Some of the choices that individuals make that affect their health and well-being is:
Smoking
There are not many smokers about who started smoking after the age of eighteen. In fact, the majority of smokers took up the habit in their early or mid teens. At such a young age, they don't really think about the health risks of smoking and they certainly do not realise how addictive smoking can be. Teenagers probably think that they can try smoking a few times and then take it or leave it. However, the reality is that it doesn't take long to become addicted to nicotine and smoking. Within a short period of time, children can experience the same cravings and withdrawal symptoms as an adult, as well as smoke as many cigarettes or more.
Research has shown that smoking reduces life expectancy by seven to eight years. Of the 300 people who die every day in the UK as a result of smoking, many are comparatively young smokers.
The number of people under the age of 70 who die from smoking-related diseases exceeds the total figure for deaths caused by breast cancer, AIDS, traffic accidents and drug addiction. Non-smokers and ex-smokers can also look forward to a healthier old age than smokers.
Physical Affects
Smoking is the single most important modifiable risk factor for Coronary Heart Disease CHD in the young and the old. A lifetime non-smoker is 60 percent less likely to have CHD and 30 percent are less likely to have a stroke than a smoker. Smoking mirrors other patterns of ill health in that the highest levels are in the lowest social groups. Although the proportion of young people who smoke is similar across all social groups, by their mid- 30s, 50 percent of young people from higher social classes have stopped as apposed to only 25 percent from the lowest income groups. The result is that one-third of the smokers in the population are concentrated in only the lowest 10 percent of earners in the country. Smoking can cause illnesses such as Bronchitis and Emphysema. Bronchitis is a chest infection and can be caused by cigarette smoke damaging the airways of the lungs so the tubes become blocked by mucus and easily infected by bacteria. Emphysema is a condition caused when cigarette smoke destroys the delicate structure of the air sacs in the lungs, preventing the efficient exchange of oxygen supplies. Smoking causes nine out of ten cases of emphysema.
Below you can see how smoking affects the body.
As a smoker, you're at risk for cancer of the mouth. Tobacco smoke can also cause gum disease, tooth decay and bad breath. The teeth become unsightly and yellow. Smokers may experience frequent headaches. And lack of oxygen and narrowed blood vessels to the brain can lead to strokes.
Moving down to your chest, smoke passes through the bronchi, or breathing tubes. Hydrogen cyanide and other chemicals in the smoke attack the lining of the bronchi, inflaming them and causing that chronic smoker's cough. Because the bronchi are weakened, you're more likely to get bronchial infections. Mucus secretion in your lungs is impaired, also leading to chronic coughing. Smokers are 10 times as likely to get lung cancer and emphysema as nonsmokers.
The effects of smoking on your heart are devastating. Nicotine raises blood pressure and makes the blood clot more easily. Carbon monoxide robs the blood of oxygen and leads to the development of cholesterol deposits on the artery walls. All of these effects add up to an increased risk of heart attack. In addition, the poor circulation resulting from cholesterol deposits can cause strokes, loss of circulation in fingers and toes and impotence.
