Let’s not talk about the advantages and disadvantages of smoking. It’s something that is common enough knowledge. It's not that smokers don’t know or are unaware of the facts that smoking is bad for them, it’s just that they are unable to care.

Here are six interesting facts about smokers vs. non-smokers that might make the prospect of ‘not smoking’ interesting.

This is an oft-repeated fact, but true enough and cannot be hammered home, often enough. Forget about stained teeth and hair, the effect of smoking is much more than just changes to the appearance. One of the most tragic ailments affecting smokers is cancer. Cancer of the throat and various other parts of the body; all types of cancer are very painful. People who do not smoke are less susceptible to the adverse effects of smoking, which include amongst various other effects, breathing, heart action, intestinal problems etc. Heart disease is yet another bane of regular non-smokers.

1. Smoking Causes Air Pollution

Smoking could be a small subset of air pollution. However, if you look at it like a ‘verb’ and something that one indulges in, then here is another interesting fact. Air pollution the scourge of the modern world affects a smoker more than a non-smoker. Yes, all the auto exhausts, industrial pollutants etc affects smoker more than the non-smoker. This is because when one smokes regularly, the cilia that clean the lungs die gradually, while a non-smoker has the benefit of the lung-cleaning cilia. In such a case a smoker is more prone to be affected by lung cancer than a nonsmoker. However, secondhand smoke exposure should be a real concern among nonsmokers.

2. Smoking Prolongs Recovery Time

This one is not about a description of an illness but about recovery. The time taken to recover from any specific illness, of any nature is usually more for a smoker than for a non-smoker. This could be an illness and not just an affliction that is the result of smoking. There have been many cases wherein, a non-smoker has lived to tell the tale, while a smoker hasn’t pulled through.

3. Smoking is Expensive

If a smoker calculates or keeps track of the amount of money spent on cigarettes, they will realize after a few years that they have actually spent a small fortune. It’s not just the cigarettes, but consider the amount of money that a smoker will spend in buying matches, holders, and various other accessories that are a part of smoking. A non-smoker can make good use of this kind of money elsewhere.

4. Smoking Reduces Life Expectancy

A bit dramatic, but there it is! If you are a smoker then your lifespan is shorter than that of a non-smoker. This fact has been proven through various studies. The average nonsmoker has a tendency to live longer than an average smoker. Also, if this is the case then a smoker will lose quite a lot of money due to him, with respect to social security benefits and various other benefits.

5. Smoking Decreases Productivity

You, if you are a smoker, would like to believe that you work as hard as the next man; and maybe you do. But on an average, a smoker misses more work days per year than a non-smoker. These ‘misses’ are accompanied by a loss of pay and you have a very dissatisfied smoker. Employers need to implement workplace tobacco testing if they want to keep productivity at peak.