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Cigarette Smoke & Health Problems

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco is one of the largest threats to the public health of the 21st century. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, 60 of which are known to cause cancer. It is widely known that cigarettes lead to a variety of health problems, and these problems can affect both smokers and non-smokers.

  1. History

    • Tobacco has been around for thousands of years. In the mid-1800s, the cigarette was officially created in France. In the early 1900s, the cigarette became a prominent part of world culture and began to spread worldwide, particularly in the Western countries. During both World War I and World War II, cigarettes were distributed to U.S. soldiers. The second half of the 20th century began an awareness of the negative health impacts of cigarettes.

    Chemicals in Cigarette Smoke

    • Cigarette smoke contains nicotine, a chemical that is very addictive, as well as carcinogenic chemicals such as tar, nitrosamine and polycyclic hydrocarbons. Cigarette smoke also contains carbon monoxide, which slows down oxygen flow to vital organs and cells in your body.

    Tobacco Facts

    • According to the National Cancer Institute, cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States and leads to more than 400,000 deaths each year, which is one out of every five deaths in the country. As of 2007, nearly 20 percent of U.S. adults were cigarette smokers. Twenty-three percent of high school students and 8 percent of middle school students in the United States currently smoke cigarettes.

    Health Effects

    • Cigarette smoke leads to a variety of cancers. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for both men and women in the United States. Around 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in men and around 80 percent of lung cancer deaths in women are caused by smoking, according to the National Cancer Institute. People who smoke cigarettes are six times more likely to have a heart attack than non-smokers, and cigarette smoking causes lung conditions such as bronchitis and emphysema. According to the Centers for Disease Control, cigarette smoking leads to coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Smokers are two to four times more likely to develop both coronary artery disease and stroke.

    Secondhand Smoke

    • According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 38,000 deaths each year are caused by exposure to secondhand smoke in the United States. According to the EPA, exposure to secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer in adults who do not smoke, and secondhand smoke causes 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year in people who don't smoke. In addition, exposure to secondhand smoke increases your risk of heart disease.

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