1,001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You: The Ultimate Bathroom Reader (56 page)

“Cocaine,” Psychology Today,
www.psychologytoday.com
.

409

FACT :
Cocaine suppresses the appetite which can lead to decreased food intake, making many chronic cocaine users
at risk for malnourishment and significant weight loss
.
Like when your nose falls off your face. That’s gotta be a couple of ounces. Unless you’re Bar-bra Streisand—then you’re talking closer to a pound.

“Cocaine,” Psychology Today,
www.psychologytoday.com
.

FACT :
Potentially dangerous interactions can occur when taking cocaine and alcohol in any combination. Both drugs convert to cocaethylene in the body, which is more toxic and has a longer duration in the brain than either drug alone. The mixture creates
the most common fatal two-drug combination
.
I think more toxic and longer duration is the whole point.

410

“Cocaine,” Psychology Today,
www.psychologytoday.com
.

411

FACT :
Smoking is the cause of 90 percent of deaths from lung cancer in men and nearly 80 percent of deaths from lung cancer in women. The risk of death from lung cancer is
over twenty-three times greater
for male smokers and thirteen times greater for female smokers than for their counterparts who never smoked.
Even if you only thought about smoking, your risk of lung cancer triples.

”Fact Sheet—Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, January 2008,
www.cdc.gov
.

412

FACT :
Smoking causes acute myeloid leukemia,
as well as cancer in other areas of the body
, including the bladder, mouth, larynx (voice box), cervix, kidneys, lungs, esophagus, pancreas, and stomach.
Bladder cancer sounds like fun.

“Fact Sheet—Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, January 2008,
www.cdc.gov
.

413

FACT :
Smoking contributes to heart disease,
the number one cause of death in the United States
. Cigarette smokers quadruple their risk for developing coronary heart disease.
I think it would be fun to put on a Grim Reaper costume and go stand in the corner of the smoking room at the airport. Just stand there. With my sickle.

“Fact Sheet - Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, January 2008,
www.cdc.gov
.

414

FACT :
Smoking cigarettes
nearly doubles
a person’s risk of having a stroke.
And triples his risk of being asked, “Can I bum a cigarette?”

“Fact Sheet - Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, January 2008,
www.cdc.gov
.

415

FACT :
Smoking can cause abdominal aortic aneurysm,
when a bulge forms in the wall of the aorta near the stomach
. About 15,000 Americans die of an abdominal aortic aneurysm each year, making it the thirteenth leading cause of death in the country.
If you think “abdominal aortic aneurysm” is hard to say, try having one.

Larry A. Weinrauch, “Abdominal aortic aneurysm,” Medline Plus, U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, August 28, 2008,
www.nlm.nih.gov
.

“Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm,”
MedicineNet.com
,
www.medicinenet.com
.

416

FACT :
Women who smoke
increase their risk
for infertility, stillbirth, preterm delivery, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Some pregnant women wouldn’t object to preterm delivery.