It is amazing how many marathons, half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks I have run, and as you run by the spectators, some of them are smoking.  As an ex-smoker myself all I can do is feel sorry for them to be addicted to such a horrific drug.  Since this is the 50^th anniversary of US Surgeon General linking smoking to health problems such as lung cancer, I just want to rant about smoking and what it is doing to us.  Some other time I will get into how the governments supports the tobacco industry with subsidies but today is just some stats on how we are doing on getting Americans to stop, or better yet, not start smoking.

In 1964, 42% of Americans over 18 smoked.  In 2012 that was down to 18 percent. Smoking is now linked to heart disease, colorectal and liver cancer, type 2 diabetes mellitus, age-related macular degeneration, rheumatoid arthritis and erectile dysfunction.  It has been proven to impair immune system, worsen asthma and cause cleft lips and palates in fetuses.  Get this – second hand smoke has been linked to strokes.  Smokers today have a much higher risk of cancer today than in the 60’s because of the changes in the design and composition of the cigarettes made today.  Plus they are putting more nicotine in the cigarettes today to make sure the get the victim addicted faster.

Since 1964 more than 20 million people have died prematurely from smoking.  The anti-smoking campaign for the past 50 years has saved over 8 million lives.

For those of you who smoke, please find a way to stop.  For those of you with young children and grandchildren show them how much better your life can be as an active healthy nonsmoker than a life addicted to a drug that robs you of the ability to do all the thing in life.  To all of you that don’t smoke or even if you do……..

Get up, get out and go for a run………………