I know I'll get discouraged to smoke by many good members around here but I want to seek truth. Is it true that some people smoke a lot of cigarettes daily when they're young and nothing had ever happened to them and they've already in their senior years?

Some people smoke and are in good health for the rest of their lives. But you are much more likely to have bad health problems if you smoke. You could walk across the street blindfolded and be OK...but you'll increase your chances of not being hit by a car if you look both ways! So I can't say that "some people do it and they're OK" is a good justification. It's not only obvious things like lung cancer (which has a high mortality rate, by the way) but increased risk of many types of cancers, COPD (breathing problems), asthma, and many other chronic illnesses.

It happens........but it's like playing Russian Roulette with your health....with all but one of the chambers loaded. Honestly, out of all the people in the world, what are the chances you'll end up being the ONE that escapes any kind of health problem? And I'm not one to shame you, because I'm still slowly trying to quit smoking myself. I'm down to a pack a week.

I wouldn't say 'nothing' happened to them. Sure there are MANY who do smoke that never develop many of the chronic life-threatening diseases that are caused by smoking (cancer, emphysema, heart disease etc). But they certainly still would show signs of a smoker (decreased lung capacity, hardening of the arteries, poor circulation). My husband's grandfather smoked 3 packs a day almost his entire life, he died at 88 of stomach cancer. They infer that it wasn't directly related to smoking but they could never know for sure (he had no other illnesses either). Some people are just lucky, but it's really not worth the risk. You have a much greater chance of sying from it than being one of the lucky ones.

My parents both started smoking when they were teenagers,, and lived to be 64. However, I wouldn't say nothing happened to them. To begin with, most of their brothers and sisters are still alive, well into their 80's, and their parents all live well into their 90's. Plus smokers smell terrible, and so do their houses and cars, they loose their sense of taste, and have dental problems they wouldn't have otherwise had. Smokers spend thousands of dollars they could have used for other things, and their overall health deteriorates. You can smoke all you want, but the truth is smoking causes you damage, your belongings are damaged, your money is wasted and nothing good comes of it.

Look, you can smoke all you want, you don't live or work with me so it's really no skin off my nose. Smokers are supporting the economy by keeping people in the tobacco industry employed and generating taxes which benefit us all. Without smokers, doctors and hospitals and even funeral homes would lose a good share of their business.

Some do...but not all. I heard on the radio today that lung cancer kills more people annually than both breast and prostate combined. I know a few people who have died in their 50's of lung cancer.

yes it is true, but they are very lucky people, most of them though have developed coughs which is probably the start of emphesema

Yes. Only about half of smokers die of it. If you are willing to play a game that kills 50% of players, start smoking. And if you give up smoking, your level of risk returns to the background level after about ten years. So those who gave up smoking more than ten years ago are at no extra risk.

They say 1-3 smokers will die of smoking related illnesses. So even if a member says they're in their 70's with no problem, don't think you're untouchable.