Final answer:
Smoking is a leading cause of preventable deaths and is associated with chronic respiratory and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and a significantly reduced lifespan. Secondhand smoke also increases lung cancer and heart disease risks in non-smokers and causes health issues in children. Quitting smoking reduces these risks, underscoring that it is a highly preventable health hazard.
Step-by-step explanation:
Neil is rightly concerned about his parents' health because smoking is a leading cause of preventable deaths. The harmful effects of smoking extend to chronic respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease, and various types of cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposure to tobacco smoke is the single most important preventable risk to human health in developed countries and a notable cause of early death worldwide.
Regular smokers, unfortunately, tend to die about 10 years earlier than nonsmokers, highlighting the severity of smoking's impact on life expectancy. Those exposed to secondhand smoke, including non-smokers who live with smokers, also face increased risks for lung cancer and heart disease. Children exposed to secondhand smoke suffer from more respiratory infections and are at a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
While nicotine, found in tobacco smoke, is highly addictive and does not directly cause most of the health risks associated with smoking, it contributes to the difficulty smokers face when attempting to quit this deadly habit. Thankfully, the risks related to smoking-related diseases and death begin to decline once a person stops smoking. The number of health issues and the increase in life expectancy after quitting smoking can be a significant motivator for individuals looking to abandon the habit.