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Facts About Non-Smokers

In addition to smokers, who make a habit of breathing addictive cancer-causing chemicals into their body, there is another large group of individuals: non-smokers. These are people who enjoy the health and social benefits of not regularly paying money to poison most of their bodily systems in their daily lives.

  1. Longevity

    • One common fact about non-smokers is they live longer than smokers. Because they are not regularly poisoning their bodies, they do not suffer from the number of cancers which smoking increases the risk of an individual developing in the same numbers as smokers. According to the National Cancer Institute, cigarettes are a leading cause of 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in men and 80 percent of lung cancer deaths in women. Non-smokers also do not suffer from heart conditions in the same number as smokers.

    Athleticism

    • Non-smokers have more athletic abilities than a similarly fit smoker. In physical activity, all parts of the body require a steady and increased supply of oxygen from the blood stream. Not only does smoking damage the lungs and decrease the total amount of air the body is capable of breathing in, but it also dilutes the blood's capacity to carry oxygen. These two factors translate into decreased physical performance at a particular level of fitness.

    Richer

    • Between smokers and non-smokers of equivalent incomes, non-smokers have more money than their smoking counterparts. This is due to the simple fact that smoking is expensive in a number of ways. As of 2011, the average pack of cigarettes cost a smoker about $5 a pack. This means that a pack-a-day smoker spent 35 dollars a week (about 140 dollars a month) on directly smoking. Add in the higher cost of health insurance smokers pay, along with indirect costs such as dry cleaning to get cigarette smells out of work clothes, and the habit becomes very expensive.

    Aging

    • Non-smokers appear younger than those who smoke. This is because smoking accelerates the process of aging both inside the body, and in the appearance of wrinkles on the face. In 2009 University of Iowa study found that smoking has a similar effect to Werner's Syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes rapid premature aging and death, in decreasing the amount of a protein linked to repairing damage to DNA in the human body.

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