Did you know…
- About 20% of UK adults smoke – around 10 million people.
- Smokers live an average of 10 years less than non-smokers.
- Half of regular smokers will eventually be killed by their smoking.
- Each year, over 100,000 smokers in the UK die from smoking related causes.
- 90% of lung cancer cases are directly caused by smoking.
- 6 million people die each year globally from smoking. That’s three quarters of the population of London wiped out each year.
- Smoking is the leading cause of premature death in the UK, killing more people each year than obesity, alcohol, road traffic accidents and drug addiction combined.
* Statistics from Ash (Action on Smoking & Health)
Now these facts are sobering but what’s the problem with them? They are too removed from people’s day to day life. Be honest, what do think right now when you look at that list? Pay attention to what you say to yourself when presented with the overwhelming evidence – it will help you start to understand why you continue to smoke.
People who have successfully stopped smoking rarely do it because of a risk (albeit a high one) that they may die of it at some point in the future. People who successfully stop smoking, stop for 2 main reasons:-
- They realise how badly it’s affecting them now.
- They realise that smoking does absolutely nothing for them.
Do you really want to poison yourself for the benefit of tobacco companies’ profit and government revenue, or do you want more out of life?
The choice is yours.
