Tackling Smoking
We all know smoking is bad, however you look at it. Thought to have over 7000 different chemicals, many of which are known to cause cancer, yet the reality is that we continue to smoke and struggle to quit. In the UK, it accounts for nearly 80,000 deaths each year with one in two smokers dying from a smoking-related disease. In the US, smoking causes 1 in every 5 deaths every year. A staggering 84% of deaths from lung cancer is due to smoking (see the video Lung Cancer Staging Non-Small Cell but also the comments left by the YouTubers, which highlights how real it is) and 15 types of cancer are thought to be associated with smoking. It is the number 1 preventable cause of cancer.
Tobacco is the only legally sold product that kills half of all the people who use it.
However, despite all of the facts highlighting the harmful effects of smoking, how much more can we really do to stop people from smoking or better yet, prevent people from smoking in the first place? The tobacco packs have those vivid health warnings (Cancer Research UK even suggest having them on each of the cigarettes), many work and public places are now smoke-free, the younger generation are more aware of the negative effects of smoking through education and media coverage, e-cigarettes is starting to make its mark (and emerging evidence has shown it to be less harmful than smoking), but the reality is there is still a long way go to getting UK smoke-free by 2030. The NHS, Public Health England, the countless organisation have smoke-free campaigns but it ultimately boils down to you – and you really need to be motivated to turn that leaf.
Courtesy of TEDEd (taken from YouTube) Terms of Service
Well, we know that a current smoker is around 50% more likely to quit smoking if they have counselling together with their intervention (see What’s the most successful way to stop smoking). Admittedly, reading just a single website is unlikely to stop you from smoking (if it does, that’s absolutely fantastic!) but let’s see if reading the below facts may plant enough of a seed to spark that initial change to your mindset. The rest is really up to you!
Choose one of following (or both) to help YOU stop smoking
Make Your Decision Now (as it’s your life at stake)
For active smokers, please consider making a pledge in the comments section below to inspire others to stop smoking.
Cancer Prevention Research >> Achieving Good Health & Resisting Cancer (n = 1) I Tackling Stress I Tackling Sleep I Tackling Obesity I Tackling Alcohol I Tackling Poor Diet I Tackling the Lack of Exercise I Tackling Sun Exposure I Tackling the Work-Life Balance I Tackling the Fear of Seeing Your Doctor I Cancer Screening I Cancer Vaccination I Genetic Testing