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Health Effects of Active Smoking

Tobacco companies create huge advertising budgets to market their products. According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control website, this spending totaled $12.5 billion in 2006. Smoking has serious and lasting effects on the human body. Most people know smoking is dangerous, but many don't realize how pervasive and damaging its effects are.

  1. Identification

    • The Statistics New Zealand website defines active smoking as intentionally inhaling tobacco smoke . The Encyclopedia of Public Health also refers to active smoking as occurring when a smoker directly inhales from a cigarette.This differs from passive smoking or second hand smoking, which occurs when other individuals breathe in the air in a room with a person smoking cigarettes.

    Death

    • According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention website, smoking causes one in five U.S. deaths, yearly. Smoking-related deaths account for more deaths than alcohol, HIV, accidents and violent crime deaths combined. Smoking causes a variety of health complications and conditions with high mortality. This includes heart disease and respiratory illnesses. The tobacco use is the causative factor in these conditions and associated deaths.

    Heart Disease

    • The number one cause of death in the United States is heart disease. Smoking causes heart disease and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, smoking restricts blood vessels. Smokers have twice to quadruple the risk of developing heart disease as non smokers. Smoking causes obstructive coronary disease, and can also weaken the aorta and lead to abdominal aortic aneurysm. Aneurysm is a life threatening condition that if not treated promptly causes death as the individual bleeds internally. Smoking also constricts blood vessels. This constriction reduces blood flow through the blood vessels and can cause pain and gangrene as the tissue suffocates from the lack of oxygen rich blood.

    Respiratory Effects

    • Smoking is a leading cause of lung cancer and it causes lung conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are the main components of this disease, according to the Mayo Clinic website. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. Symptoms usually appear when the condition has progressed. They include tightness in the chest, chronic cough, wheezing and shortness of breath. Bronchitis is an inflammation of the airways in the lungs. Its symptoms include discomfort in the chest, mucus-producing cough, wheezing and fatigue. Emphysema is a serious lung disease in which air sacs at the end of the airways are decimated. Symptoms include tightening in the chest, limitations on physical activity, difficulty exhaling, weight loss and fatigue. Treatments for all these conditions are palliative. Medications can make the patient more comfortable and ease symptoms, but can't reverse the damage brought about by active smoking.

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