These “Fact sources” are referenced by the Burning Questions Quiz

  1. The relative risk of malignant lymphoma for cats with any exposure to household environmental tobacco smoke (after adjustment for age and other factors) was 2.4 times greater than non-smoking households.

    Bertone, E.R., Snyder, L.A., Moore, A.S (2002). Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Risk of Malignant Lymphoma in Pet Cats.  American Journal of Epidemiology; Vol. 156, No. 3, pg 268-273.
     

  2. Each cigarette reduces your life span by 11 minutes.

    Source: Shaw, Mitchell, and Dorling, (2000). Time for a smoke? One cigarette reduces your life by 11 minutes. British Medical Journal. 2000 January 1; 320(7226): 53.

    Refer to: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1117323/
     

  3. Cigarettes contain arsenic, formaldehyde, lead, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, ammonia and a range of known carcinogens.

    Source: Talhout, R., Schulz, T., Florek, E., Jan van Benthem, Wester, P., Opperhuizen, A. (2011). Hazardous Compounds in Tobacco Smoke. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 8, 613-628.
     

  4. Smoking starves your skin of oxygen making it dry and grey. You develop wrinkles around your eyes and mouth much earlier, and the tar stains your teeth and fingers.

    Source 1: Quitline - http://www.quit.org.nz/18/reasons-to-quit/your-reasons-to-quit

    Source 2: Morita, A. (2007). Tobacco smoke causes premature skin ageing. Journal of Dermatological Science; 48, 169—175.
     

  5. Smoking kills more people in NZ each year than road crashes, alcohol, other drugs, suicide, murder, drowning and earthquakes – all put together.

    Source: Ministry of Health: http://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy-living/addictions/smoking
     

  6. Clinical studies suggest a relationship between cigarette smoking and erectile dysfunction.

    Source 1:  Millett, C., Wen, L.M., Rissel, C., Smith, A., Richters, J., Grulich, A., R de Visser (2006).  Smoking and erectile dysfunction: findings from a representative sample of Australian men. Tobacco Control 15:136–139.

    Source 2: US Surgeon General's Report (2004). The Health Consequences of Smoking. P 767-776.
     

  7. ‘Roll-your-own’ smokes have fewer added chemicals and are less harmful than normal cigarettes.

    Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health. Tobacco returns 2012. British American Tobacco New Zealand (BAT NZ) Annual Return 2012. www.health.govt.nz/our-work/preventative-health-wellness/tobacco-control/tobacco-returns/tobacco-returns-2012
     

  8. Cigarette butts are the most common form of litter, as an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are thrown away every year worldwide.

    Source: Slaughter E, Gersberg RM, Watanabe K, Rudolph J., Stransky C., Novotny T.E., (2011). Toxicity of cigarette butts, and their chemical components, to marine and freshwater fish. Tobacco Control; 20 (Suppl 1): i25ei29. doi:10.1136/tc.2010.040170
     

  9. Smoking speeds up your heart rate; so when exercising a smokers heart must work harder than a non-smoker.

    Source: Papathanasiou, G., Georgakopoulos, D., Papageorgiou, E., Zerva, E., Michalis, L., Kalfakakou, V., Evangelou, A, (2013). Effects of smoking on heart rate at rest and during exercise, and on heart rate recovery, in young adults, Hellenic J Cardiol. May-Jun;54(3):168-77.
     

  10. Smoking produces more phlegm in your lungs, which can leave you coughing and wheezy when exercising

    Source: Forey, B.A., Thornton, A.J., Lee, P.N. (2011). Systematic review with meta-analysis of the epidemiological evidence relating smoking to COPD, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. BMC Pulmonary Medicine, 11:36.

    Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/246639-smoking-phlegm/
     

  11. The average retail price of a pack of cigarettes as at January 2016 is $NZ 22.80. Multiplied by 52 weeks, this gives an annual total of $1,185.60. This is roughly equivalent to:

  • A return trip to Samoa = $1200 ( a conservative estimate)
  • 12 x Chuck Tailors = $1,188 (a conservative estimate)
  • 59 x $20 movie tickets = $1,180