Tobacco use of any kind is the single leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Each year smoking causes approximately 438,000 premature deaths and over 5 million years of potential life lost. That equals about 1,200 deaths a day or 50 deaths an hour! Every day, approximately 4,000 American youth aged 12-17 try their first cigarette. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 23% of high schools students reported current cigarette use and 14% reported current cigar use in 2005. In addition, 8% of high school students reported current smokeless tobacco use. In 2003, cigarette companies spent more than $15.2 billion promoting their products. Since children and teenagers make up the majority of new smokers, their advertisements and promotions often are more appealing to the younger crowd. As a matter of fact, 83% of youths (12-17) who smoke choose one of the three most widely advertised brands: Marlboro, Camel, and Newport.

Cigarette smoking causes heart disease, stroke, chronic lung disease, and cancers of the lung, mouth, pharynx, esophagus, and bladder. Use of smokeless tobacco causes cancers of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus; gum recession; and an increased risk for health disease and stroke. Smoking cigars increases the risk of oral, laryngeal, esophageal, and lung cancers. Some more health risks are:

Bad skin can result from tobacco use. The smoke restricts blood vessels which prevents oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin making smokers look pale and/or unhealthy. It also causes premature aging.

Bad breath, also known as halitosis, results from all those cigarettes.

Bad smells on your clothes, hair, cars, and furniture since cigarette smoke tends to linger.

Athletic performance is reduced since people who smoke usually can't compete with nonsmokers because of the physical effects of smoking such as rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath.

Tobacco users have a increased risk of illness. Studies show that smokers get more colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. People with health conditions like asthma become more sick if they smoke, or even if they're around people who smoke. Because teens who smoke as a way to manage weight often light up instead of eating, their bodies lack the nutrients they need to grow, develop, and fight off illness properly.

AND…

Not only does smoking damage health, it costs a small fortune! Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day (which is average) costs about $1,600 dollars a year. That adds up! It's money you could save or spend on something to pamper yourself.

Tobacco is made up of more than 4,000 chemicals. Most of them are poisonous and at least 60 may cause cancer in humans! The list below shows several of the chemicals in tobacco. It also shows other items where you can find the chemicals. Would you want to put this into your body?

Acetylene- a fuel used in torches

Acetic Acid- gives vinegar its sour taste and smell

Aluminum- soda cans are made from this

Ammonia- can be found in toilet bowl cleaners and glass cleaners

Benzene- used to make rubber, plastic, detergents, and pesticides (bug poison)

Butane- fuel in cigarette lighters

Cadmium- also found in batteries

Cromium- also used to make jet engine parts

Carbon monoxide- deadly gas

Copper- found in algaecide to help kill the algae in our drinking water

Chrysene- forms when gasoline, garbage, or any animal or plant material burns

Cyanide- rat poison

DDT/Dierldrin- insecticide (bug poison)

Formaldehyde- this is what they inject into a dead body to preserve it from rotting

Hexamine- found in barbeque lighters

Lead- highly toxic metal

Limonene- used as a flavoring

Methanol- rocket fuel

Naphthalene- mothball chemical

Nicotine- causes addiction in tobacco products

Nitric oxide- a toxic air pollutant produced by automobile engines and power plants

Nitrobenzene- gasoline additive

Phenol- the active ingredient in some oral anesthetics (medicine that numbs your mouth)

Polonium 210- nuclear waste

Scopoletin- regulates the hormone serotonin (serotonin helps reduce anxiety and depression)

Stearic acid- in candle wax

Styrene- used in rubber, plastic, insulation, fiberglass, pipes, automobile parts, food containers, and carpet backing

Titanium- found in White Out and commonly used white paint

Vinyl chloride- component of PVC pipe

These are only a few of the 4,000+ chemicals in tobacco. You can go to this website for more chemicals: www.quitsmoking.about.com/cs/nicotineinhaler/a/cigingredients.htm