Smoking tobacco has a trickle-down effect on a person's life and livelihood that gets worse as the years go by. The consequences of tobacco use, however, can be diminished and even reversed by quitting. Merely switching to "light" cigarettes, cigars or pipe tobacco won't save smokers from health problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All tobacco products contain toxins, carcinogens and harmful chemicals. High price tags and taxes are meant to deter people from smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products because the personal and public costs are so great.
Shorter Life Span
Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona calls smoking tobacco "the leading preventable cause of death and disease" in this country. Smoking cigarettes provides many ways to develop health problems that can end a life. These include emphysema, chronic bronchitis, coronary heart disease, and cancers of the lung, pancreas, kidney, stomach and esophagus, to name just a few.
On the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services website, the surgeon general reported in 2004 that smoking decreases men's life expectancies by 13.2 years and women's by 14.5 years. The restrictions on heart and lung function not only threaten an early death, but also diminish the quality and joy of life along the way.
Restricted Activity
The American Cancer Society or ACS notes that these physical limitations make tobacco users less able to participate in exercise, play and everyday mobility. Smokers may not be fit enough to walk or run with children or pets, or to engage in favorite sports or simple excursions. More frequent colds and cases of the flu brought on by lower immunity can curtail job performance and financial solvency.
The American Lung Association relates that smoking cigarettes can result in social isolation because of laws that restrict where smokers can engage in their habits. Having to light up in certain places keeps smokers occupied with compulsive, rather than chosen, activity, further removing them from social contact.
Decreased Personal Appeal
The health problems and obsession with tobacco use brought on by smoking cigarettes make smokers less attractive as companions. The American Cancer Society lists bad breath, wrinkled skin, yellow fingernails, and unhealthy teeth and gums as detractors from personal appeal.
Many nonsmokers don't like the smell of smoke on clothing and hair, or in the home and car. The American Lung Association notes that health problems arising from tobacco use include limited senses of taste and smell. Smokers may not notice the odor of stale smoke, but they may not be able to enjoy pleasant fragrances and tastes either. A tobacco dependence and its trickle-down effects can limit smokers' personal appeal and the quality of their lives.
