Normal cells may be damaged, but they have the ability to repair themselves. In other cases, the cells are sloughed off and eliminated by the lymph system, then replaced by new ones. But this process can go awry. Cells can grow abnormally, taking on inappropriate shapes and performing incorrectly. When they do, and that growth reaches a certain level that the body can't cope with, the result is cancer.

It is known that cigarette smoke contains many carcinogenic substances.

Tar, for example, is present in cigarette smoke chiefly from the burning paper that holds the tobacco, about 10-14 mg per cigarette. It gradually builds up in the alveoli, the small sacs in the lung that make possible absorption of oxygen into the blood stream. It's believed that their presence is a continual irritant to the cells. That irritation eventually leads to uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells.

Other compounds, called nitrosamines, are present in varying amounts. They're known to be carcinogenic from hundreds of clinical studies on small mammals. NNK is present in a very low concentration: 56.53 nanograms per cigarette. Other nitrosamines, like NNN and NAT, are present in roughly similar amounts.

A few dozen nanograms (one billionth of a gram - 1 g = 0.0353 oz) may sound like a small amount. But sometimes small amounts can have a large effect. Dog's noses, for example, are so sensitive they can detect a few molecules of certain substances. Some systems in humans are equally sensitive to certain chemicals. Add to that the fact that many of the compounds and their effects are cumulative and the case begins to look very strong.

No study has found any link between cancer and consuming one or two cigarettes per day. But such smokers are extremely rare and the odds of them catching some other serious disease are so much higher it may be masked. A smoker who consumes a pack a day for 20 years has 2-4 times the chances of getting lung cancer than a non-smoker.

Non-smokers do, in fact get it. But that doesn't show that smoking isn't a cause, only that other causes can lead to the same effect. One reason scientists have good cause to believe that smoking increases the odds of getting lung cancer is just the odds cited above. Studies also show that lung cancer was much more rare prior to WWI when smoking rates were much lower. As the number of people smoking cigarettes rose, so did the cancer rate. Similarly, as people smoke more, the rates go up.

No single fact or study proves the case. But put enough of them together, over a long enough period, and eventually the case becomes very strong. So strong that saying 'long-term, heavy smoking greatly increases the odds of acquiring lung cancer' becomes a very reasonable statement indeed. It's estimated that 87% of lung cancers are attributable to that habit.

Don't let the odds get you. Start a stop-smoking program now.

If you are about to quit, do you know what to do to fight off that urge to smoke another cigarette?

Do you know the reasons that cause you to light up that cigarette?

If you are still smoking, you need to ask yourself, “Am I ready to quit the smoking habit”?

Can I do it successfully?

There are two factors that will determine your success

1. You must have the desire to give up your habit.
2. You must have the confidence to know that you can do it.

YOU CAN! WE CAN SHOW YOU HOW.

Why Do People Smoke Cigarettes?

Obviously, smoking cigarettes is dangerous to your health. According to various studies on the effects of cigarette smoking, it is responsible for one out of every five deaths in the U.S. and is the most addictive and destructive over-the-counter drug known to man.

With all these known facts on the effects of cigarette smoking one may wonder why people still smoke cigarettes.

The history and culture surrounding cigarette smoking dates back to before World War I. During this time tobacco was smoked mostly in the form of cigars and primarily by the wealthy. Cigarettes, which are basically leftovers of the cigar making process, were smoked by the less fortunate. The number of people who smoked cigarettes boomed when the tobacco companies started to mass-produce cigarettes. Their cigarette smoking clientele: soldiers of World War I.

While inhaling smoke into your lungs is obviously unhealthy, it took some time before the true effects of smoking cigarettes became well known. It wasn’t for another 20 to 30 years after WWI that doctors first noticed the increase in lung cancer. With this increase, Reader's Digest published an article "Cancer by the Carton,” which prompted the public to be aware of the effects of cigarette smoking. Since then, extensive medical studies have now proven the correlation between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

Nicotine, the most common ingredient in cigarettes, is more addictive than heroine and doctors rank nicotine ahead of alcohol and cocaine in terms of dependence. Nicotine triggers the smoker's brain to be more efficient in processing information. Furthermore, nicotine also reduces anxiety and induces euphoria. Researches have also shown that nicotine stimulates alertness and arousal, and sedation and relaxation based on the dose of nicotine intake. These effects of nicotine, though, do not outweigh the harmful effect of nicotine addiction, which is lung cancer, and possibly other ailments, which will all eventually lead to death.

Aside from nicotine, many smokers are not aware of the fact that a cigarette contains acetylene (fuel used in welding), cyanide, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide, all of which are harmful chemicals. These chemicals are also used as poison.

What adds to the addiction to smoke cigarettes is the psychological pleasure or satisfaction a smoker gains when smoking a cigarette. The psychosocial factors also contribute to why people continue to smoke cigarettes. People surrounded by other people who smoke cigarettes will find it more difficult to stop smoking.

Regardless of the many facts and figures related to the dangers of smoking cigarettes, the percentage of people smoking cigarettes has not experienced any considerable decrease. In fact, cigarette smoking continues to increase throughout the world. The World Health Organization has estimated that by year 2020, tobacco will kill more people than any single disease in the world.

For some reason, educating people about the effects of smoking cigarettes doesn't seem to strike any sense into smokers. For some smokers, thinking that smoking is directly related to lung cancer and eventually death is a myth yet to be proven.

But whatever the reason smokers have, the facts speak for themselves. Making smoking cigarettes a habit will, sooner or later, lead to death.

We wouldn't willingly breathe poisons, carcinogens and pesticides into our lungs, yet that is exactly what smokers do every time they take a puff of a cigarette.

Cigarette smoke contains over 4000 chemical compounds, many of which are known to be extremely hazardous to our health.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced as a result of incomplete burning of carbon-containing fuels. Exposure to CO reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen. Cigarette smoke can contain high levels of CO, as well as 200 other known poisons.

Breathing low levels of CO can cause:

• fatigue
• increased chest pain in people with chronic heart disease

In otherwise healthy people, breathing higher levels of carbon monoxide causes flu-like symptoms (with no fever) such as:

• headaches
• dizziness
• weakness
• sleepiness
• nausea
• vomiting
• confusion
• disorientation

At very high levels, exposure to carbon monoxide will cause loss of consciousness and death.