Last week, Hollywood lost a giant, when acting legend Paul Newman succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 83. Newman starred in movies like The Color of Money, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Sting. He also created his own line of salad dressings, under the “Newman’s Own” brand.
Lung cancer is a particularly tragic way to die, because 90% of all cases are the result of cigarette smoking, which is 100% preventable. Up to 25% of Americans smoke…and 400,000 of them die from the consequences every year. In fact, smoking currently causes 1 out of 5 deaths in America.
Smoking one pack of cigarettes a day for a year has a similar impact to pouring a full cup of tar down your lungs…tar that is rich in cancer-causing chemicals. Smoking is hard on the heart, too. Smokers’ hearts beat an extra 10 to 25 times per minute, increasing the risk of heart attack. The carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke also deprives the brain of oxygen, leading to slowed comprehension.
So, in addition to potentially killing you, smoking could lead to you being told, “What we have here is a failure to communicate”- as Newman’s character famously said in Cool Hand Luke.
Related Links:
· Paul Newman Information from Wikipedia
· The Real Cost of Smoking from illumistream health
· Quitting Smoking? Get Help from Smokefree.gov
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