By Donna V. Scaglione
Cigarette smoking has been associated with risk of early death since 1964, when the Surgeon General’s report officially linked the habit to cancer. Since then smoking among adults in the United States has dropped by 50 percent, but nearly 47 million continue to puff away.
What’s more, a recent study on smoking risk by University of California researchers found that people between the ages of 65 and 74 years old were three times as likely to die from any cause if they were currently one- to two-pack-a-day smokers, compared to if they had never lit up. If you’re someone who still smokes, take a minute to consider more good reasons to quit.
1. Live longer
Chances are that you know smoking causes lung cancer, but did you know that it also may increase your risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease? In a recent study, Harvard School of Public Health researchers found previous or current smokers were 40 percent to 45 percent more likely to die of the fatal neuromuscular degenerative disease than non-smokers, according to Reuters Health.
Smoking also increases your risk of osteoporosis; respiratory problems like pneumonia and influenza; heart disease; cancers of the liver, pancreas, bladder, cervix, kidney, stomach, esophagus, larynx, mouth, lips, sinuses, and nose; and acute myeloid leukemia.
