11 Things Your First Cigarette Will Do To You

You know when you say you're going to have one potato chip and then end up eating the whole bag? Cigarettes are just like that... but deadly. Find out more about why you shouldn't even have one cigarette at THE FACTS NOW.

1. It allows 69-plus cancer-causing chemicals into your body.

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Of the 250 known harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke, 69 of them (including arsenic, chromium, and nickel) can cause cancer.

2. Shortness of breath, nausea, coughing, dizziness, phlegm...

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...no matter how old or young you are, you may experience these symptoms as soon as you smoke your first cigarette. It won't be cute.

3. It'll make you more likely to try alcohol and other drugs.

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According to The Surgeon General's Report for Kids about Smoking, often times tobacco is the first drug used by kids who go on to drink and use illegal drugs.

4. Its addictive influence over you is equal to that of heroin.

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Researchers have found that nicotine is as addictive as heroin, cocaine, or amphetamines. The addiction penetrates deep, involving complex physiological and psychological mechanisms.

5. Its poisonous smell will linger long after the cigarette burns out.

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If you've stepped into a car, elevator, or home where someone's been smoking, you know it immediately. Let your first impression be your personality, not the trail of dangerous, smelly chemicals lingering around you.

6. It'll put you in danger of facing the most preventable cause of death in the United States.

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The only surefire way to prevent smoking is to not start at all. Help prevent 1 in 5 deaths in the United States just by not smoking your first cigarette.

7. It's like dangling your wallet in front of a burglar.

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Shelling out your first buck for a cigarette is your first step towards spending thousands of dollars a year on the product. Addicts who smoke a pack a day burn over $1,500 a year on cigarettes.

8. It'll change your brain and muscle activity almost immediately.

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Nicotine from tobacco smoke reaches the brain and muscle tissue almost as soon as it's inhaled, relaxing some muscles while creating tension in others. Nicotine also is proven to cause changes in stomach secretions and brain activity.

9. It allows chemicals found in dog pee to enter your body.

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Cigarettes contain ammonia, a harmful chemical also found in dog pee.

10. It's addictive qualities will try to take away your choice to stop.

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The Surgeon General's Report for Kids states that nearly 50% of high school senior smokers surveyed wanted to quit — 2 in 5 tried to quit and couldn't.

11. It'll put your health in danger — now and in the future.

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Being young isn't an excuse. The American Heart Association found that most adult smokers lit their first cigarette when they were preteens or teenagers. In addition, according to a Surgeon General report, if you make it out of high school as a nonsmoker, chances are high that you'll never become one.