Cancer

• The risk of dying from lung cancer is more than 22 times higher among men who smoke cigarettes and about 12 times higher among women who smoke cigarettes compared with never smokers.


• Cigarette smoking increases the risk for many types of cancer, including cancers of the lip, oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, pancreas, larynx (voice box), lung, uterine cervix, urinary bladder, and kidney.
• Rates of cancers related to cigarette smoking vary widely among members of racial/ethnic groups but are highest among African-American men.

Heart Disease and Stroke

• Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Cigarette smokers are 2–4 times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.
• Cigarette smoking approximately doubles a person’s risk for stroke.
• Cigarette smoking causes reduced circulation by narrowing the blood vessels (arteries). Smokers are more than 10 times as likely as nonsmokers to develop peripheral vascular disease.
• Smoking causes abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Respiratory Health

• Cigarette smoking is associated with a tenfold increase in the risk of dying from chronic obstructive lung disease. About 90% of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung diseases are attributable to cigarette smoking.
• Cigarette smoking has many adverse reproductive and early childhood effects, including an increased risk for infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone density than women who never smoked. Women who smoke have an increased risk for hip fracture than never smokers.

Smoking During Pregnancy

Research has shown that smoking during pregnancy causes health problems for both mothers and babies, such as

• Pregnancy complications
• Premature birth
• Low-birth-weight infants
• Stillbirth
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Secondhand Smoke
Definition of Secondhand Smoke

• Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke, is a complex mixture of gases and particles that includes smoke from the burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe tip (sidestream smoke) and exhaled mainstream smoke.
• Secondhand smoke contains at least 250 chemicals known to be toxic, including more than 50 that can cause cancer.

Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke Exposure

• Secondhand smoke exposure causes heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults.
• Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their heart disease risk by 25–30% and their lung cancer risk by 20–30%.
• Breathing secondhand smoke has immediate harmful effects on the cardiovascular system that can increase the risk of heart attack. People who already have heart disease are at especially high risk.
• Secondhand smoke exposure causes respiratory symptoms in children and slows their lung growth.
• Secondhand smoke causes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more frequent and severe asthma attacks in children.
• There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure. Even brief exposure can be dangerous.

Via www.cdc.gov