Time To Talk Turkey

In honor of Thanksgiving I thought we could talk turkey. Talking turkey is defined as follows, “to speak frankly and get down to the basic facts of a matter.” So lets talk turkey about smoking. My father smoked for over 60 years and after a long stay in the hospital a few years back he finally decided to quit. All his years of smoking have left him with a lot of health problems,the most severe being  his heart. Last year he suffered a heart attack and had to have a quadruple bypass as well as a valve replacement.  I do not want this to be you. So here are some facts to help you make a better choice before you head down that road.

When you use tobacco you are increasing your chances of getting cancer and other life threatening disease (stoke, heart disease and bronchitis). The chances are increased due to the fact that your body is still growing and the chemicals in the cigarettes affect your bodies normal development. Besides the poisons in cigarettes, nicotine is very addictive and can be very hard to quit. Smoking at your age can lead to more problems the older you get like wrinkles, gray hair, hair loss, and the inability to participate in activities because you can’t breathe. Most teens are not using tobacco products, but of the ones that are nearly a third of them will die from tobacco related diseases. These facts were found in Tips For Teens: Tobacco.

If you are a smoker and are thinking about quitting, TeenQuit.com might be helpful to you. Find the support you need to kick this habit and have a Happy Turkey Day!

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