Smoking and health: Reasons to kick the habit - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

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When someone says smoking is dangerous, you probably think "lung cancer." You would be right, but it doesn't end there. Smoking affects nearly every organ in the body and can cause many serious health problems, including:

• Many types of cancer, including bladder, throat, mouth, esophagus, cervix, kidney, lung, pancreas and stomach cancer and leukemia
• Cataracts
• Gum disease
• Heart disease
• Emphysema
• Stomach ulcers
• Aortic aneurysm
• Slow wound healing
• Problems getting pregnant and carrying a pregnancy to term

It's little wonder that smoking causes so many problems. Tobacco smoke contains 4,000 chemicals, and more than 60 of them are known to cause cancer. With each cigarette you expose yourself to toxic substances such as cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide.

Each year in the U.S., almost one out of every five deaths is linked to tobacco use. It causes more deaths than HIV, drug use, alcohol use, car accidents, suicide and murder combined. Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death in this country.

Smoking and your lungs

• People who smoke are 20 times more likely to get lung cancer than nonsmokers. Smoking is responsible for 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in men and 80 percent of lung cancer deaths in women.
• Smoking damages the membranes lining the inside of your lungs. This damage can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.
• People who smoke will have reduced lung function before they progress to more serious lung disease. This can cause shortness of breath and a nagging cough.
• People who smoke are prone to colds and other respiratory infections.

Smoking and your heart, blood flow, and brain

• Smoking is a major cause of coronary heart disease, which can lead to heart attack and stroke.
• The chemicals in smoke damage blood vessel walls, which can cause high blood pressure and an increased risk for blood clots.
• A person who smokes has twice the risk of heart attack as a nonsmoker. And a smoker who has a heart attack is more likely to die suddenly, within an hour of the attack.
• Smoking can cause an abdominal aortic aneurysm (a bulging blood vessel), which can be deadly.
• People with diabetes who smoke are at increased risk for nerve damage, kidney disease, blood vessel disease and leg and foot infections.

Smoking and your digestive system

• Smoking can raise the risk for ulcers, which are sores in the stomach and intestines. Ulcers in smokers tend to be more severe than in nonsmokers and more likely to bleed and cause death.
• Acid reflux occurs more in smokers than nonsmokers and is more severe.
• People who smoke are at risk for serious gum disease, which can lead to tooth loss.

Smoking and pregnancy

• The chemicals in cigarettes make it harder for a woman to become pregnant and may even affect sperm counts.
• Women who smoke are twice as likely as nonsmokers to have pregnancy complications such as miscarriage, stillbirth and premature delivery.
• Babies born to women who smoke weigh less than those born to nonsmokers. Low birth weight is the leading cause of death in newborns.

View the original  Smoking and health: Reasons to kick the habit article on myOptumHealth.com

 SOURCES:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2004 Surgeon General's report: the health consequences of smoking. Accessed: 11/03/2009
• National Cancer Institute. Smoking. Accessed: 11/02/2009
• American Heart Association. Cigarette smoking and cardiovascular diseases. Accessed: 11/03/2009
• American Cancer Society. Questions about smoking, tobacco, and health. Accessed: 04/28/2008
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking and tobacco use: health effects. Accessed: 11/03/2009

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