"I smoke 10 - 15 cigars a day. At my age I have to hold on to something."George Burns

For years the media have predicted a grim end for smokers: heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema - and yet people continue lighting up.

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The problem with future threats is that they are in the future. Distant and far away from the here and now. If you knew that the next cigarette you smoked would kill you instantly, you might think twice about lighting up.

If the threat of distant death will not deter you, maybe something else would encourage you to quit smoking: Vanity. The way you look. The initial thing by which we judge other people instantly.

The following things will not kill you, but might hamper your social and love life severely. Not been on a date in 18 months? These might be the reasons:

You smell. Yes, you do. Maybe you do not notice it anymore as your nasal passages have already been damaged. But everything around you smells - your hair, clothes, your skin, your car and your home.

Your face. Smoking causes facial wrinkles, especially around your mouth. Irreversible premature wrinkling in both men and women is caused by cigarette smoking.

Your stained teeth and bad breath. Kissing a smoker is like licking out an ashtray. Particles from cigarette smoke stain teeth brown and yellow, and cause odour-producing bacteria that become trapped in your mouth. The resultant gum disease and tooth loss are not at all attractive.

Yellow fingers. Would you let someone run their hands through your hair if they were yellow and smelly and nicotine-stained?

Impotence. Smoking reduces peripheral vascular flow. The blood flow necessary to attain an erection may become blocked. This seems to be a very high price to pay for a cigarette.

Depression: Stressed and depressed people often smoke. Even if you are not feeling either of these things, you still look as if you are. Who wants to get involved with someone with more problems than their own?

Poor complexion.Smokers have poor circulation as components of cigarette smoke block the transfer of life-giving oxygen throughout the body. This could even lead to a stroke, which is usually not a social advantage. Smokers also have cold hands and feet as a result of the poor circulation.

Not convinced? Then watch your date's face carefully as you light that first cigarette.

 

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