Figuring Out The Truth Of The Tremendous Cost Of A Smoking Habit Turned Into Addiction

Do not think in purely monetary terms when trying to figure the tremendous cost of a smoking habit. The initial purchase price of enough cigarettes to create a full fledged habit is small compared to the price paid in ill health, loss of life, and harmful effects on others.

Tremendous is a good word choice, because smoking has severe consequences. However, let's start with the fact that, while the economy and job security have both gone down, the price of cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and chewing tobacco have gone up. It is hard for those who do not smoke to see why anyone would pay good money for a bad habit. Unfortunately, common sense does not help much with this compulsive habit.

The smokers puts their money down for fragrant white tickets to the high risk seats, where they can play the odds with congestive heart disease, heart attack, stroke, emphysema, and cancer. Like all those with a compulsive gambling problem, the fact that the odds are stacked against them means nothing compared to the satisfaction of the next smoke.

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Other forms of tobacco are no safer. Young men think chewing tobacco is cool, then become addicted and can't stop when they are old enough to know that cool does not come in a can. Later, they may pay the unthinkable price of losing part of their face to mouth cancer. Cigars, with the traditional savoring of the smoke by holding it in the mouth as long as possible, are just as risky.

Even before the final bill comes due, smokers have paid the price in health. They are too short of breath to enjoy the exercise they should have, they can't climb stairs or take a good deep breath of fresh air, they can't work or play very long without needing a break, and they get irritable and nervous if they go too long without their 'fix'.

Individuals that do not smoke themselves can be harmed by 'second hand smoke' from the burning tobacco of others. Research on this danger has resulted in laws that set no smoking standards for restaurants and public places. The effects of breathing smoke polluted air are especially harmful for children who share enclosed spaces like rooms or cars. Smoking by adults sets a terrible example for children, too.

There is a whole other side to the cost for people who choose to smoke. They are risking the years that they may spend with family and friends to engage in a habit that can shorten their lives considerably. Remember how the whole United States population mourned when Michael Landon lost his battle with cancer and left his wife and young children behind. Long time friends remembered his earlier smoking habits after his death, and the depth of his inhalations of the deadly smoke.

A consequence of this addiction is the painful attempts to stop. Not only does the stopping period cause physical symptoms, the mental strain is so bad that many people simply cannot do it. In desperation, they buy the patch and chew the gum, eat too much, yell at the kids or kick the dog, bum cigarettes off their friends while promising to never buy another pack, get hypnotized, and then often give up and let the monkey climb back on. Ask them, and they will tell you the attempt was true misery.

All of these problems stem from the first, foolish experiment with tobacco, and are part of the tremendous cost of a smoking habit.

Stop smoking and weight loss are two of the most important things people are trying to do in this day and age. You should join something huge and learn how to achieve the goals to get healthy.