Smoking, Cigarettes, Tobacco,
Cancer and Heart Disease
Cigarette:"radioactive" as found in a sixteen-year scientific report.A pack-a-day smoker is exposed to radiation in the amount estimated to be equal to approximately 300 chest x-rays per year (Fighting Radiation with Foods, Herbs & Vitamins, Steven. R. Schechter). Factor in 17.2% of all deaths in the U.S., 85% of lung cancer is smoking related, and 85% of deaths of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a direct result of smoking. The American Lung Association reports that 350,000 Americans die every year from smoking. Second-hand smoke and its toxic chemicals have been linked to life-threatening diseases and is estimated to play a role in over 50,000 deaths annually in the U.S. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, carbon monoxide, carcinogen (including polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and hexavelant chromium), cadmium, lead, nickel, arsenic, tar, hydrogen cyanide, radioactive compounds, pesticides, irritant substances, and traces of certain gases with unknown effects.
Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms with at least one unpaired electron. Electrons are negatively charged particles found in atoms and are usually found in pairs. When unpaired, they are highly reactive and can be very damaging to your body. Free radicals can be produced by exposure to tobacco smoke. Free radicals can damage your skin tissue, decrease your body's production of cyclic AMP, and indirectly cause inflammation.
Cigarette smoke has more than 50 cancer-causing chemicals.
Smokers get cancer and heart disease three to five times more than nonsmokers do.
Smoking is the leading cause of death in America because it is the most important risk factor in cancer and heart disease, the two leading causes of death.
One cigarette destroys 25-100 mg. of vitamin C!
Tobacco use is associated with increased incidence of emphysema, cardiovascular disease and erectile dysfunction.
The high cost of smoking (By Hilary Smith)
The financial consequences of lighting up stretch far beyond the cost of a pack of cigarettes. Smokers pay more for insurance and lose money on the resale value of their cars and homes. They spend extra on dry cleaning and teeth cleaning. Long term, they earn less and receive less in pension and Social Security benefits.
Researchers at Duke University found that the total cost of smoking -- the cigarettes, lost earnings, impact on insurance on mortality, even the impact of secondhand smoke -- runs about $40 per pack for the average 24-year-old. The Centers for Disease Control estimates 46.2 million adults in the United States smoke cigarettes. The economic burden of smokers totals more than $75 billion per year in medical expenditures, and $80 billion per year from lost productivity.
The national average per-pack prices is about $4 per pack (National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids) so a pack-a-day smoker burns through about $30 per week, or approximately $1,600 per year. A 40-year-old who quits smoking and puts the savings into his 401(k) earning 9% a year would have an extra $250,000 by age 70.
A car that is smoked in will soon have an interior that will inevitably smell like smoke, and stray ashes and butts can burn holes in the upholstery and floor mats. Figure a minimum of $150 for a good cleaning with an extractor. On a trade-in, dealers can easily knock off more than $1,000 on higher-end vehicles like vans, SUVs and expensive sport-types.
Smokers' houses often require all new paint and/or wall treatments, as well as professional drapery and carpet cleaning. According to Contractors.com, priming and painting an average-size living room, dining room and two bedrooms would cost around $2,100. The Carpet Buying Handbook puts the average cleaning cost per square foot at 28 cents, and the average home has 1,000 square feet of carpet. That's $280. Add $55 to clean a typical sofa and $25 for a chair, says Diversified Carpet in San Diego.
Online quotes on 20-year term life insurance (a $500,000 policy) for a healthy 44-year-old male through BudgetLife.com showed the range for a non-smoker was $610 to $1,115 in premiums per year; for someone smoking a pack a day, the prices skyrocketed to as much as $4,495 per year.
According to eHealthInsurance.com, the monthly premium for a policy from Regence Blue Shield with a $1,500 deductible for a 44-year-old male nonsmoker is $98. The same policy for a smoker is $113 per month. He will pay nearly $200 more per year.
A few state governments also charge their employees extra for health insurance if they smoke, and others are gradually joining the trend.
When shopping for homeowners insurance, nonsmokers can generally expect to receive a minimum 10% discount, according to Ray Neumiller, an agent with Farmer’s Insurance in Seattle. The insurer’s point of view: Smokers burn down houses.
The most common homeowners insurance policies range from approximately $290 to $900 per year, depending on the home’s location. With the discount, a non-smoker would realize savings of at least $30, but most likely more.
“Smokers, due to higher mortality rates, obtained lower lifetime benefits compared to never smokers, even after accounting for their smoking-related lower lifetime contributions,” the research says (“The Price of Smoking,” Frank A. Sloan, director of the Center for Health Policy, Law and Management at Duke University in Durham, N.C.).
Sloan and his colleagues found the effects of smoking on lifetime Social Security benefits were $1,519 for 24-year-old female smokers and $6,549 for 24-year-old male smokers. Essentially this is money paid into Social Security but never collected because the beneficiary died prematurely of a smoking-related illness.
“You could be paying into Social Security year after year, and if you die at 66 because you’re a smoker, it’s money down the drain,” says Sloan.
Numerous studies find that smokers earn anywhere from 4% to 11% less than nonsmokers. It's not just a loss of productivity to smoke breaks and poorer health that takes a financial toll, researchers theorize; smokers are perceived to be less attractive and successful as well.
Bad breath, yellow teeth and smelly clothes are just a few of the personal side effects of smoking, and all cost money to correct.
An extra pack of mints or gum a week adds up to about $50 per year. Need your teeth whitened once a year? Brite Smile, which has offices across the country, retails its service for around $600. Most professional-grade teeth whitening products retail for a minimum of $200.
Dry-cleaning bills are likely to be higher also. Clean that suit one extra time a month at a cost of $12 and there goes another $144.