"Tobacco is a Strong but Not Invincible Enemy"

What is tobacco? How does it affect us? According to the Oxford dictionary, tobacco is defined as the dried leaves of a plant that are used for making cigarettes for smoking in a pipe or for chewing. Tobacco is a sure enemy for people. Smokers are people no different from us and by smoking, they become their own enemies. Cigarettes harm the body by fouling the organs, shortening lives and finally killing the smoker. It is not a secret that smoking heightens the risk of lung cancer and this risk is directly proportional to the amount of tobacco smoked and age of the user.

"Puffing of the smoke of tobacco one to another, making the filthy smoke and stink thereof, to exhale athwart the dishes and infect the air, when very often men that abhor it are at their repast... have you not reason then to be ashamed, and to forbear this filthy novelty... a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs."

-King James I, "A Counterblast to Tobacco"

Tobacco does much more than merely harming the human body; it breaks hearts. How do you feel when you see a person losing his life to cigarettes? What about his family? Remember, the family of a smoker is greatly affected due to the smoker. Being passive smokers (a passive smoker is one who does not smoke, but inhales the smoke given off by cigarettes), they pay a terrible price for the habit of the smoker. There was the wife of a smoker who lugged a canister of oxygen around her everywhere she went. Smoking is the least thing on Earth which one should indulge into. I say that one should never even go close to smoking.

Tobacco is associated with cancers of the mouth, esophagus, pancreas, cervix, kidney and bladder. The rate of heart attacks is five times greater in smokers than in nonsmokers. But nonsmokers are not safe too. Each year more than 3,000 nonsmokers die as a result of illnesses caused by passive smoking (because of smokers). Smokeless tobacco is not any safer as well. Studies show that using chewing tobacco 8-10 times a day may be equivalent to smoking 30-40 cigarettes a day. Yet, more than 60 million people continue using tobacco. Statistics show that every day, 6000 young people try cigarettes. It is high time to stop allowing tobacco rule our life.

Do you know of someone who smokes? Will you allow the one you love be a victim of tobacco? You have to find a way to kick tobacco out of your life forever - you can make a difference. Smokers can get back to optimum health. They CAN quit smoking. It is no big deal. If one wants to achieve something with all his heart, then the entire universe will work for him to achieve it. One only has to say," Yes, I can quit." A smoker is a poor role model who harms his own body as well as others.

There are several ways one can stop smoking. One must be self-motivated and strong-willed. There are many centers available which help in stopping cigarette smoking. Feel free to contact any one of them. Do regular exercise and have a balanced diet. Focus on the positive and always talk to someone about any problems you have. Technology can be the ex-smoker's best friend. Spend your time playing on your computer or meeting people over the Internet. You can also visit US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention online at www.cdc.gov/tobacco/. QuitNet (www.quitnet.com) is a free online tobacco control program which has helped more than 100,000 smokers kick the habit. One can also start practicing meditation. This will help relieve stress (due to which one may take recourse to smoking) and improves one's health considerably.

Quit smoking and help others kick the habit. You will then breathe easier, and so will those around you.

(Reference from: The Vibrant Life)