You probably already know that secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer, trigger asthma attacks, and increase your risk of allergies, respiratory irritation and infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Now, a study presented at the annual American Psychomatic Meeting shows that smoking can make you more likely to suffer from depression.

Asthmatics who don't smoke may think they aren't at risk for these ill effects, but in reality, second hand smoke exposure can still cause the same problems, particularly among children, whose lungs are smaller and as a result, they tend to breathe in more quickly, thereby inhaling more smoke.

Last year more evidence emerged that smoking worsens rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms. Cigarette smoking has long been linked to several diseases, including diabetes, lung cancer, heart attacks and the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. Now we know it can also make the disease more severe.

It's hard to believe that a little over 50 years ago advertisements in which doctors recommended cigarette brands such as Camel and Lucky Strike ran in popular magazines. Nowadays, even smokers realize how harmful smoking is to their health.

Women's reasons for smoking are often different than men's. They may smoke because they want help with weight loss. They may think it makes them appear more glamorous, independent, or mature. Young women may smoke simply because that's what their mother's did.