Everybody is always saying "Smoking is bad." Well, we know smoking is bad. But, that's not all we need to know. We also need to know why.

Why is smoking bad for you?

There are many reasons why smoking is bad, but let's just start with the cigarette itself first. In 1985, according to an Federal Trade Commission report, the average tobacco cigarette contained .16 mg "tar" and 1.0 mg nicotine. A cigarette now is five to ten times more powerful than it was. In fact, smoking one tobacco cigarette can cause more damage to your body than one marijuana cigarette. The two ingredients, "tar" and nicotine, along with small amounts of other material, are added to cigarette tobacco to make it more potent. When you smoke a cigarette, all these ingredients burn and you inhale the smoke that is created. The smoke travels down your esophagus, (the same tube that your food and drink travel down), and goes straight into the lungs. Once in the lungs, the material in the smoke sticks to the lungs while the rest of the smoke is exhaled. The leftover material can cause problems in your lungs as well as your throat. You could get minor sickness like coughing, sore throat and headaches, but this can lead to major sickness like throat or lung cancer, problems with pregnancy, emphysema, and possibly even death.

Now ask yourself, "If smoking cigarettes is that bad, why do so many people do it?" Some smokers may not have known the dangers involved in cigarette smoking until after they started, but by then it's too late: they are already hooked, because cigarettes are extremely addictive. Another reason is peer pressure. Some kids' friends pressure them when they say it's cool to smoke. Sometimes, too, this same type of influence is found in advertising. Make-believe people like "the Marlboro Man," "Joe the Camel," and others do cool things and act important while smoking, just to get you to think that if you smoke this brand, you can do these things too. This isn't true. These people are not real and the things they do are made up.

Even though cigarette smoking is bad for your health and you may not like it when someone does it, you should not have bad feelings toward that person. Many smokers may have been trying to quit for years once they realized the health risks. It's not easy to stop this habit "cold turkey" after smoking for so long.

Now that you know smoking is bad for your health and you know why, I hope that you will make a smart and well thought out decision not to smoke and stay clear from equally harmful drugs and alcohol. They will not do anything to help you, and it would be a waste of time, money and effort to use them. ?