Almost everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart disease, that it can shorten your life by 10 years or more and that it can cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year. As well as affecting every organ in the body, did you know that smoking also causes:
- Bad skin and winkles
- Bad breath
- Bad-smelling clothes and hair
- Reduced athletic performance
- Greater risk of injury and slower healing time
Smoking is a hard habit to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Like other addictive drugs, the body and mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person needs to have it just to feel normal.
People start smoking for a variety of different reasons. Some think it looks cool. Others start because their family members or friends smoke. Statistics show that about 9 out of 10 tobacco users start before they're 18 years old. Most adults who started smoking in their teens never expected to become addicted. That's why people say it's just so much easier to not start smoking at all.
Did you know that in 2016, the MPJFL made the decision to go smoke free?
Through creating smoke free environments, the Mornington Peninsula Junior Football League will:
- provide children and young people with a healthy, smoke-free environment in which to play
- reduce the exposure to the harmful effects of second-hand smoke to all players, families and officials,
- support people who smoke who are trying to quit and those who are trying to cut down.
If you or anyone you know is interested in quitting, there is local support to help. Peninsula Health has quit smoking support services at Frankston, Rosebud, Mornington and Hastings. For a face-to-face appointment call 1300 665 781. If you would prefer to chat with someone over the phone, contact Quitline 13 78 48.
Links & References:
Peninsula Health Quit Smoking Support Service - http://www.peninsulahealth.org.au/Quit-Smoking-Support-Services.pdf
Quit Victoria - http://www.quit.org.au/
Quit Now - http://www.quitnow.gov.au
Smoke free teens - http://teen.smokefree.gov/yourHealthEffects.aspx
Kids Health - http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/smoking.html
