What Are the Health Risks of Smoking and Drinking?

Smoking carries an array of negative health risks. It is the cause of one-in-five deaths yearly in the U.S., states the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That percentage is higher yearly than deaths caused by immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides and murders combined. The CDC also reports alcohol use is responsible for approximately 79,000 deaths yearly in the U.S., making excessive alcohol use the third leading lifestyle-related cause of fatality for the country.

Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease

• Cigarette smoking causes reduced blood circulation by narrowing the blood vessels. Reduced blood flow brings risks of peripheral vascular disease, reports the CDC. This disease obstructs blood flow in the large arteries of the arms and legs and can cause pain and tissue loss. The CDC adds that smoking causes coronary heart disease, which, as of 2010, is the leading cause of death in the United States. Another impact of smoking is increased risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm. When comparing smokers to non-smokers, smoking increases the overall risk of coronary heart disease by two to four times.

Smoking and Respiratory Disease

• Both the CDC and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report that smoking causes lung cancer. In fact, cigarette-smoking men run a 23-times increased risk of developing the disease, whereas women run a 13-times higher risk than non-smokers. Smoking is also linked to emphysema, bronchitis and chronic airway obstruction because of damage incurred to the airways and alveoli of the lungs.

Smoking and Cancer

• According to the CDC, increased risk of cancer in smokers isn't limited to lung cancer. In fact, smoking is linked to a multitude of cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia, bladder cancer, cancer of the cervix, esophageal cancer, kidney cancer, cancer of the larynx, oral cancer, cancer of the throat, stomach cancer and uterine cancer.

Smoking and Pregnancy

• Smoking causes complications during pregnancy as well as pre- and post-natal complications. Infertility, pre-term delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome are risks involved with smoking before, during and after pregnancy, reports the CDC. Complications are not limited to women. The New York Times reports that smoking can harm a man's sexuality and fertility. It decreases sperm motility and reduces sperm longevity. Studies reported in the New York Times also show that men who smoke have lower libido.

Additional Risks of Smoking

• Because of a lower bone density in postmenopausal women who smoke than those who never smoked, there is an increased risk for hip fracture. Smokers are more likely to face degenerative disorders and injuries in the spine than non-smokers. Smokers also have more trouble recovering after surgery.

Alcohol and Immediate Bodily Injury

• The risk of accidental injuries such as traffic injuries, falls, drowning, burns and unintentional firearm injuries increase with alcohol consumption. Risk of unprotected sex, sex with multiple partners, and increased risk of sexual assault also rise with alcohol use, potentially leading to contraction of sexually transmitted infections or unplanned pregnancy. Alcohol poisoning can occur when high blood alcohol levels suppress the central nervous system. Loss of consciousness, low blood pressure and body temperature, coma, respiratory depression and death can ensue from alcohol poisoning.

Alcohol and Liver Disease

• Excessive alcohol consumption leads to liver diseases such as alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis, which is among the 15 leading causes of all deaths in the U.S. With cirrhosis, the liver becomes so heavily damaged that it is unable to properly function. Worsening of liver function and interference with medications can arise in alcohol users with the Hepatitis C virus.

Alcohol and Neurological and Psychiatric Disease

• Threat of dementia, stroke and neuropathy are neurological concerns of excessive alcohol use, according to the CDC. The human brain naturally shrinks as people age, but heavy drinking speeds shrinkage of certain key regions and can cause memory loss and other symptoms of dementia. Drinking also leads to problems with the ability to plan, make judgments and problem solving. Risk of depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies also increase with the use of alcohol.

Alcohol and Cancer

• The possibility of cancer rises with increasing amounts of alcohol. These cancers include, but are not limited to, cancer of the mouth, cancer of the throat, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, and breast cancer, reports the CDC.