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- Apr 5, 2009
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Smoking rate for U.S. adults drops to record low...
Cigarette smoking among U.S. adults last year touched its lowest on record, a drop spurred by higher prices, smoke-free policies and anti-smoking campaigns, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.
About 17.8 percent of American adults smoked cigarettes in 2013, down from 20.9 percent in 2005 and 42.4 percent in 1965, when the U.S. government began keeping records on smoking, the federal health agency said.
<snip>
The U.S. Midwest has the highest adult cigarette smoking rate, and the West has the lowest, according to the study.
Lesbians, gays and bisexual adults smoke about 50 percent more cigarettes than heterosexual people, the CDC said.
<snip>
States With Smoking Bans Tend to Have Lower Smoking Rates
The life expectancy for a smoker in the United States is about 64, which is 14 years shorter than the national average (which includes smokers), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Going by these numbers it becomes clear that few pastimes, habits or addictions are deadlier than smoking. Only Russian roulette and scorpion juggling come to mind.
Much more than cancer
Part of the problem of the misconception of real risks is the emphasis on smoking and lung cancer. The greater danger is from vascular diseases leading to heart attacks and stroke, which kill more smokers than all cancers combined. Toxins in the tobacco smoke cause inflammation and hardening in the arteries.
Nearly as common as lung cancer among smokers is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which entails the narrowing of airways in the lung, largely in the form of chronic bronchitis or emphysema. Bronchitis is a result of smoking-induced inflammation; emphysema stems from cigarette smoking hardening the alveoli, the little sacks in the lungs where oxygen meets blood.
If painful death as a middle-age adult doesn't move you, consider life-quality issues. Smokers get sick more often because smoke paralyzes tiny hair-like structures in the lungs called cilia, which otherwise sweep dirt and bacteria out of your lungs. Smokers have less endurance, particularly sexual endurance, because carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in the blood.
Yet the core argument of ardent smokers remains firm: Smoking doesn't kill everyone. About 50 percent of smokers do reach old age, albeit with diminished taste buds, diminished endurance, diminished eyesight, yellow teeth and bad breath.
As with Obamacare, rightwing/Republicans will say passing regulations/laws that "force" people to live longer, healthier, more productive lives is... is a bad thing? And-----and they'll say they should have the right to become a burden on society, their families, loved oines and-----and to commit suicide by cigarette.
.
Smoking rate for U.S. adults drops to record low...
Cigarette smoking among U.S. adults last year touched its lowest on record, a drop spurred by higher prices, smoke-free policies and anti-smoking campaigns, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.
About 17.8 percent of American adults smoked cigarettes in 2013, down from 20.9 percent in 2005 and 42.4 percent in 1965, when the U.S. government began keeping records on smoking, the federal health agency said.
<snip>
The U.S. Midwest has the highest adult cigarette smoking rate, and the West has the lowest, according to the study.
Lesbians, gays and bisexual adults smoke about 50 percent more cigarettes than heterosexual people, the CDC said.
<snip>
States With Smoking Bans Tend to Have Lower Smoking Rates
Going by these numbers it becomes clear that few pastimes, habits or addictions are deadlier than smoking. Only Russian roulette and scorpion juggling come to mind.
Much more than cancer
Part of the problem of the misconception of real risks is the emphasis on smoking and lung cancer. The greater danger is from vascular diseases leading to heart attacks and stroke, which kill more smokers than all cancers combined. Toxins in the tobacco smoke cause inflammation and hardening in the arteries.
Nearly as common as lung cancer among smokers is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which entails the narrowing of airways in the lung, largely in the form of chronic bronchitis or emphysema. Bronchitis is a result of smoking-induced inflammation; emphysema stems from cigarette smoking hardening the alveoli, the little sacks in the lungs where oxygen meets blood.
If painful death as a middle-age adult doesn't move you, consider life-quality issues. Smokers get sick more often because smoke paralyzes tiny hair-like structures in the lungs called cilia, which otherwise sweep dirt and bacteria out of your lungs. Smokers have less endurance, particularly sexual endurance, because carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in the blood.
Yet the core argument of ardent smokers remains firm: Smoking doesn't kill everyone. About 50 percent of smokers do reach old age, albeit with diminished taste buds, diminished endurance, diminished eyesight, yellow teeth and bad breath.
As with Obamacare, rightwing/Republicans will say passing regulations/laws that "force" people to live longer, healthier, more productive lives is... is a bad thing? And-----and they'll say they should have the right to become a burden on society, their families, loved oines and-----and to commit suicide by cigarette.
.
