According to the Surgeon General of the United States, cigarette smoking is the single most important cause of PREVENTABLE death in this country. Each puff on a cigarette causes a person's heart and arteries to react. Nicotine, just one of the many elements in cigarette smoke, plays a big role in the disease process. Nicotine constricts blood vessels, makes the heart beat faster, raises blood pressure, lowers the blood's ability to carry oxygen, and riases choesterol levels. It has been conclusively shown that cigarette smoking contributes to cardiovascular disease.

*** A person must stop smoking in order to control diabetes.