Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causes many diseases, and reduces the health of smokers in general. Quitting smoking lowers your risk for smoking-related diseases and can add years to your life.
Smoking and Death
Smoking causes about 90% (or 9 out of 10) of all lung cancer deaths. More women die from lung cancer each year than from breast cancer. Smoking causes about 80% (or 8 out of 10) of all deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Cigarette smoking increases the risk of death from all causes in men and women.
Smoking and Increased Health Risks
Smokers are more likely than non-smokers to develop heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer.
Estimates show smoking increases the risk:
For coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times
For stroke by 2 to 4 times
Of men developing lung cancer by 25 times
Of women developing lung cancer by 25.7 times
Smoking causes diminished overall health, increased absenteeism from work, and increased health care utilization and cost.
Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease
Smokers are at greater risk for diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular disease). Even people who smoke fewer than five cigarettes a day can have early signs of cardiovascular disease. Smoking damages blood vessels and can make them thicken and grow narrower. This makes your heart beat faster and your blood pressure go up. Clots can also form.
Smoking and Respiratory Disease
Smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs (alveoli) found in your lungs.
Lung diseases caused by smoking include COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Cigarette smoking causes most cases of lung cancer.
If you have asthma, tobacco smoke can trigger an attack or make an attack worse.
Smokers are 12 to 13 times more likely to die from COPD than nonsmokers.
Smoking and Cancer
Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body. Smoking also increases the risk of dying from cancer and other diseases in cancer patients and survivors.
Smoking and Other Health Risks
Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and affects a person’s overall health.
Smoking can make it harder for a woman to become pregnant. It can also affect her baby’s health before and after birth.
Smoking can also affect men’s sperm, which can reduce fertility and also increase risks for birth defects and miscarriage.
Smoking can affect bone health.
Women past childbearing years who smoke have weaker bones than women who never smoked. They are also at greater risk for broken bones.
Smoking affects the health of your teeth and gums and can cause tooth loss.
Smoking can increase your risk for cataracts (clouding of the eye’s lens that makes it hard for you to see). It can also cause age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is damage to a small spot near the centre of the retina, the part of the eye needed for central vision
Smoking is a cause of type 2 diabetes mellitus and can make it harder to control. The risk of developing diabetes is 30–40% higher for active smokers than non-smokers.
Smoking causes general adverse effects on the body, including inflammation and decreased immune function.
Smoking is a cause of rheumatoid arthritis.
Quitting and Reduced Risks
Beneficial health changes that take place:
Within 20 minutes, your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
2-12 weeks, your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
1-9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease is about half that of a smoker's.
5 years, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.
10 years, your risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker and your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decreases.
15 years, the risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker's.
Ishadha irshad
Z. Hafna
References
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. QuickStats: Number of Deaths from 10 Leading Causes—National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2010. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2013:62(08);155.
Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, Gerberding JL. Actual Causes of Death in the United States. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association 2004;291(10):1238–45
World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/tobacco-health-benefits-of-smoking-cessation
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