Yeah, don't give me that look. I'm pretty sure most of you who sees this post, will SKIP this post.
I know you don't need another preachy grandmother telling you why smoking is bad and so on. But yes, it's true that smoking is definitely bad. I know it, and I know that deep down, you know it too.

I've written about why we shouldn't drink alcohol excessively, now let's talk about cigarettes.

I can understand why people do it, or feel like they need to do it. But that doesn't justify why you can't feel like you have the choice to stop doing it as well. It's a little redundant (talk about the million articles both online & offline about smoking hazards), but here's a compressed compilation of the main reasons why you shouldn't smoke and why you should stop - plus how you can get yourself to stop.



Health issues
We all know what it is. The Big C. Do I really need to state the obvious? Next!

Risking others
We all know what second-hand smoke is. We know that it's worse than the first-hand smoke that enters your lungs. So it really angers me to see men, smoking & blowing his heinous second-hand smoke at the restaurant table where his family - wife & young children - are having their meal. Worse still, I've seen pregnant women or women with a toddler in their hands smoking away as though it's as normal as breast-feeding. The only thing I can think of when I see them is, ARE YOU MAD? Why would anyone want to risk the health of their loved ones? It's no different from feeding them poison, really.

STOP by picking restaurants that are air-conditioned or sit in non-smoking areas. It won't just benefit your family, it'll also help you resist the urge to smoke (well, because you can't anyways) so, use that time to spend REAL quality time with your family or friends to get your mind off your pack of ciggies.

Your chance of getting laid (or even a date) decreases by 60%
Unless you like people with bad breath, or smells bad all the time - chances are you're gonna miss out on a lot of opportunities with potential partners. Studies show that many people are deterred from people who smell like an ashtray all the time. Common sense tells you that if they smell like an ashtray, they'd definitely taste like an ashtray. Would you like to kiss an ashtray? No thank you. Sure, they can 'cover-up' the smell by eating mints. But would you still kiss an ashtray that has been cleaned with water? I think not.

STOP and urge yourself to do something about it, unless you aim to never get kissed (or laid) by a decent person other than another ashtray like yourself. Why deprive yourself of a normal life just for that stinky-cool-factor? Think about it.

You can never be a fit person
I don't know a single body-builder, gym-goer, athlete or sportsman who smokes. When you're a smoker, you can't do a lot of fun activities like river-rafting, cross-country cycling, trekking - basically anything that requires exerting energy. Why? Because you'll be wheezing before you even hit the half-point mark. No one would want to have a smoker in their teams for competitive sports. Even if you joined, you're probably gonna end up being the kid who gets picked last. And that''s just sad. That said, you can also forget about your dreams of playing football or with any major league teams for any sort of sport.

STOP by engaging yourself in these fun activities with your friends. Have as much fun as possible, it'll help relieve you of the stress (that caused you to smoke in the first place) and eventually, you'll be having so much fun, you wouldn't even that nicotine fix. Set a goal or motivation to be good at one sport or another. Dedication makes a difference. Read this if running is your thing.

Yellow teeth, darkened lips
No joke. Smoking stains your teeth (the same way drinking too much caffeine does) and your lips will become darker due to some cells beneath your epidermis that gets affected by the nicotine levels in your system. Is this a combination that you really want to live with for the rest of your life? What about ruining your chances to find a life partner? I find it really gross to even look at someone with yellow teeth - can't even imagine kissing them. Match that up with weird, dark lips and smokey breath. What a winner.

STOP by hauling your self-vanity into the picture. Look at yourself in the mirror and seriously, just seriously ask yourself if you can live with looking like that for the rest of your life. Think about the family photos you're gonna take. Think about the future wedding photos you're going to need to take. Is that how you want to remember yourself? Are your degraded looks worth that short puff of relief? Think about it, HARD.

You'll be unnecessarily broke by at least 30%
Cigarettes are not cheap. The more frequent the habit, the more money you burn. If you're an average joe/jane earning the average dough, chances are, you'll always be on a tight budget to support your health-degrading habit. It's worse if you're a student. Can you just imagine the amount of money you could've saved for something better? I can. Not to mention, the amount of money you'll have to fork out later on to support your health issues.

STOP by listing down the great things you can do or buy with that money you've wasted to make tobacco companies richer. The money is better off donated to someone who needs it, not some tobacco tycoon. Even if you're not the generous type, the money would be put to better use taking that girl out on a nice dinner date or for a vacation to some amazing island. Even better, tap into the whole Apple trend and buy yourself every iGadget on the market. Anything would've be better than that pack of ciggies. Can you honestly tell me that there is nothing better you can do with that money? I think not.

Sorry honey, smoking does NOT help you lose weight
Total myth that's created by tabloids about celebrities. Smoking does not help you get thin, NOT in a healthy way anyways. The reason why people smoke before they eat is to suppress the appetite because smoking leaves a really bad aftertaste in your mouth. However, if you're gonna control your food intake this way, you'll need to smoke for the rest of your life to maintain your weight. Once you quit smoking, you'll experience withdrawal symptoms which will cause you to eat A LOT and put on more weight than ever. It's true and you can Google that.

STOP by considering the gym as a better alternative to lose weight. Of course, you'll need to kick the smoking habit in order to perform well at the gym and you'll then realize just how much faster the pounds come off. Determination & motivation is the key. That, and eating properly.

Looking like 50 when you're only 30
Smoking helps the skin deteriorate faster. Your skin's natural elasticity would slowly be destroyed by the nasty chemicals in your cigarette and the nicotine that your skin will just lose its luster, look really dull, dry up and produce a mother-load of wrinkles. Hello, someone's become a senior citizen overnight! Sure, you'll think, now I'm only in my twenties, I'll stop well before my thirties. Fact is, your twenties is the most crucial period to maintain your body because by thirty, your body is much slower at responding and would have already been through a load of damages from your years worth of cigarettes. Your body responds to everything better in its twenties, so don't feed it with nasty crap.

STOP if you don't want to look like an old fart by the time you hit thirty. Nuff' said.

I could go on and on, but these are some of the main issues that I want you to think about.
Is our health really worth that few sticks of making us feel like our life matters? You need to wake up and realize that YOU do matter, in ways that you don't even realize because you've been too ignorant to notice while you're sucking on your cancer sticks. It's time to truly wake up.





xxx