Upwards of 50 million people in the United States are smokers, which costs $15 billion each year- $5 billion of it going to taxes. Not only is it an expensive habit, it's a growing one as well- people in 1914 smoked 144 cigarettes a year, but in 1963 that number had jumped to 4,346 cigarettes per person, annually. While the Surgeon General made an announcement around that time about the consequences that caused many people to stop smoking (or at least cut back), the young smokers that make up most of today's addicts didn't take it seriously and the number of yearly cigarettes per person has risen alarmingly high. In fact, many smokers ignore the warnings printed directly on the label of their pack of cigarettes.

Smoking became widespread when Columbus seized land, and its customs, from the native people. Travelers that had been with him returned to their home lands, and the practice spread. In those days, smokers simply inhaled the smoke from tobacco from a bowl. Cigarettes as we know them, rolled with paper and containing many dangerous chemicals such as nicotine and formaldehyde, did not become popular until World War I.

Most teenagers are pressured by their peers to start smoking, whether to prove their manliness or to fit in with the crowd. There is also the notion that younger smokers will appear older, and vice versa, which is why many older smokers avoid seeking ways to quit smoking even though they know the consequences. Many people begin smoking simply because those around them are doing so, and consequently form an addiction. It has also been shown that many cigarette campaigns are geared toward young people, who are more likely to take up the habit.

Dr. Raymond Pearl discovered in 1938 that smoking and life expectancy are directly related. He showed that at the age a 30, the death rate for a heavy smoker is twice as much as a non-smoker or a moderate one. He also found that heavy smokers can only expect to live around 27 more years, while non smokers can expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 38. Even with these shocking statistics, not too many are convinced that they should start experimenting with ways to quit smoking.

If you stop smoking, you can lengthen not only your life expectancy, but the life span of the people you spend your life with. You will create a healthier, cleaner environment for both, yourself and others, and give yourself and everyone in your life the opportunity to enjoy the short time we all have on this planet. Smoking is a habit that affects you and the people around you, so be kind to those you love (and to yourself) and start experimenting with the variety of ways to quit smoking.