What Christians Should Know About Smoking

Quitting the habit of smoking is one of the most beneficial and crucial steps any smoker can take now to boost their health and overall wellbeing. Quitting smoking not only enhances the quality of one's life but also greatly reduces the risks of untimely demise, as well as increasing life expectancy.

While many Christians and non-Christians may be unsure of whether or not it is a sin to smoke; whether it is tobacco, marijuana, heroine or something else; we do not have to guess or argue on if it is medically advised or acceptable. Hence the biblical and moral controversies that may surround smoking should not be a question of whether or not it is a sin but whether or not it is right. Is it right to smoke? Is it really okay to smoke?

The answer is a resounding, NO! It is not right and it is not okay to smoke. Smoking offers no benefits to Christians and even non-Christians, it does not make you healthier, it does not make you stronger, it does not make you wiser or more intelligible. There are just absolutely zero benefits for smoking; and the habit of smoking could be defined as killing oneself and others, while encouraging others to smoke would be considered as endorsing suicide.

In this article, I have compiled a list of things every Christian and non-Christian should know about smoking.

1. Tobacco causes 8 million deaths annually

2. The effects of tobacco takes place almost immediately you start smoking, it shows on your face

3. Smoking causes your teeth to yellow

4. Smoking makes your skin wrinkly, and it causes you to age faster by destroying the proteins that gives your skin its elasticity

5. Smoking depletes vitamin A in your body

6. Smoking restricts blood flow

7. Smoking causes bad breath

8. Smoking causes dental plaque

9. Smoking makes your skin leathery and dry

10. Tobacco use increases the risk of developing psoriasis

11. Smoking threatens the health of your loved ones too

12. Over a million individuals die yearly due to exposure to second-hand smoke

13. Non smokers exposed to second-hand smoke are at risk of developing lung cancer

14. Exposure to second-hand smoke is associated with type 2 diabetes

15. The offspring or kids of those who smoke suffer reduced lung function which continues to affect them in the form of chronic respiratory disorders in adulthood

16. Children exposed to second-hand smoke may suffer asthma

17. Quitting smoking could decrease the risk of diseases related to smoking

18. Smoking can negatively affect social interactions and destroy good relationships

19. Quitting the habit of smoking can make you more productive

20. Tobacco, heroine and marijuana use contributes to poverty by diverting household funds from basic needs such as shelter, food and education.

21. Placing a ban on the production and use of tobacco can save an estimated over 400 trillion NGN in healthcare costs for treatment of tobacco related diseases

22. Smoking reduces fertility in both men and women

23. Smoking causes erectile dysfunction

24. Smoking diminishes sperm count

25. Tobacco kills half of its users

26. Smoking shisha is just as harmful as smoking tobacco

27. Chewing tobacco can cause mouth cancer, tooth loss, brown teeth, white patches and gum disease

28. Nicotine is addictive

29. Tobacco farmers harm themselves by exposing themselves to nicotine which can be absorbed by the skin

30. In some countries, children are led into tobacco farming and that endangers their health and hinders their education and future

31. Tobacco users are at higher risk of falling ill, dying prematurely of cancers, heart attacks and respiratory diseases

32. Heated tobacco products (HTPs) expose users to toxic emissions

33. The use of E-cigarette increases your risk of heart disease and lung failure

34. Nicotine can damage children's brain

35. Tobacco use is responsible for 25% of all cancer deaths globally

36. People who start to smoke in their childhood and teenage years are likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

37. There is no cure for COPD

38. COPD leads to an extremely painful and untimely death

39. Tobacco causes heart disease

40. Tobacco smokers are at risk of getting a stroke

41. Smoking damages the arteries

42. Smoking causes oral cancer

43. Smoking causes lip cancer

44. Smoking causes throat cancer

45. Smoking causes eye diseases and blindness

46. Adult smokers are more likely to suffer deafness

47. With every puff of cigarrete, doses of toxins and carcinogens are released into the blood stream

48. Women who smoke are more likely to experience painful menstruation

49. Smoking reduces the production of ovaries in women

50. Tobacco smoke reduces the delivery of oxygen to the body's tissues

51. Tobacco use can result in gangrene (death of body tissues)

52. Smoking leads to periodontal disease and can destroy the jawbone

53. Smokers are liable to suffer from stomach ulcers, inflammatory bowel diseases, rectal bleeding and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract

54. Smoking weakens the immune system

55. Smoking leads to rheumatoid arthritis

56. Smoking leads to bacterial meningitis

57. Smoking leads to Crohn's disease

58. Smoking leads to pulmonary infections

59. Smokers are more likely to lose bone density, and have fractures more easily

60. Smokers suffer serious health complications such as delayed healing or failure to heal

61. Smoking can cause miscarriages

62. Smoking can cause still births

63. Smoking can lead to ectopic pregnancy

64. Smoking pollutes the environment

The benefits of quitting the habit of smoking are not hard to figure out. Dear Christian, your body is God's sanctuary, smoking may be legalized in your country but it is not expedient for anyone to smoke.

Why should you die before your time?