2.  Tobacco kills over 400,000 people per year.  Tobacco kills more people than AIDS, car and plane crashes, alcohol, homicides, fires and illegal drugs combined.  Cigarettes account for 95% of tobacco use.  Nicotine is addictive. It stimulates & depresses the nervous system. In its pure form, nicotine is a powerful poison.  Tobacco smoke contains hundreds of other toxins, such as carbon monoxide, sticky tars, arsenic, hydrogen cyanide and polonium-210.

3.  Tobacco causes its most immediate damage to the lungs, heart, blood vessels, mouth & throat.  Over time, tobacco toxins can cause cancer of the lungs, throat, kidneys & other organs.  Women who smoke while pregnant may have a miscarriage or give birth to an underweight baby.  On average, long-term tobacco use reduces one’s life span by 10 years.  Secondhand smoke kills up to 62,000 non-smokers each year.  In the U.S. 22% of adults use tobacco in some form.

4.  Teen Tobacco Use: Age 11-13: 13 % Age 14-18: 28 %  Cigarettes Smoked Per Person: 1900: 54 1963: 4,345 2002: 1,979  Nicotine is more addictive than heroine or cocaine.  Tobacco is packed with over 4,000 harmful chemicals, 50 are known to cause cancer.  One drop of pure nicotine would kill a human being.

5.  Arsenic- a deadly rat poison  Acetone- a chemical often used in paint thinner  Benzene- used in rubber cement  Cadmium- found in artists’ oil paints (leaves yellow stains on teeth)  Carbon monoxide- toxic gas found in car exhaust fumes  Formaldehyde- used to preserve dead bodies

6.  Tar- dark, thick sticky liquid that forms when tobacco burns. Tar gets into the lungs where it is known to cause cancer, emphysema and other diseases.  Ammonia- colorless, sharp smelling gas used in toilet bowl cleaners  Write your own top 20 reasons not to smoke using info. from the video, the body system handout and your notes.