In the sixties, when the hippies ruled the world, cigarettes were available just about anywhere, and they can smoke pretty much anywhere they please ? even in hospitals! Different advertisements of cigarettes filled the streets as well. But nowadays we're more aware about the different effects smoking can bring. It has also come to a point where smoking is prohibited in public places, and cigarette packets are required to include fair warning about their product's ill effects.

Here are some basic information about smoking:

1.Smoking is one of the most common forms of recreational drug abuse. Smoking, once started on, is a hard habit to break. This is thanks to a substance called nicotine which is found in tobacco leaves. Nicotine, like heroin and other addictive narcotics, make the mind and body quickly get used to it that it does not feel normal without it.

2.Nine out of ten tobacco and cigarette smokers taste their first puff before they reach the age of eighteen. And most adults who have started smoking in their teen never thought they would get hooked on the habit when they started. This is the same reason why they advise that it is easier not to get started on the habit.

3.Smoking increases a person's risk of developing heart diseases like heart attacks and stroke. It also increases the chances of having different forms of cancer like lung cancer, throat cancer, and cancer of the mouth. It may give a person lung problems like bronchitis, and emphysema.

4.Smokers are more likely to be absent from work than non-smokers, and their illnesses tend to last longer. This means smokers may incur more medical costs because they see physicians more often. They also have a tendency to be admitted to the hospital more often and for longer periods of time as compared to those who do not smoke.

5.Smokers have a lower survival rate after surgery than non-smokers. This is because cigarette smoking may also affect the body's immune system, which may cause delayed would healing, and reduce immune response. And because the immune response is reduced, there is a great probability that complications may come up after surgery.

6.Periodontitis, a serious gum disease which may lead to tooth and bone loss, may also be caused by cigarette smoking because it smoking affects the body's natural ability to fight off infection and repair damaged tissues.

7.Smokers have a higher chance at developing peptic ulcers, which can be located in the stomach and the duodenum, as compared to people who do not smoke cigarettes. If peptic ulcers are left untreated, this condition may be fatal.

8.Aside from serious medical conditions, smoking may also give a person bad skin. This is because smoking restricts blood vessels, preventing oxygen and other nutrients from getting to the skin.

9.Cigarette smoking may also leave a person with bad breath. And if it becomes persistent, it may develop into a condition called halitosis.

10.The smell of stale smoke lingers and sticks to a smoker's clothes and hair. And it is pretty difficult to remove.

Before you start smoking, think it over and ask yourself: ?Do I really want all these medical conditions to affect me?? This may as well help you decide whether or not you're going to light that first stick or not.