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Scientific Facts on Smoking

Smoking is an addiction with economic and public health consequences. After analyzing worldwide tobacco use for its WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008, the World Heath Organization said tobacco could take the lives of over a billion people this century after killing 100 million in the 20th century. The report found that more than 1 billion people smoke, but only 5 percent of the global population live in the nine countries that make services to treat the addiction fully available.

  1. Chemicals

    • About 4,000 chemicals are found in tobacco smoke. Many of these chemicals are poisonous to humans and are toxic. These include the toxins hydrogen cyanide, which is used in chemical weapons, carbon monoxide and ammonia. The toxins arsenic, beryllium and vinyl chloride cause cancer. The chemical formaldehyde can increase the chance of brain cancer and leukemia. More than 60 of the chemicals found in tobacco smoke cause cancer.

    Addiction

    • Nicotine is the cause of smoking addiction and occurs naturally in tobacco. When a cigarette is smoked, nicotine travels to the brain within seconds. Nicotine is a psychoactive drug, psychoactive drugs being those that affect mood, mind and processes of the brain. Nicotine addiction is the most common addiction in the U.S. and is as addictive as heroin, alcohol or cocaine. Beating nicotine addiction can take several tries because of the effects of withdrawal, which include anxiety, irritability, depression and difficulty sleeping and concentrating.

    Deaths from Smoking

    • According to the Centers for Disease Control, smoking caused 443,000 deaths each year in the United States between 2000 and 2004. In those years, cancer caused 164,200 deaths annually, 128,900 from lung cancer, while ischemic heart disease killed 126,000 people. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease makes breathing increasingly difficult over time; 92,900 people died from it. Stroke claimed 15,900. Besides deaths from these causes, smoking killed 44,000 people through other illnesses. A 2008 report by the World Health organization said that, annually, 5.4 million deaths worldwide are due to tobacco use. The deaths will rise to 8 million by 2030.

    Cancer

    • Tar is a group of chemicals inhaled during smoking. After being carried to the lungs, the chemicals are carried throughout the body. Once in the liver, microsomal enzymes convert some of those into cancer-causing chemicals. Besides being found in the liver, the enzymes are also found in the lungs and digestive tract. Cancers caused by smoking are lung, stomach, bladder, kidney, cervical, pancreatic and acute myeloid leukemia, among others. Those who drink heavily and smoke only increase their risk of cancer.

    Bone Health

    • Smoking affects the health of bones and increases the risk of osteoporosis since it reduces bone density. Smoking also increases the chance of a fracture. These risks depend on how long you smoke and how many cigarettes you have. Fractures might take longer to heal if you smoke and there could be complications. Exposure to secondhand smoke in childhood might also increase the risk of having low bone mass.

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