10 Things You Should Know About Shisha

When we go out into schools, a lot of you ask about shisha (also known as hookah, among other things). It's a regular, family practice in some cultures and it's also becoming cool with more young people too. This is partly because it's seen as being safer than smoking cigarettes.

A lot of information has been coming out in the last few weeks to show how shisha is actually way more dangerous than cigarettes.

We've got a video that shows you the dangers of shisha, so take a look!

Ex-Smoker Casts Cigs Away

A couple of weeks ago, we told you about the guy who decided to strand himself on an island in Scotland in order to quit.

Well, really strong winds have made him decide to leave the island as soon as he can. The good news is that he's been smoke-free for the longest time since he started the habit.

“This whole venture has cost me £800 and if I remain off smoking it will be the best £800 I have ever spent. I would have spent that money in a few months on fags.”

Read more @ The Scottish Sun.co.uk

African Children Poisoned by Nicotine

Here are some shocking facts from an article about how the tobacco industry is poisoning children in Africa.


Children in Malawi who are forced to work as tobacco pickers are exposed to nicotine poisoning equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes a day, an investigation has found.

It is estimated that more than 78,000 children work on tobacco estates – some up to 12 hours a day, many for less than 1p an hour and without protective clothing.

The children reported common symptoms of green tobacco sickness (GTS), or nicotine poisoning, including severe headaches, abdominal pain, muscle weakness, coughing and breathlessness.

Everyday symptoms of GTS are more severe in children than adults as they have not built up a tolerance to nicotine through smoking and because of their physical size.

These children are risking their health for 11p a day.

Full article @ The Guardian.co.uk

Green tobacco sickness is a kind of poisoning that happens when you come into contact with wet tobacco leaves. Your skin absorbs the nicotine from the leaves. Think how at risk these kids are with no protective clothing on.

See also: 'Up In Smoke' documentary @ YouTube

A Tasteless Habit

What's your favourite food? Well, what if you couldn't taste that food properly anymore? This is one of the things that can happen to smokers over time.

A new study confirms what has already been likely known to most smokers - cigarettes lessen taste buds' abilities over time.

Read more @ All Headline News.com

Light Up, Beat Down

Take a look at this weird story from the US early this morning. As if being addicted to cigarettes didn't have enough problems!

A 36-year-old man is accused of hitting another man who refused to share a cigarette at a Salt Lake City bus stop.

...

The man declined to give away a cigarette. The man who had asked for the cigarette then punched the other man in the face and ripped the cigarette he was smoking out of his mouth, charges state.

Entire article

We think it might've looked something like this:

The Truth About Tobacco Companies

If you've seen our page about the tobacco industry, you'll know how bad these businesses are. Even with age limits in place, they still try to hook the next generation of young smokers. They want your money at the expense of your health in order to sell more cigarettes to even more people.

thetruth is one of the best sites we've seen in a long time. It puts you in the role of someone applying to work for Big Tobacco. See if you're the kind of person who could do that job.

Smoke or No Smoke, Tobacco Is Still Deadly

Some people chew tobacco or 'dip snuff' because they think it's safer than smoking.

New research has just come out that shows how smokeless tobacco is just as dangerous as smoking cigarettes.

Raw tobacco and snuff do not produce smoke that can be inhaled but one pinch of such substances is enough for exposing the user to a bunch of harmful chemicals. It was found that the harmful effects of a pinch are equivalent to smoke from five cigarettes.

Read more

Nearly 30 cancer causing chemicals were found in smokeless tobacco, and their effects aren't pretty.


















More graphic images.

Smoking on the Buses

Commonunity Arts is a great organisation working with the youth in Leicester. They got some opinions from the streets on a subject that a lot of you guys feel strongly about.

Smoker Turns Into Castaway!

Some people can get so hooked on nicotine in cigarettes that after years and years of smoking, they resort to crazy ways to quit the habit!

A millionaire has become a castaway on an uninhabited Scottish island – to try to quit smoking.

Geoff Spice, who has had a 30-a-day habit for 43 years, landed on the 16-hectare (40-acre) Sgarabhaigh in the Sound of Harris and will live there for a month.

Read more

Was it really worth him starting smoking in the first place?

See if you can escape the pressures and dangers of smoking in this platform game from the Serious Quitters Arcade!