Smoking is the single most health hazard causing illnesses and death that can be prevented.
It was once said that every time you light up a cigarette, you take nineteen minutes off of your life.
Every time you light up in front of children you put their health at danger to all sorts of breathing and growing problems.
When they see you light up that is a bad example for them. They think it is a natural and normal thing to do; and most children of smokers will also become smokers.
If you don’t want to quit for yourself, think of others. Second hand smoke kills as many people as those who smoke.
A statement from Howard K. Koh, MD, MPH on World No Tobacco Day, May 31, 2011
“Tobacco use, the major preventable cause of premature death and disease worldwide, represents a public health catastrophe. Globally, tobacco use is projected to cause a billion deaths in this century. Every year in the United States, more than 440,000 Americans die preventable deaths from tobacco-related diseases. Every day, nearly 3,500 kids under the age of 18 try a cigarette for the first time and 850 of them become daily smokers. The suffering behind these statistics is unbearable and unacceptable.”
“On World No Tobacco Day, we reaffirm global efforts to end this pandemic. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recently launched a strategic action plan to accelerate progress in our nation’s fight against tobacco. Next month, the Food and Drug Administration will unveil the final version of new graphic warnings for cigarette packages and advertisements, which will help motivate smokers to quit and discourage nonsmokers from starting. And through our new health reform law, we are expanding access to tobacco cessation services to help more smokers receive the services they need and deserve.
We are at an unprecedented time in our nation’s history to protect the public’s health from tobacco dependence. Please join us in our efforts to combat this public health pandemic, so that more people have a fighting chance to enjoy their full potential for health.”
Who is Dr. Koh? http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/faculty/howard-koh/ The major focus of his career has been the prevention of cancer.
The World Health Organization (WHO) selects "Gender and tobacco with an emphasis on marketing to women" as the theme for the next World No Tobacco Day, which will take place on 31 May 2010.
Controlling the epidemic of tobacco among women is an important part of any comprehensive tobacco control strategy. World No Tobacco Day 2010 will draw particular attention to the need to protect women and girls from the harmful effects of tobacco marketing and smoke in accordance with WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Background information
- Protect women from tobacco marketing and smoke
- Women are at great risk
- The epidemic of tobacco use manifests itself differently among women
- Second-hand smoke is particularly worrisome for women
- Tobacco industry marketing endangers women
- Call to action
http://www.who.int/tobacco/wntd/2010/en/index.html
Smoking hurts everyone – even those who do not smoke. Many have to become caregivers to those who suffer from health related problems due to smoking. This ruins their lives. Children suffer long term affects from being exposed to second hand smoke; and are likely to become smokers themselves. This is like spreading the disease of cancer.
Personally it just never made common sense to put something in your face and then set fire to it; and to exchange the oxygen and air in your lungs with toxic fumes. Smokers would not think about going to the garage and breathing exhaust from the tail pipe of their autos; but over time this is the same thing.
Smart people are quitting tobacco; and if you smoke, please stop. And if you don’t, please don’t start – the lives you save will be your own; and those of people you love.
On this World No Tobacco Day, do all that you can to help stamp out smoking for good.
You can start by sharing this message with all your family and friends. If you wish to have update, notices, information on other things of interest to families, you may subscribe to this site. It is free.
If you have a loved one who smokes, tell them that you love them and would like to know that they love you enough to stop the use of tobacco.
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