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Show Stop smoking before too late According to the American Heart Association, heart attack is the number one killer of women, and smoking is the most significant factor related to heart attack in women. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Utah reports that you don't ; have to be a smoker to get smoke-related lung cancer, or suffer other health risks and financial costs of smoking-related illnesses. il-lnesses. More than $5.3 million in smoking-related health claims were paid by Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Utah last year. A recent Environmental Protection agency study shows that all you have to do is live around a smoker to be at risk. As many as 17 percent of non-smoking lung cancer cases come I from secondhand smoke, most often breathed at home as children, says the EPA study. Another study conducted by the U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that children of parents who smoke, compared with children of non-smoking parents, have increased frequency of respiratory infections and symptoms, and slightly smaller rates of increase in lung function as the lung matures. The Surgeon General says, "Quitting smoking, even among older, long-time smokers, decreases risk of heart attack, stroke, I lung cancer, chronic lung disease and various cancers of the larynx, esophagus, pancreas and bladder. Those who quit smoking before age 50 have half the risk of dying in the next 15 years, compared with continuing smoking." Even smokers older than 60, who may believe they are beyond help, can benefit, according to officials. For example, if a man age 60 to 64 who smokes one pack of cigarettes a day were to quit, he would decrease his risk of dying in the next 15 years by 10 percent. Six to 10 years after quitting means the excess risk of lung cancer will have declined about 45 percent. With all the evidence concerning the harmful effects of smoking, why are so many still smoking? Is smoking glam-I glam-I orous? Studies have shown that women who smoke are two to six times more likely to have a heart attack as non-smoking women. And if a woman starts to smoke, she is less likely to quit than a man. Is smoking the result of millions of dollars spent in advertising advertis-ing by tobacco companies? Does smoking make one popular, stronger or a better person? Then why do people still smoke? The answers to why people smoke don't come easy, especially espe-cially to those who may smoke and say they can't quit. But health organizations are pleading with Americans to please quit smoking. Guest Editorial Vernal Express |