Factors of Smoking

Smoking cigarettes is one of the most serious preventable causes of premature death in America, according to the American Heart Association. Smoking has been linked to several types of cancer, respiratory diseases, heart and vein diseases and can cause complications in smokers with existing conditions, such as diabetes. There are a number of factors associated with cigarette smoking. Understanding them can help you quit, or keep you from starting.

Heart Disease and Stroke

• The American Heart Association lists cigarette smoking as one of the six leading factors for coronary and heart disease. Studies show that cigarette smoking decreases good (HDL) cholesterol, increases blood pressure, reduces stamina and the ability to exercise, and causes your blood to clot easier. Smoking also narrows your blood vessels, reducing circulation and putting you at greater risk for developing peripheral vascular disease.

Cancer

• According to the American Cancer Society, smoking cigarettes causes nine out of 10 deaths from lung cancer and is linked to 30 percent of all cancer deaths. Other types of cancer associated with smoking are throat, larynx, oral, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, bladder, cervix, kidney and certain types of leukemia.

Secondhand Smoke

• Even if you don't smoke, being exposed to cigarette smoke can affect your health. According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's fact sheet on secondhand smoke, nonsmokers can be put at risk for many of the same diseases that affect smokers, including lung cancer, heart disease and eye problems. Children and infants are considered at high risk of being affected by secondhand smoke.

Smoking and Other Diseases

• Some studies have shown links between smoking and other diseases, such as forms of lupus or diabetes, and that smoking can increase the severity of these diseases and their complications. Information from the Cleveland Clinic says research has shown that smokers are at a greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes. If you have other risk factors, your chances can go up to three times that of a nonsmoker. Because smoking affects your circulatory system, it can also make managing diabetes harder, putting you at an even greater risk for heart disease, kidney disease, nerve damage and other complications.

  A study by Dr. S. Kumagai and his colleagues published in January 2009 in "Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases" confirms that smoking is a risk factor in rheumatoid arthritis, especially in men.