• 1/2/2006
  • London, England
  • staff
  • Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)

We all know the scary headlines – smoking causes lung disease, stroke, oral cancer and heart disease.
That’s probably why you want to quit but you’ve known all those risks for months – if not years – already, so will that alone make a difference?

The fact is smoking is responsible for a whole range of conditions – from extra wrinkles to fertility – that you probably didn’t even know about. Here we highlight these lesser known facts in our print-and-keep guide. Have it by your side at all times and read any time you think of having a smoke. Hopefully it will give you the resolve you need…

Smoking – the lesser known facts

-Every cigarette takes 11 minutes off your life.

-Smokers in their 40s have as many facial wrinkles as non-smokers in their 60s.

-In Britain, one person is diagnosed with lung cancer – the cancer most commonly associated with smoking – every 15 minutes.

-114,000 people die every year from smoking. That’s 312 every day.

-Smoking gives you yellow teeth, bad breath and hollow cheeks from repeated sucking on cigarettes.

-Around half of all regular smokers will eventually be killed by their habit.

-Female smokers have a 30 per cent lower fertility rate than non-smokers.

-Male smokers are 50 per cent more likely to be impotent.

-Around 450 children start smoking every day.

-Men who smoke around their pregnant partner can significantly harm their unborn child.

-Women who smoke and take the contraceptive pill are 10 times more likely to suffer a heart attack.

-Cervical cancer rates are four times higher in smokers than non-smokers.

From brittle hair to stomach ulcers and problems with conception, the effects of smoking are numerous and often deadly.