Smoking is an addictive activity which involves inhaling vapors of tobacco after burning them up. Smoking is taken up by an individual either in his teens or early twenties. Mostly smoking is done by using cigarettes, cigars, hookah, beedi, pipe, kretek and roll-your-own. WHO estimates smoking caused 5.4 million deaths across the globe in 2004.

There are many adverse effects of smoking. Ingredients of tobacco smoke are very harmful for human body.  Smoking increases the heart rate and elevates blood pressure. As smoke contains carbon monoxide, the much needed oxygen supply to body is also reduced. Smoking is also found to be responsible for lung cancer, mouth cancer, cancers of larynx, pancreatic cancer, emphysema and other major respiratory diseases. Smoking also causes heart diseases which can prove to be fatal. Passive smoking among infants results in pneumonia, cough, wheezing, and bronchitis. Smoking also aggravates asthmatic problems. Pregnant women are likely to deliver baby with low weight.

Smoking is addictive and it is quite tough to give it up. Once addicted, a person requires self control and will power to give up smoking. There are various ways to quit smoking like using smoking patches, nicotine chewing gums and hypnotherapy.