Smoked turkey is better than smoked lungs

Thinking of reasons to go cold turkey? Well how about this: lung cancer. Everyone knows that smoking can contribute directly to lung cancer, but what you may not know is that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among all men and women in the world! If that is not enough, think of the fact that smoking is the single greatest cause of preventable death. All it takes is the motivation and commitment to change. "Addiction is hard to overcome," you say? Well maybe you just need to find something worth changing for. Would you quit for a spouse or family member? Would you quit for the chance to meet your grandchildren? The fact of the matter is that a quarter of all people with lung cancer have no symptoms when they are diagnosed with it. What's worse is that 30-40% of cases of lung cancer are metastatic, which means the cancer spreads, most often to the liver, bones, and the brain. How long might you survive with this devastating disease? Only about 14% of all people who develop lung cancer survive for 5 years! Is this starting to make sense to you? If you smoke, you are putting yourself and those around you in great danger. You would never want to put your family in any danger would you? THEN DON'T SMOKE AROUND THEM!
If you are a smoker and show symptoms like chronic cough or coughing up blood, chest pain, and shortness of breath, you may have developed lung cancer and need to get a chest x-ray immediately. The earlier you catch it the greater the chance you have of stopping it before it spreads or grows.
By now you are probably tired of hearing about how bad smoking is for you, but if you take one thing away from reading this, know that you can't put a price tag on your health. Smoking at least a pack a day puts you at 20-25 times greater risk than someone who has never smoked. The good news is that once you quit, your risk begins gradually decreasing immediately, eventually to a risk level similar to someone who has never smoked. So take a moment and think seriously about how your life and those you care about might be different without tobacco. If you know that quitting is what is best but just haven't yet, now is your chance. Don't buy another pack, hide your ashtrays and lighters, and get support from those that love you. Today you can make one of the smartest decisions of your life, the decision to stop gambling with your health and go cold turkey!

-Peter Guirguis