Smoking costs people their lives - not just because it may eventually kill them. A person's life is changed by the very first cigarette he or she smokes, and by every cigarette after that.

Self-Esteem

• Many smokers keep smoking even though they wish they could quit, which makes them feel powerless and disappointed in themselves.
• Addiction reduces self-control; a smoker who needs a nicotine "fix" can't cope well with even small amounts of stress and can hardly think about anything except the next cigarette.

Health/Performance

• Shortness of breath
• Coughing; dry, irritated throat
• Less energy
• Less stamina
• Higher blood pressure
• More mucous in nose and lungs
• More colds and flus
• Asthma gets much worse
• Air sacs in lungs damaged by smoke
• Slower healing of cuts, broken bones, etc
• Reduced sense of smell and taste
• High risk of developing emphysema, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, and heart disease later in life - these diseases are all painful killers
• For young women who use oral contraceptives, greatly increased risk of blood clots and strokes

Appearance

• Smell of stale tobacco clings to hair and clothes (the human body actually attracts smoke, like iron filings attracted to a magnet)
• Premature facial wrinkles, caused by reduced oxygen supply to the skin
• Yellow fingers, teeth
• Smoker's breath ("like kissing an ashtray")
• Stray ashes soil clothes, sometimes burn holes

Friends

• Nonsmokers often find the smell and taste of smoke distasteful and prefer not to be around smokers (i.e., options for friends, boyfriends, girlfriends become limited/defined)
• Nonsmokers often want to avoid second-hand smoke, which is harmful

Family

• Parents may be disappointed or angry
• Younger siblings may be influenced to smoke
• Smoking during pregnancy places the unborn baby at risk of miscarriage, still-birth, low birth weight, and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)

Money

• As addiction takes hold, the smoker spends more and more money on cigarettes

Environment

• Second-hand smoke is poisonous to everyone who breathes it

Reprinted, with permission, from Smoke-Free for Life, a smoking prevention curriculum supplement from the Nova Scotia Department of Health, Drug Dependency and Tobacco Control Unit, 1996.

Related Lesson

The True Story