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Smoking Consequences

Smoking causes a number of diseases and is harmful to nearly every organ in your body. Effects of smoking cause almost one in five deaths in the United States each year, while 20 more smokers for each who who dies suffer from serious illnesses that smoking caused. Nearly 20 percent of adults in the United States continue to smoke cigarettes despite these consequences.

  1. General Mortality

    • In the United States, smoking is the most common cause of death that could have been prevented. The average lifespan of a smoker is 13 to 14 years shorter than the average lifespan of a nonsmoker.

    Cancer

    • Smoking causes a significantly higher risk of lung cancer and other cancers. Men who smoke cigarettes are about 23 times more likely than men who don't to die from lung cancer, and women who smoke smoke cigarettes are about 13 times more likely to die of lung cancer. Smoking also causes a number of other cancers, including cancer of the bladder, larynx, esophagus, kidneys, pancreas and stomach. Up to 30 percent of all deaths from cancer is caused by smoking.

    Heart Disease

    • If you smoke cigarettes, you are two to four times as likely than those who don't to develop coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Smoking increases blood pressure, decreases the tolerance smokers have for exercise and increases the tendency of blood to clot.

    Cardiovascular Disease

    • Smoking also narrows your blood vessels and causes reduced circulation, making smokers 10 times as likely than those who don't smoke to have peripheral vascular disease. Smoking can cause abdominal aortic aneurysms as well.

    Respiratory Disease

    • Approximately nine in 10 deaths caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are due to smoking. If you smoke, you increase your chances of dying from these diseases by 10 times. Smoking also causes chronic coughs, shortness of breath, emphysema and asthma.

    Other Effects

    • Smoking cigarettes increases a woman's risk of infertility and stillbirth, preterm delivery and low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome. Female smokers have a higher risk of hip fractures and, after menopause, lower bone densities.

      Smoking increases your risk of ulcers, strokes and blood clots. Smoking also affects your mouth with yellow teeth, bad breath and gum disease, including gingivitis, which causes gums to bleed and swell painfully and increases the rate at which your teeth fall out. Yellow fingernails and premature signs of aging, like wrinkling, are other effects of smoking.

    Effects of Quittings

    • Although it's best to never smoke, quitting has positive effects on your health, both short- and long-term, regardless of your age and whether you have associated diseases. Those who quit smoking live longer lives than those who continue smoking. If you stop before age 50 you cut your chance of dying in the next 15 year by 50 percent. Quitting also lowers the risk of a number of diseases, including lung cancer, other cancers, lung disease, heart attack, stroke, colds, flu viruses, bronchitis and pneumonia. Quitting in your first trimester of pregnancy also reduces the chance of giving birth to a low birth weight baby to the same risk of those who have never smoked.

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