Cigarette smoking and the use of other smokeless tobacco products are choices. For this reason, the American Cancer Society dubs smoking as “the most preventable cause of premature death in our society.” Cigarette smoking is still the number one cause of cancer deaths and is responsible for almost one in five deaths in the United States.
“More than 8.6 million in the U.S. have at least one serious illness caused by smoking,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly half of all Americans who continue to smoke will die of cigarette use. Almost half a million people in the U.S. die each year from illnesses related to cigarette smoking. That’s more than car accidents, alcohol, AIDS, homicides, suicides and illegal drugs combined.
Statistics from the American Cancer Society show that 30 percent of all cancer deaths are from cigarette smoking. Approximately 87 percent of fatal lung cancer is caused from smoking cigarettes. Lung cancer is also one of the most difficult to treat, but is one of the easiest to prevent.
Cigarette smoking is known to be the main cause of mouth, esophagus, pharynx and bladder cancers. It also has a role in the development of stomach, kidney, pancreas, and some forms of leukemia. The harmful effects of tobacco do not end with smoking cigarettes. Cigars, pipes and smokeless tobacco products also cause lung, larynx, esophageal and oral cancers. The “milder” cigarettes with less tar and nicotine are not safer versions.
The past forty years have resulted in approximately 12 million deaths from cigarette smoking. More statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that from those 12 million deaths, 4.1 million were from cancer, 5.5 million from cardiovascular diseases, 2.1 million from respiratory diseases, and 94,000 infant deaths related to the mothers smoking during pregnancy. When a smoker decides to continue during pregnancy, the baby is at a greater risk of respiratory distress, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome.
Cancer is not the only adverse effect from smoking cigarettes. Smoking is extremely hard on the heart and is a major contributor to heart disease. It also can be a contributing factor to strokes and aneurysm. Smoking cigarettes also cause emphysema and bronchitis. Pneumonia and asthma become much more severe when exposed to cigarette smoke.
Smoking cigarettes affect the entire body and to believe otherwise is a fallacy. It affects every organ in the body. Cigarette smoking is connected to several health problems, such as gum disease and cataracts. It is also a possible cause of bone problems and ulcers. Studies have shown that postmenopausal women who smoke have greater bone loss than nonsmokers.
Due to the statistics from the Center for Disease Control, “in the year 2000, about 8.6 million people were suffering from at least one chronic disease due to current or formersmoking.” It is important to let doctors or health care professionals know it’s part of your history, even if you no longer smoke. This can assure that you’re screened for any health-related issues that pertain to smoking cigarettes or using other tobacco products.
It is not safe to inhale secondhand smoke and it does cause harmful side effects for the nonsmoker. Secondhand smoke is the main factor for another 3,000 deaths from lung cancer and another 35,000 from heart disease. Children are especially susceptible to the effects of being in smoke filled environments on a daily basis. Every year approximately 150,000 to 300,000 babies (18 months or younger) have lower- respiratory tract infections due to secondhand smoke exposure. Smoking cigarettes inside the home or automobile on a daily basis around children will have negative effects on their health.
Thousands of individual chemicals have been identified in tobacco and the smoke from tobacco. More than sixty of these chemicals are known carcinogens. Manufacturers of cigarettes add hundreds of substances to them, some of which are for flavor. Some of the ingredients found in tobacco smoke are ammonia, tar and carbon monoxide. The exact ingredients that are added to cigarettes are not public knowledge, so it’s hard to know the full extent of the health risks.
The Federal Trade Commission has reports from the tobacco companies on the nicotine levels in cigarettes. Most states are not required to report the nicotine amount on the cigarette labels. The nicotine amount can vary in brands of cigarettes and can even vary from the amount reported to the FTC. The typical nicotine amount is approximately one to two milligrams per cigarette.
The drug nicotine is a stimulate and one of the most physically addictive available. Any pleasurable feeling derived from smoking are actually only relief from withdrawal of nicotine. It is an extremely hard addiction to break and the withdrawals are difficult to overcome. It seems there is a misconception among those who have never used tobacco that the addiction is only psychological. This is absolutely not true. Just as with any drug addiction, the psychological addiction must be dealt with long after the physical addiction is gone.
It’s never too late to quit smoking and the health benefits will begin as soon as the physical withdrawals are gone. There is instant improvement in overall health when the drugs and carcinogens are no longer put into the body on a daily basis. The long-term damages from smoking will take longer to reverse. The more years the body is spared from cigarette smoking, the better the chances for reversing the damage and adding years to your life.
