One of the most important things we learn at Freedom is that we are all addicts addicted to the deadliest substance there is, nicotine. We also learn that there is only one person we should satisfy or quit for, and that is, ourselves. Whether we have quit for a day, a week, a month or thirty years, each of us is only ONE puff away from our addiction. It takes just one puff to send us back to our active addiction and it takes just one puff to kill.
"Smoking starts your heart pounding an extra 15 to 25 beats per minute, raises your blood pressure by 10 to 20 points. It CORRODES the delicate membranes of your lips and palate. In the lungs, it CHOKES the airways and ROTS the air sacs, leaving residue of cancer-causing chemicals. It deposits these and other dangerous poisons in your stomach, kidneys and bladder. All of this happens with EVERY cigarette you smoke."
Scare tactics? Take a look at the cold hard facts:
Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, causing more than 400,000 deaths each year and resulting in an annual cost of more than $50 billion in direct medical costs.
Each year, smoking kills more people than AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, car crashes, murders, suicides, and fires - combined!
Nationally, smoking results in more than 5 million years of potential life lost each year.
Approximately 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. Every day, nearly 3,000 young people under the age of 18 become regular smokers.
More than 5 million children living today will die prematurely because of a decision they will make as adolescents - the decision to smoke cigarettes.
Half of those who smoke at twenty and NEVER stop smoking, will die of smoking related causes. If a twenty year old smoker stops smoking at twenty one, he or she then increases their chances of living life free from a smoking related illness tremendously. The sooner we quit, the better the odds. We cannot control what our children will do in the years to come, but we can set an excellent example by not smoking ourselves.
Remember that to improve your life and your health, you must remember to NEVER take another puff.
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Linda....after 41 years of smoking, free for 2 years, 4 months and loving every second!