Smoking targets the young. Nearly 80% of today's smokers started smoking before they were 18 years of age. It is also the largest preventable cause of premature deaths in the USA
what percentage of drinkers started before they were 18? I know of parents who let their kids have a sip or taste of their drink but would never let them have a hit off their cigarette.
Drinking! I don't like pot... i feel that it has more negative effects on perception and cognition than drinking. Also, alcohol is a good tool of social bonding if employed tactically and tactfully. From my social consciousness I would say that alcohol is less harmful than smoking; however, there is a difference in the type of damage the two can do. Alcohol dependency does social and behavioral damage; it also increases risks of accidents, goofs and decreases social status. Smoking may be horrible for your health, but it does not really affect life very much outside of yellow teeth, brown fingers, and the smell. Note: smoking is beginning to reduce status some in western countries. While smoking kills, alcohol destroys life..
Couldn't find the exact stats for that, but did find that those who start drinking the earliest tend to be the most likely to develop drinking problems. That has more to do with the social superiority of drinking over smoking than the health, I think.. The notion of drinking as a rite into manhood, an initiation or sorts. At the same time, I've heard that parents give their kids to a sip while educating them on not drinking it. The logic is that if they can break the curiosity and wonder surrounding it, if they can crush the excitement in doing something not allowed, the child won't be prompted to drink again. Idealistically true, but eventually boils down to the same thing. Both can cause their fair share of social and physiological problems, though the degree may be different in both.
Drinking causes many problems, one of which is diseases of the liver and that doesn't go away once you stop drinking, it just keeps getting worse. Other problems are mental disorders, kidney failure, urinary infections and a list of mental deteriorations that will cause you to go into convulsions known as DT's and other things that will make you very ill and causes death as well. Drinking , to me, is worse than smoking for when you get drunk you can get in a car and kill others as well as yourself. They are both bad to do to yourself but many people still do them both!:shrug:
so does smoking, perants who smoke while pregnant can cause they're children to have illnesses like asthma later in life, and asthma if not controlled can be a killer, likewise can drinking while pregnant,
Smoking seems less harmful for me as less affects your social life than drinking, though no smoking person suffers from smokers often.
I think drinking and smoking cigarettes excessively are both bad and age you. I think excessive drinking is the worse of the 2 evils because it alters some ppls personalities for the worse. I really wish my best friend would give up smoking because she has this awful cough that doesn't sound healthy at all. It seems most ppl that go out for a smoke break at her work have the same or worse hacking cough. I am so happy I never picked up smoking and I hope to hell my kids never do either. Not only is it bad for your health but hard on the pocketbook. I am happy that Nietzsche and I don't smoke or drink ( we occasionally socially drink) We save a lot of money compared to a couple that are big time smokers and drinkers.
My husband starts Chantix (smoking cessation drug) tomorrow. He has heard a lot of good things about it, so...fingers crossed. anyone here used it?
I never smoked and I do hate smoking with a real passion . I can not stand its smell on people.....etc.
agreed. Its nasty. I don't kiss my husband til he has brushed his teeth. I bet he has the healthiest teeth in town. LOL
