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The Disadvantages of Smoking Tobacco

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 400,000 Americans die each year as a direct result of smoking tobacco. In addition to the deadly effects smoking tobacco has on your health, smoking also leads to negative effects on the appearance of the smoker and puts nonsmokers who are around the smoker at risk through secondhand smoke.

  1. Smoking Causes Cancer

    • As stated on every pack of tobacco-related products, the Surgeon General of the United States has determined that smoking causes cancer. What is often overlooked, however, is the numbers of cancer that are caused as a direct result of smoking tobacco. Those who smoke, according to the American Cancer Society, allow 43 carcinogenic (cancer-causing) chemicals into their bodies each time they inhale. In addition, cigarette smoke contains over 400 additional toxins that enter the body with each puff. These toxins and carcinogens put the smoker at risk for lung cancer, a painful cancer that most always results in death. In addition, smoking tobacco leads to cancers of the throat, esophagus, pharynx, stomach, kidney and pancreas and can also be a leading cause of leukemia, which is a form of cancer of the blood.

    Risk of Emphysema

    • Because of the direct effect cancer has on the lungs smokers can develop emphysema in addition to their risk of developing cancer. Emphysema is caused when the lungs become obstructed and can not expand due to the destruction of the bronchioles. As a result, the patient's ability to breathe lessens and lessens and the patient dies primarily of suffocation. According to WebMD, smoking is the leading and most preventable cause of emphysema.

    Effect on Appearance

    • In addition to the damage done to the internal aspects of the body, smoking tobacco products also has a negative effect on the outside of the body. Smoking causes yellowing of the skin and nails as a result of the chemicals that are present in tobacco smoke. Smokers also often smell strongly of cigarette smoke, and the scent is often embedded in the fabrics of the smoker's clothing, which many times goes unnoticed by the smoker. Cigarette smoke also causes premature aging of the skin and foul-smelling breath, which is caused by dried up smoke that cakes inside the mouth of the smoker.

    Secondhand Smoke

    • Smoking has effects on nonsmoking and non-tobacco using friends, loved ones and colleagues of smokers. The American Cancer Society has declared that secondhand smoke is as deadly as smoking itself in regards to the health consequences it has on those who are nearby and forced to breathe air that is tainted by cigarette smoke. Nonsmokers who are affected by the cigarette smoke present in the air by people who smoke nearby are at risk for development of many of the same cancers as the smokers themselves.

    Effect on Finances

    • Beyond the effect that tobacco products have on your health, looks and well being of others around you, the effect that smoking tobacco can have on your finances can be economically devastating. In addition to the frequently rising price of cigarettes, those who smoke are often forced to pay a higher price for insurance due to the risks of smoking tobacco. Also, when health-related issues arise as a result of smoking, the costs of potential surgeries, hospitalization and funeral expenses, should death occur, can climb into many thousands of dollars, some of which may not be covered through insurance.

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