Inhale the Facts :31st May is World No Tobacco day :

The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2009,which is observed on 31st May is "Tobacco Health Warnings", with an emphasis on the pictorial warnings on the cigarette pack. These warnings have been shown to be particularly effective at making people aware of the health risks of tobacco use and convincing them to quit. More and more countries are fighting back against the epidemic of tobacco by requiring that packages of tobacco show the dangers of the product's use and also passing a law that bars selling tobacco to anyone below 18.

Inhaling the facts : Statistics on Tobacco use

A 2004 Study by the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion found that cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer.

Women account for 39 percent of all smoking deaths.

Pregnant women pass any chemicals they take in (from food, tobacco, alcohol and so on) to their unborn children through the placenta.

Women who smoke during pregnancy can slow down the baby's growth by reducing the amount of oxygen and increasing the amount of carbon monoxide that the baby receives during a critical time when its brain and nervous system are developing.

According to the Surgeon's General, Teenagers who smoke were:

* Three times more likely to use alcohol.
* Eight times are likely to smoke marijuana.
* And 22 times more likely to use Cocaine.

The biggest percentage of the world's tobacco is grown in China

About three quarters of the American Tobacco market is controlled by two companies, Philip Morris and RJR Nabisco (formerly R.J. Reynolds)

Workers on Tobacco Farms sometimes suffer nicotine poisoning when they absorb the chemical through their skin.

source: Smoking-Facts