Smoking Poll Results
Should Smoking be Regulated?
by Gabrielle Linzer
It isn’t hard to find a smoker -- just search in front of your favorite restaurant or under the awning of your office building when it’s raining. Despite the enduring presence of people who smoke cigarettes, a great number of government agencies and other bodies are working hard to regulate where, when and how smokers are allowed to light up. Health.com and AOL Health teamed up to ask you a number of thought-provoking questions about what types of smoking censorship are permissible and which cross the line. See the full results after the jump.
20 Reasons to Quit Smoking
Courtesy of Health.com
Most people try to quit smoking a few times before they finally succeed. Therefore, failing is not failure-it's practice. Keep at it: Studies have shown that some combination of drugs, stop-smoking aids, counseling, support, and changes of habit can work for you. If you (or your loved ones) need more motivation, here are 20 reasons why you should quit today.
1. You won't have to pay more and more and more and more each year.
Yup, taxes will almost certainly continue to go up. New Jersey, Vermont, and Connecticut are among the states leaning harder on smokers for revenue, but even some tobacco-growing states are beginning to milk the coffin-nail cash cow. Lawmakers' reasoning: There is evidence that price increases cause smokers to reduce consumption. And the medical costs of smoking are astronomical-a huge burden to the states.
2. Really, if you think cigarette prices can't go up much more, you've got Wall Street against you as well as the government.
Addiction-to oil, tobacco, etc.-is a very good thing to bank on. Many on Wall Street remain bullish about Big Tobacco's ability to jack up prices, even if sales drop because of tax increases.
3. The Pill suddenly becomes a lot safer to use.
If you're on the Pill and smoke, you should cut out one or the other. The Pill is not recommended for smokers because oral contraceptives carry a risk of clots, heart attacks, and strokes; those risks are increased if you smoke.
4. You'll be less wrinkly.
After 10 years, smoking can speed up your skin's aging process by narrowing your skin's blood vessels and damaging the tissues that give the skin its strength and elasticity.
5. Eat less.
(Despite muting the taste buds, smoking brings food cravings of its own.) Smoking increases food cravings in women, particularly for starchy carbohydrates and high-fat foods.
6. Keep your walls the color you painted them.
Cigarette smoke creates persistent yellow stains on painted walls that take a concentrated effort to remove.
7. Reduce the premature need for expensive hair treatments.
Smokers are three to six times more likely to go prematurely gray than nonsmokers.
8. Protect Fido and Fluffy.
A number of studies show that secondhand smoke at home may be associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats, lung and nasal cancer in dogs, and lung cancer in birds.
9. Use the cigarette lighter for a higher purpose: Keep your kids from fighting in the car.
Most portable appliances, including iPods and personal DVD players, plug in to the cigarette lighter in your car via an adapter. Chuck the lighter and deploy the power source to keep the kids entertained with movies or music.
The numbers don’t lie -- many of you feel that there should be strict bans on smoking, both in public and private spaces. Children should come first, as 47% of you said that said that smoking in a home or car around children should be illegal. 41% want smoking banned in all public places, regardless if children are in the immediate area.
When talking money, 44% think that smokers should pay more for health insurance and 28% think that taxes should be raised so that the price of a pack of cigarettes will be $10 or even $20.
27% don’t want to watch smokers on the big screen and believe all scenes with smoking should be banned from the movies. 44% think smoking billboards and magazine ads should be made illegal.
So, although there are many smokers among us, there is a strong faction supporting government intervention in the form of laws and taxes that will prohibit the proliferation of tobacco use and the spread of second hand smoke. It’s remains to be seen whether or not these regulations will go into effect, but in the meantime, smokers should consider quitting, not only for their health’s sake, but for the sake of their wallet and loved ones as well.
Take this month's poll and weigh in on controversial issues surrounding breast cancer.
