'Smoking is injurious to health'. This warning is written on packets of cigarettes and also shown in advertisements. How many of us get inspired from this warning and quit smoking? If some one in the house is informed that there's a snake in their house within few seconds all the people in the house will start running from here to there. Even if they are informed that the snake is a non poisonous one, no one from the family shows courage to sleep in their own home until and unless they themselves see with their own naked eyes snake quitting their home or unless the snake gets killed. On the other side smoke from every single cigarette which can be compared to poisonous snake keeps entering the body of smokers and they never get tensed by it nor care about it. Person gets trapped in the addiction of nicotine by smoking. This habit leads and directs him to his own grave which is constantly being digging up. In actual terms, there is no worse addiction than smoking is. Smokers spend more money on cigarettes then they spend on their daily food requirements. Smoking not only harms one who smokes but also even to his family members and others surrounding him and even pollutes the environment. Company of a smoker is harmful even if it is for couple of minutes. Fire of cigarettes is seen lighting the whole of the village. Even then, smokers do not quit smoking.

Smoking is a call of death. Therefore, one has to listen to the ringing warning bells and make a firm decision to quit smoking. This is not an appeal which is made after being drowned in emotions, in fact every thing is based on scientific studies and discoveries. Studies have confirmed that smoking and tobacco consumption causes cancer of lips, tongue, throat, intestine and lungs. Smoking also causes various diseases like ulcers of stomach, respiratory diseases, diseases of teeth and gums, pain in limbs along with lung disorders.

As far as heart disease is concerned, smokers are at three times more risk of getting heart attack when compared to non smokers. Individuals who have started smoking since young age are at more risk of developing heart attack. Patients dying from heart attack are usually active smokers. After suffering from heart attack if patient has not quit smoking then the risk of developing next heart attack increases to a large extent. Smoking imparts more ill-effects in women then men. Women who smoke usually give birth to dead infant or else infants suffer from one or the other birth disorders. Smoking not only shows its effect on one who smokes in fact it also involves other family members of smoker especially kids. They usually breath the same air which is been polluted with the smoke left out from lighted cigarette. Such individuals are called as passive smokers.

Smoking imparts ill-effects on heart and arteries due to following reasons:-

• Nicotine present in tobacco increases heart beat. This will give rise to high blood pressure. Thus, usually excess of pressure is exerted on heart when a person smokes constantly. 
• Smoke of tobacco contains carbon monoxide. It mixes in blood and removes oxygen out of it. Thus, heart and other body organs do not get pure blood completely.
• Smoking disrupts inner wall of arteries. This causes accumulation of cholesterol. This in future can cause heart attack.
• Smoking causes harm to the platelets present in blood. Injured platelets accumulate in the blood which can also result in heart attack.
• Smoking increases harmful cholesterol level and decreases useful cholesterol level i.e., L.D.L.
• Nicotine gives birth to pitressin in body. It constricts arteries. If arteries already contain cholesterol deposition since long time then this constriction immediately causes heart attack.

Life is precious. It should not be sacrificed for the sake of smoking. Today itself one should take an oath that they will quit smoking if not for themselves at least for their family and kids. This is not impossible. Citizens of western countries have successfully stopped smoking and number of smokers in these countries have greatly reduced. People dying from heart attack also have thus greatly reduced in number. When others can quit smoking, why can't you?