We all know that tobacco use is bad for your health. But did you know that smoking can take 10-14 years off of your life? Fortunately, it is never too late to quit. Even quitting at age 65 can add 3 years of life expectancy and make your remaining years healthier.
Health Effects of Smoking:
- One in every five deaths in the United States is smoking related. Every year, smoking kills more than 276,000 men and 142,000 women.
- Smoking causes about 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and almost 80% of lung cancer deaths in women.
- The risk of dying from lung cancer is more than 23 times higher among men who smoke cigarettes, and about 13 times higher among women who smoke cigarettes compared with nonsmokers.
- Smoking causes cancers of the bladder, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx (voice box), esophagus, cervix, kidney, lung, pancreas, and stomach.
- Rates of cancers related to cigarette smoking vary widely among members of racial/ethnic groups, but are generally highest in African-American men.
- Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.
- Cigarette smokers are 2-4 times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.
- Cigarette smoking approximately doubles a person's risk for stroke.
- Cigarette smoking causes reduced circulation by narrowing the blood vessels (arteries).
- Smokers are more than 10 times as likely as nonsmokers to develop peripheral vascular disease.
- About 90% of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung diseases are attributable to cigarette smoking.
- Men who smoke increase their risk of death from bronchitis and emphysema by nearly 10 times.
- Cigarette smoking has many adverse reproductive and early childhood effects, including an increased risk for infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
- Postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone density than women who never smoked. Women who smoke have an increased risk for hip fracture than never smokers.
Fact: No matter how late in life you quit smoking, you can drastically increase your life expectancy if you quit now!
Negative effects of chew:
- Smokeless tobacco contains 28 cancer-causing agents (carcinogens). It is a known cause of human cancer, as it increases the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity.
- Oral health problems strongly associated with smokeless tobacco use are recession of the gums and leukoplakia (a lesion of the soft tissue that consists of a white patch or plaque that cannot be scraped off).
- Smokeless tobacco use can lead to nicotine addiction and dependence
- Adolescents who use smokeless tobacco are more likely to become cigarette smokers.
Fact: Chew is not a safe substitute for smoking.
Effects of Secondhand Smoke on Children
- The Surgeon General has concluded that there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure. Even brief exposures can be harmful.
- Almost 60% of U.S. children aged 3-11 years-or almost 22 million children-are exposed to secondhand smoke.
- Each year in the United States, secondhand smoke exposure is responsible for 150,000-300,000 new cases of bronchitis and pneumonia in children aged less than 18 months. This results in 7,500-15,000 hospitalizations, annually.
- Babies whose mothers smoke while pregnant or who are exposed to secondhand smoke after birth have weaker lungs than other babies, which increases the risk for many health problems.
- Secondhand smoke exposure causes acute lower respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia in infants and young children.
- Secondhand smoke exposure causes children who already have asthma to experience more frequent and severe attacks.
- Secondhand smoke exposure causes respiratory symptoms, including cough, phlegm, wheeze, and breathlessness, among school-aged children
- Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for ear infections and are more likely to need an operation to insert ear tubes for drainage.
Fact: If you do not quit smoking right away, consider smoking outside all the time to avoid making others sick, especially children.
[Information from The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/Factsheets/health_effects.htm#) and the U.S. Surgeon General (http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke)]
