Everybody knows that smoking is dangerous. Smoking can damage our body, For Example, your lungs, your brain, and your heart. The poisonous chemicals in a cigarette can cause death. Think about this, if you smoke you won't be able to run fast or jump as high if you can't breathe properly. Another problem is that you can get addicted easily by one of the chemicals called Nicotine. Nicotine can make you feel hyper sometimes. The more you smoke, the more you want to continue to smoke. Your body becomes physically dependent on the drug and begins to crave it

.Smoking can also be dangerous for unborn children. Mothers who smoke are more likely to suffer from miscarriages, bleeding and nausea, and babies of smoking mothers have reduced birth weights or may be premature. These babies are more susceptible to sudden infant death syndrome and may also have lifelong health complications due to chest infections and asthma.

Why we should quit smoke:

Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the United States.  Smoking causes more than one in five deaths in America.  90 percent of lung cancer in men is directly related to smoking and 80 percent of lung

cancer in women is caused by cigarettes.   About 23 percent of adult men and about 18 percent of adult women smoke. The highest percentage of people who smoke are between the ages of 25 and 44. According to the American Heart Association, most adult smokers started smoking when

they were preteens or teenagers. Unfortunately, many young people don’t fully understand the dangers of smoking.

About 60 percent of American children ages 4-11 are exposed to secondhand smoke at home.

On average, smokers die 13 to 14 years earlier than nonsmokers.  Since 1965, more than 45 percent of adults who have ever smoked have quit. You can be one of the millions of people who successfully quit every year.

It is never too late to give up smoking, even those who have smoked for 20 years or more can realize tremendous health benefits from giving up the habit.

Serious Health Risks to Children

Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke because they are still developing physically, have higher breathing rates than adults, and have little control over their indoor environments. Children exposed to high doses of secondhand smoke, such as those whose mothers smoke, run the greatest relative risk of experiencing damaging health effects.

Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause asthma in children who have not previously exhibited symptoms.

Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome .

Infants and children younger than 6 who are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk of lower respiratory track infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis .

Children who regularly breathe secondhand smoke are at increased risk for middle ear infections .

Health Risks to Children with Asthma

Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease affecting 1 in 13 school aged children on average.

Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause new cases of asthma in children who have not previously shown symptoms.

Exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger asthma attacks and make asthma symptoms more severe.

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The Science Behind the Risks

1. Surgeon General Warning: Secondhand Smoke Puts Children At Risk

On June 27th, 2006, the Surgeon General released a major new report on involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke, concluding that secondhand smoke causes disease and death in children and nonsmoking adults. The report finds a causal relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and declares that the home is becoming the predominant location for exposure of children and adults to secondhand smoke.