Last Updated on August 10, 2020
While taking my mom to hospital for her checkup, I came across a very interesting poster on the Anatomy of a Smoker’s Body. It lists and show graphically all the health problems that could arise from smoking:
You can click on the picture to enlarge it:
1. Hair loss
2. Cancer of nose
3. Teeth decay
4. Cancer of the tongue
5. Emphysema
6. Cancer of the lungs
7. Cancer of the breast
8. Cancer of the kidney
9. Discoloured fingers
10. Buerger’s disease
11. Erectile Dysfunction
12. Deformed sperms
13. Cataracts
14. Wrinkling
15. Hearing loss
16. Skin cancer
17. Osteoporosis
18. Heart disease
19. Proasis
20. Cancer of the pancreas
21. Stomach ulcers
22. Uterine cancer and miscarriage
Does that deter people from smoking?
Even with high tax imposed on cigarettes and real pictures of damaged organs and miscarriages being placed outside the packaging of the cigarettes, it did not seems to have much of an effect on the smoker. They are blind to the picture on the packaging or perhaps they feel that it would not happen to them.
Perhaps they had tried to quit but was unsuccessful because there is an emotional comfort and soothing sensation that came from smoking. And that feeling, even though fleeting was so addictive that they continue to smoke to relive the moment again and again. Even though I am not a smoker, I am also addicted to things that are ruining my health. For many years, I could not break the addiction because it reminds me of the carefree period of my life.
And I realized, I am not the only person who is like that. Many people I know around me are using food, cigarettes and other addictive substances to numb themselves and not deal with certain emotions/ trauma. Left unchecked, we would soon find ourselves saddled with hefty medical bills or developing chronic conditions that requires long term medication/ medical care.
Still, I have friends who are able to quit smoking, often cold turkey. In order for them to do so, they must be driven by a stronger reason that the familiar comfort that the substance addiction brought. One started to secretly smoke at the age of 13 while others started from ages 15 and above. Few quit while trying to have children (and eventually stopped being chain smokers). Usually female friends either quit cold turkey or drastically cut down the amount of cigarettes they smoke each day. When they become parents, the overwhelming love they felt gave them the push they needed to control they smoking. They have a good reason to live as they wanted to be around when their child grows up.
