Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop stated that the nicotine in tobacco is every bit as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Smoking is the single most preventable cause of major illness. Authorities claim each cigarette takes 8 minutes off of your life; a pack a day takes one month off your life and two packs a day, takes twelve to fifteen years off your life. Cigarettes have more than four thousand known poisons any of which can kill in high enough doses.

Nicotine, perhaps the most addictive substance in cigarettes, powerfully constricts the blood vessels throughout the body, interfering with circulation in the brain and the extremities. It stimulates the heart, raises the blood pressure, and irritates the urinary system. Smokers are also prone to heartburn and ulcers because smoking inhibits a protective bicarbonate secretion in the small intestine that neutralises acid. Cigars are even worse than cigarettes. Smoking even reduces the size of a man's erection. All muscles grow slower and need longer recovery time if you smoke.

Unfortunately, smoking also harms nonsmokers. Secondhand or passive smoke is now the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Passive smoke reduces fertility, successful pregnancies, and normal birth weight babies. It increases the instance of heart disease and osteoporosis in women and men, cervical and lung cancer. A direct link has been found between lung cancer and flue dried tobacco, especially that to which sugar has been added, while no significant correlation between traditional sugar-free, air dried tobacco and cancer have been established. Studies show that England and Wales, which have the highest male lung cancer rates in the world, also have the highest sugar content in cigarettes, about seventeen percent.

The good news is that just twenty minutes after quitting smoking, your body begins a series of positive changes that will continue for years. According to the American Cancer Society all benefits are lost by smoking just one cigarette a day.

20 minutes.

Blood pressure drops to normal. Body temperature of hands and feet rises to normal.

Eight hours.

Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal. Oxygen level in blood increases to normal.

24 hours.

Chance of heart attack decreases.

48 Hours.

Nerve Endings start regrowing.

Ability to smell and taste is enhanced.

Two weeks to three months.

Circulation improves. Lung function increases up to 30%.

One to 9 months.

Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease. Cilia regrow in the lungs,allowing lungs to handle mucous, keep clean and reduce infection. Body's overall energy rises.

One year.

Risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker. You've saved $1058.00 - a cruise to the islands! Five years.

Lung cancer death rate for average former smoker (a pack a day) decreases by almost half. Stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker five to fifteen years after quitting Ten years.

Lung cancer death is similar to that of a nonsmoker. Precancerous cells are replaced.

15 Years.

Risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker.

The best defence against smoking-related illness is to quit smoking.

Improving the diet may also help repair some of the damage. Even though Japan has the highest sale of cigarettes, it also has the lowest rate of lung cancer. Japanese eat more fibre and soy and consume less meat than many western cultures. The Japanese also drink large quantities of green tea which contains disease fighting antioxidants.

Next time. Tips on how to stop smoking and reverse the damage.