Cigarettes linked to lung cancer in 1964
A historical event caught my eye the other day. On this day in 1964 Surgeon General of the US Luther L Terry announced that cigarette smoking is linked to lung cancer.That poignancy struck me hard because my father succumbed to the sequela of smoking yet never suffered lung cancer.
He had just about every other pathology it may cause, however.
To complicate matters, the medical visits were kept hidden from me because he didn't want me to 'worry' about him.
The end result of this consideration was his passing hit me like a ton of bricks and even though I was 45 years old all I could do is cry.
I felt betrayed.
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When I quit smoking Marlboros it was because I had come to a personal impasse and I knew the things were killing me even though I smoked the "reduced tar and nicotine" brand and the act had lost it's allure because it was no longer enjoyable to me.
Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness worldwide.
Yearly many die from the effects smoking imparts to the body and many suffer with debilitating smoking-related illness.
Smoking increases your risk of developing numerous ailments, many of which eventually are fatal.
Those which aren't fatal can cause irreversible long-term damage to the human body.
Smoking affects you if you smoke.
Smoking affect those around you who breath your smoke passively.
Smoking causes most (but not all) cases of lung cancer.
It also causes cancer elsewhere in locations such as:
| • | mouth |
| • | throat |
| • | larynx |
| • | esophagus |
| • | bladder |
| • | bowel |
| • | cervix |
| • | kidney |
| • | liver |
| • | stomach |
| • | pancreas |
Smoking damages your heart and your blood circulation, increasing your risk of developing conditions such as:
| • | coronary heart disease |
| • | heart attack |
| • | stroke |
| • | peripheral vascular disease |
| • | cerebrovascular disease |
Smoking also damages your lungs, leading to conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which incorporates bronchitis and emphysema as well as pneumonia.
Smoking can worsen or prolong the symptoms of existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, or respiratory tract infections such as the common cold.
Smoking can cause impotence because it limits the blood supply to the junk in males.
It can also reduce the fertility of both men and women.
Secondhand smoke comes from the tip of a lit cigarette and the smoke that the smoker exhales.
The act of breathing secondhand smoke is called "passive smoking" and it increases your risk of getting the same health problems "actual smokers" develop.
The moral of the story is that it's best to never smoke. If that isn't possible a person should quit the habit at the earliest possible moment.
See Also:
My Sister had a heart attack
Giving up those Vices
World No Tobacco Day 2019
WNTD - World No Tobacco Day
Help Recovering from Addiction