In 1991 around one in seven smokers attributed no illness to smoking. This is compared to never-smokers and past smokers, of whom only 3% and 5% respectively shared this view. However, it is likely that smokers' stated beliefs reflect at least some degree of denial. While smokers may accept that smoking is harmful to health, they may, at the same time, dismiss their own chances of being affected. (www.quit.org) If people don't know the risks involved and they enjoy smoking then why would they stop? The only way to get people to quit and prevent smoking is to teach them about how it is going to affect them and how it could potentially kill them. .
The two most frequent and fatal causes of death among smokers are cancer and heart disease, which are directly linked to smoking. Cancer may occur in people aged in there thirties, especially if they have smoked for about 15-20 years. Smoking has causes 73% of fatalities from coronary heart disease in smokers between the ages of 35-44 years. Before ages 75-84 years, the proportion of coronary heart disease deaths caused by smoking in current smokers falls to 14% (www.quit.org). In younger people the influence of smoking on heart disease and cancer is much greater. One would think that with such risk of these toxic effects smokers would quit immediately and potential smokers would give up the thought. On the contrary, smokers dismiss these effects, as they haven't enough information, or sense, to conclude that this may happen to them. .
The physical toll that smoking has on the body is far greater than what the average smoker and non-smokers realize. Smokers are in far less shape than people who choose not to smoke, hindering performance in both aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Smokers are slower, reach exhaustion faster, and achieve subordinate goals. These disadvantages are directly related to extensiveness of smoking and are caused by the effects of carbon monoxide on blood oxygen levels, as well as increased heart and metabolic rates stimulated by smoking.
