Smoking Your Life Away

credit: Dawn Endico

"reparing a cigarette vending machine" by semihundido

Yes, I'm wearing my medical hat again, and this time I'm going to talk about smoking.

According to Mayo Clinic**, "more than half the people who keep smoking will die because of it."

"Tobacco smoke contains more than 60 known cancer-causing chemicals and more than 4,800 other harmful substances."

Specifically, smoking is responsible for "nine out 10 of lung cancer cases."

Smoking increases the likelihood of impotence in men, leads to premature aging, causes numerous cancers, makes diabetes and respiratory illnesses more likely, and increases chances of dying of cardiovascular disease.

credit: kalandrakas


According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report***, tobacco lead to 100 million deaths in the previous century, and could potentially kill over a billion people this century.

According to Canadian Lung Association****, "Tobacco kills about 45,000 Canadians a year. That's more than the total number of deaths from AIDS, car accidents, suicide, murder, fires and accidental poisonings combined."

It's also estimated that second-hand smoke kills "1100 - 7800 Canadians".


**Mayo Clinic: Nicotine dependence

***WHO on smoking

****Canadian Lung Association