Author: Jonathan Moore
A chimpanzee famous for his habit of picking up zoo visitor's cigarettes and smoking them has died.
His keepers say that Charlie died from natural causes and, somewhat surprisingly, lived 10 years longer than the average zoo-kept chimp.
Charlie was only an ?occasional smoker? and showed no signs of addiction or withdrawal symptoms, according to workers at his zoo in South Africa. A senior nature conservator recalled to the Daily Mail how Charlie would ?beg? for cigarettes from visitors.
A post-mortem will now be carried out, and Charlie?s body will be stuffed and preserved.
The human impact of smoking
While Charlie managed to live a long life, many human lives are cut short eat year by smoking. Smoking is the leading cause of avoidable premature death in Europe. In some countries it causes 9 in 10 cases of lung cancer. It also causes heart disease, infertility and impotence. Research shows that massive numbers of smokers would really like to give up. In Great Britain, for example, more than 6 out of 10 smokers confess that they would like to give up. Worries about their health, their finances and the health of their family members drive this desire to stop smoking. Passive smoking kills many people every year. Tragically children are particularly vulnerable to passive smoking and can develop respiratory and other problems because of it. Children who grow up around smokers are more likely to smoke themselves in later life.
There really is no better time to stop smoking than now. If you would like to quit, seek out medical advice from a trained medical practitioner. Stop smoking medication Champix, counselling and anti-smoking literature can all be useful in helping you to give up.
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