The ugly truth about smoking

Here’s why the government of Nunavut is urging you not to smoke.

If you smoke:

• Even a few cigarettes a day can hurt your health.

• It causes wheezing, coughing, bronchitis and lung cancer.

• It stains your teeth, skin and fingernails.

• It speeds up the aging process — you’ll get wrinkles faster.

• If you are a woman who smokes, you are seven times more likely to have facial hair than women who don’t smoke.

• Smoking one pack of cigarettes a day over one year costs more than $3,000.

• It hurts children. Some Inuit kids live in homes with as many as nine smokers. They are more likely to get ear infections, bronchitis and pneumonia. Infants in homes with smokers have higher rates of sudden infant death syndrome.

• It causes cancer. Cancer is one of the top four causes of death in Nunavut. Half of these cancer deaths are due to lung cancer.

• It kills you. Each cigarette you smoke shortens your life by an average of five minutes.

If you quit:

• Your breath will smell fresher.

• Your clothes and hair won’t smell bad.

• You will have more energy and stop running out of breath.

• You will have extra money to spend on things other than cigarettes (such as more food, nicer clothes, a new stereo, or a vacation).

• You will live longer.

What can help you quit:

Anti-smoking aids — such as nicotine gum, nicotine patches and the medication Zyban — are offered free-of-charge for a 90-day period each year. For information, ask your community health nurse, doctor or pharmacist.

Source: The government of Nunavut