|
|
|
|
Cause of Death |
How to Prevent These Deaths |
1998 Deaths |
|
AIDS |
condoms, education, research |
13,426 |
| Alzheimers | medical research | 22,725 |
| Auto Accidents | seatbelts, airbags, highway safety, training | 42,191 |
| Bike Accidents | reflectors, lights, helmets and training | 142 |
| Breast Cancer | mammography and medical research | 42,068 |
| Diabetes | medical research | 64,751 |
| Drowning | life jackets, swimming lessons, supervision | 4,406 |
| Drug Reactions | read the labels, consult your pharmacist | 276 |
| Falls | awareness, safety harnesses and helmets | 12,595 |
| Fires & Burns | alarms, extinguishers, education and planning | 3,362 |
| Gun Accidents | deprive children of access and hunter training | 866 |
| Hepatitis | vaccine (A&B) and clean needles & testing (C) | 4,796 |
| Illegal Drugs | motivation, education and support | 16,926 |
| Leukemia | research, exercise, diet, and no tobacco | 20,324 |
| Lightening | stay indoors and wear rubber shoes | 10 |
| Liver Disease | sound diet, max. 2 oz. of alcohol, research | 25,192 |
| Meningitis | vaccinations | 768 |
| Murder | police, courts, prisons, awareness | 18,272 |
| Pedestrians | reflective clothes, sidewalks and crosswalks | 5,412 |
| Poisoning | secure cleaning fluids, poisons and pills | 10,801 |
| Prostate Cancer | testing, exercise, diet, research | 32,203 |
| Snake Bites | awareness, boots, vaccines | 8 |
| Suffocation | think, anticipate and alter ventilation | 4,585 |
|
Suicide
|
counseling, mental health and love | 30,575 |
| Syphilis | abstinence, condoms, education | 45 |
| Ulcers | avoid tobacco, alcohol and caffeine | 4,695 |
|
TOTAL OF ALL OF THE ABOVE |
381,420 | |
TOBACCO |
TOTAL 1998 TOBACCO DEATHS |
418,690 |
|
||
Why Wear Seatbelts?
Today there are roughly 47 million smokers in the United States, which is nearly 20% of our entire population. If 20% of the 42,191 who died in 1998 automobile accidents were smokers, your chances of dying from smoking are roughly 50 times greater than being killed in a vehicle collision. With those kind of odds, why even wear a seatbelt? With roughly 200,000 middle-aged smokers expected to die from smoking related diseases this year, each an average of 22.5 years early, wouldn't it make more sense to sell the seatbelts and the airbags and use the money for a down payment on a coffin? Seriously! Have you ever been coffin shopping? I have. It's horrible. Lots of styles, colors and prices. Why put your family through such decisions? Spare them such agony! Plan and pay for your funeral now!
Last fall I corresponded with a 46 year old with stage IV small cell lung cancer and little time remaining. We had something in common. She mentioned that she always bought her cigarettes by the pack because she always believed that tomorrow would finally be the day she quit. I did the same thing. We rolled the same dice. Her luck ran out. We both quit smoking. Sadly, for her the word "quit" was defined differently.
Why not stay off of the above list altogether and increase your odds of dying of natural causes at a ripe old age? Why induce your own death? Why accept a 50% chance of losing 5,000 sunrises? Is gradually smoking ourself to death committing suicide? If the world's dirtiest drug delivery device kills you, should your family consider your passing murder or an accident? You may want to attempt to explain it to them now. It might take the sting of their coming belief that you loved nicotine more than them, easier to accept once you're gone. But then again probably not.
Is this simply more scare tactics or an opportunity to be truthful with ourselves? According to the World Health Organization, each and every day smoking claims more than thirteen thousand lives. Which cigarette in which pack will contain the irritant that gives birth to that first cancerous cell, to the first diseased cell, or that pulls death's trigger in producing a massive heart attack or stroke?
I cannot promise that you will succeed in quitting if you click upon and read our above two free quitting e-books. What I can promise is that you'll at last know how. Knowledge is power. Why fight in darkness when you can turn on the lights!
Breathe deep, hug hard, live long!
John R. Polito
Nicotine Cessation EducatorFounder of WhyQuit and author of "Freedom from Nicotine - The Journey Home"
Last updated on August 28, 2009 by John R. Polito
