With so many dangers associated with smoking, especially the correlation between smoking and the development of lung cancer, it is amazing to see how many people continue to voluntarily take part in this activity! Why is it that these mostly mature, reasonably intelligent men and women of every nationality allow such a small object to have so much control over their lives? You’d think it would be easy to just say “NO” to this tiny little death machine, but in reality it just isn’t so. Why? Because smoking is a habit and habits are hard to break. Interestingly even efforts to raise the price of a pack of cigarettes have failed to slow the demand. And even though they aren’t cheap, cigarettes are very easy to buy, which makes it even harder to break this habit. Smoking is the number one contributor to lung cancer. Besides causing lung cancer, cigarette smoking can cause other health-related problems including emphysema, bronchitis, and heart disease. Combine cigarette smoking with excess weight, stress, and a sedentary lifestyle, and a person who smokes literally becomes a ticking time bomb. Here are some interesting bits of information about smoking and lung cancer. Any amount of smoking can ultimately cause lung cancer, but how long you have been smoking, how deeply you inhale, and how many cigarettes you smoke on a regular basis all impact the development of lung cancer. It goes without saying that people who smoke a pack or more a day and who have smoked most of their lives are significantly increasing the likelihood that lung cancer will develop. Quitting smoking may not stop lung cancer from developing, but doing so still is highly advisable. You immediately lower your risk of developing lung cancer the moment you stop (but only when you stop for good). The body will go into repair mode within a day or two after you stop. It’s not possible to determine whether the damage that has been done internally can be corrected, but stopping is worth the gamble. Women are just as much at risk of developing lung cancer from smoking as men are, assuming equivalent smoking patterns and history. When it comes to lung cancer, men generally get most of the attention. There are more cases of men with smoking-related lung cancer than there are women, but don’t let this statistic fool you. Women are in danger too. In fact, more women die each year from smoking-related lung cancer than from breast cancer. Passive smoking can also cause lung cancer, even in people who do not smoke. Passive smoking is the same as inhaling second-hand smoke. If you smoke, be considerate to others who don’t. Don’t smoke in enclosed spaces such as homes or cars. This is especially important around small children who don’t even realize the dangers they’re being exposed to. If a pregnant woman smokes, her unborn baby smokes too! And finally smoking is the cause of 90% of the cases of lung cancer. That alone should keep you from starting!