It is heartening to know that if one had not had any heart attack earlier and he stops smoking, his chances of having a heart attack drop to that of a non-smoker in about six months' time. Stopping of smoking is also the single most effective means of secondary prevention (recurrence of a heart attack) in heart patients.     Smoking leads to pain and stiffness in the legs while walking. No amount of drugs can help. The only remedy is to give up smoking. If women smoke during pregnancy, there is an increased risk of death of the baby in the womb or soon after birth. Even where the baby... Show more

It is heartening to know that if one had not had any heart attack earlier and he stops smoking, his chances of having a heart attack drop to that of a non-smoker in about six months' time. Stopping of smoking is also the single most effective means of secondary prevention (recurrence of a heart attack) in heart patients.    
Smoking leads to pain and stiffness in the legs while walking. No amount of drugs can help. The only remedy is to give up smoking. If women smoke during pregnancy, there is an increased risk of death of the baby in the womb or soon after birth. Even where the baby survives, there is likelihood of delayed physical and intellectual development of the baby till it reaches 11 years of age.    
Still worse the fact about smoking is that passive smoking is equally dangerous. Passive smokers are those who do not smoke but being in the company of smokers have to inhale smoke exhaled by the smokers They are equally prone to heart diseases, lung cancer and bronchitis, for no fault of theirs. It is seen that the incidence of these diseases is greater among women whose husbands are heavy smokers As such, every non-smoker has a fundamental right to safeguard himself against the danger of passive smoking. 'Your smoking is injurious to my health and I have a right to stop you from smoking' could be the slogan against passive smoking. It is a great threat to the health of the individual, the family and the society. In fact one has to choose between health and smoking including passive smoking. One cannot have both.    
Another matter of grave concern about smoking is the long time interval between the start of smoking habit and the manifestation of deadly diseases like cancer, chronic bronchitis and heart attack. People are generally not aware of the link between smoking and the misery they have to undergo years later and younger people often fall victim to this menacing habit under the wrong impression that they are immune to its disastrous effects, not realising that they are heading towards catastrophe. The prolonged incubation period of many tobacco-related diseases has prevented recognition of the size of the threat and the grim picture of chronic and life-threatening diseases.    

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