiore says.
6
Myth: Quitting "cold turkey" is the only way to go.
Fact: Some smokers think that quitting abruptly is the best approach and that willpower is the only effective tool for curbing tobacco cravings. They're partly right: Commitment is essential. But smokers are more likely to succeed at quitting if they take advantage of counseling and smoking cessation medications, including nicotine (gum, patches, lozenges, inhaler, or nasal spray) and the prescription drugs Zyban (buproprion) and Chantix (varenicline), Malarcher says.
7
Myth: Nicotine products are just as unhealthful as smoking.
Fact: Nicotine is safe when used as directed. Even using nicotine every day for years would be safer than smoking, Fiore says. After all, nicotine products deliver only nicotine. Cigarettes deliver nicotine along with 4,000 other compounds, including more than 60 known carcinogens, according to the American Lung Association.
8
Myth: Cutting back on smoking is good enough.
Fact: "Cutting down on the number of cigarettes is not an effective strategy," Malarcher says. "Smokers who cut back draw more deeply and smoke more of each cigarette." So even though they smoke fewer cigarettes, they get the same dose of toxic smoke. "The data suggest that the only [smoking cessation strategy] that works consistently is getting to the point of not even a single puff," Fiore says.
9
Myth: I'm the only one who is hurt by my smoking.
Fact: Tobacco smoke also harms the people around you. In the U.S., secondhand smoke causes about 50,000 deaths deaths a year, the American Lung Association estimates. It's been estimated that a waiter or waitress who works a single eight-hour shift in a smoky bar inhales as much toxic smoke as a pack-a-day smoker, Fiore says.
10
Myth: I tried quitting once and failed, so it's no use trying again.
Fact: Most smokers try several times before quitting for good. So if you've failed previously, don't let that deter you from trying again.