Thou shalt not smoke, as the 11th Commandment?

During these Passover and Ester holidays, watching my ultimate favourite classic the “Ten Commandments”, I couldn’t stop thinking about Yul Brynner, one of the main leading actors who died from smoking induced Lung Cancer, which brought me to the realization that if there was an “11th Commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Smoke” would have been appropriate.

Yul Brynner “Do Not Smoke Commercial”

Yul Brynner on his last interview “Now that I’m gone, I tell you: Don’t Smoke, whatever you do, just don’t smoke.”

Often enough I see patients that wish to start a “Wellness Program” but are chronic smokers, looking for a “quick fix”, my response is always, if there is ONE thing we need to focus on while we address health promotion and disease prevention, smoking cessation would be it.

The Many Health ILL Effects of Smoking, according to the CDC

The Main Ill health effects of smoking are:

• Smoking induce Premature Aging
• Smoking can cause cancer almost ANYWHERE in the body.
• Smoking negatively impact the cardiovascular system.
• 2nd hand smoke is as important as primary smoking

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking/

Canadian Lung Association on Second Hand Smoke

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