Did you know that in addition to the 5000 or so carcinogenic agents found in cigarettes, there are five extremely deadly poisons?

Did you also know that smoking cigarettes causes other types of cancer to develop besides lung cancer?

Here’s how it works. When a cigarette is lit, the fire acts as a catalyst that releases the poisons and carcinogenic agents. When the smoke is inhaled, the mucous membranes of the lungs, gums and throat absorb these carcinogenic agents including the five deadly poisons that are present in all cigarettes. Those poisons are formaldehyde – carbon monoxide – nicotine – arsenic (that has been a favorite poison used for centuries to murder people) and cyanide. Interestingly, these deadly poisons are being brought into one’s body on purpose – not by accident. If one was subjected to those same poisons while working in the work place – they would bring a law suit against their employer.

But I digress. Anyway, this poison-filled carcinogenic smoke is now sucked down into the bronchial air ways… and the lungs. Now in addition to throat, mouth, gum and lung cancer – this person has opened themselves up to contracting emphysema. Can we have a show of hands of how many want to fight with all of their might for the next breath and never get it? Most people would not want to pull a little green bottle behind them while they shop for groceries, or to be pushed in a wheel chair while sucking on an oxygen tube.

Again I digress. Well anyway, now all of these deadly cancer causing ingredients and poisons are floating around in the lungs. The blood is pumped from the heart into the lungs where it is supposed to get oxygen rich blood. But instead of getting oxygen rich blood, this blood is contaminated! This blood has been infused with those five deadly poisons – carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, nicotine, arsenic and cyanide and all of the cancer causing agents. It travels through the entire body. That is why smokers contract ovarian, testicular, bladder, pancreatic, breast, liver, and stomach cancer. Surveys have shown that the majority of the U.S. population still thinks that smoking cigarettes only causes lung cancer. Wrong!

Believe it or not it gets worse. Smoking cigarettes not only constricts (makes much smaller) the blood vessels in the brain, but it also turns the body into a blood clotting machine. What does this mean? It means that when you throw off a blood clot, and if the blood clot travels to your brain, it stands a good chance of getting stuck in the blood vessels. This is known as a stroke. Some strokes kill. Some paralyze one to varying degrees – from total paralysis, to impaired speech, to being trapped in your body with no way of communicating, to reduced mental and cognitive abilities.

The Surgeon General’s warning means nothing to most people. But the downside to smoking is a far greater risk than this writer would ever take.

My non smoking program consists of three sessions within two weeks. Rarely does someone leave my office and not immediately become a non smoker the very first day! The other two sessions are generally used for reinforcement. If you wish to become a non smoker for life, call Bob Crow at 404.277.1827.