Once addicted to smoking, Terrie Hall became one of America’s strongest advocate against smoking. Her video campaigns against the vice that caused her to have cancer 11 times became helpful in raising awareness among Americans about the consequences of smoking.
Hall, who began smoking when she was in high school, passed away on September 16, 2013 at the age of 53 due to complications of cancer.
The former smoker was one of the people featured in Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) video campaign against smoking. In the compelling videos, Hall bravely showed the public the negative effects smoking brought to her life. She had to undergo surgeries and radiation treatment series which scarred her face and neck, and took her natural voice.
Dr. Tom Frieden, CDC director said: ”I believe that for me and for literally millions of other Americans, Terrie put a face to the 440,000 people killed by smoking each year in the United States.”
Watch Terrie Hall give tips to smokers.
Effects of Smoking
According to the CDC, smoking causes 480,000 deaths annually in US alone. It accounts for 90% of lung cancer deaths in both men and women, and 80% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Smoking causes cancer in almost all body parts including bladder, blood, cervix, colon and rectum, esophagus, kidney and ureter, larynx, liver, Oropharynx, pancreas, stomach, and lungs.
For pregnant women, smoking also entails many risks such as still birth, preterm delivery, low birth weight, ectopic pregnancy as well as sudden infant death syndrome.
Individuals who quit smoking reduces the risks of cardiovascular diseases. After one year of quitting smoking, heart attack risk decreases sharply. Meanwhile, one’s risk for stroke drops to about the same as non-smokers within two to 5 years after quitting smoking. Lastly, one’s risk for lung cancer reduces by 50% ten years after quitting smoking.