Smoking affects a person’s health in many ways, having both immediate and long-term effects.
It is a serious addiction, caused by the drug nicotine. Once inhaled, nicotine reaches the brain almost immediately (within seven seconds). Milligram for milligram, the nicotine contained in all cigarette smoke is more potent than heroin. Humans have been using tobacco for 1,000 years or so. Until about 100 years ago, most tobacco use was in the form of pipe tobacco, cigars, chewing tobacco, and snuff. Those who smoked cigarettes had to roll their own, using loose tobacco. Then, in 1881, the cigarette-rolling machine was invented and smokers went from consuming 40 cigarettes a year on average to over 12,000 each year. The risk of tobacco smoke is not limited to the smoker. It has been estimated that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) increases the risk of lung cancer by about 30% (about 3,000 cases a year in the USA).
Non-smoking infants and children who are chronically exposed to in-utero and environmental smoke have an increased risk of respiratory diseases, malignancy, and other health problems that result in increased hospitalization and days lost from school. Non-smoking adults who are exposed also have more respiratory symptoms that are likely to contribute to work absenteeism due to illness. Whenever you light up, the nicotine in tobacco causes an increase in your heart rate and blood pressure, and the air passages in your lungs constrict, making it more difficult for you to breathe. As small blood vessels constrict, your skin temperature may also decrease, causing your fingers, toes, and skin to feel cold. Smoking dulls your senses, particularly your sense of smell and taste. Finally, carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents, and toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide, enter your bloodstream. This can result in a more rapid onset of chest pain and disturbance of heart rhythm during physical activity or exercise.
Serious Long-Term Effects of Smoking
The long-term effects of smoking are very serious. Smoking contributes to various respiratory diseases, such as chronic bronchitis, shortness of breath, and eventual chronic cough; emphysema, or extreme breathing difficulty and gasping for air; and lung infections, including continual colds, flu, and pneumonia. In addition, smoking can lead to cardiovascular illnesses such as heart disease and arterial disease (clogged arteries). As arteries constrict, there is also a greater risk of stroke, which results in a disruption of the flow of blood carrying oxygen to the brain. Studies show that smokers are two to three times more likely to have a stroke than non-smokers, and the risk of cardiovascular disease is highest for smokers with high blood pressure and relatively high for women who smoke and use oral contraceptives. Tobacco use is the single most important preventable risk to human health in developed countries and an important cause of premature death worldwide.
Global Toll of Smoking
In countries that report deaths attributable to smoking (representing about one-third of the world’s population), annual deaths from smoking numbered about 1.7 million in 1985, with an estimated 2.1 million in 1995 (and hence about 21 million in the decade 1990-99: 5-6 million in the European Community, 5-6 million in the USA, 5 million in the former USSR, 3 million in Easter Europe and 2 million elsewhere). More than half of these deaths occur in people 35-69 years of age. During the 1990s, tobacco caused about 30% of all deaths in people aged between 35-69 years in developed countries (making it the largest single cause of premature death) plus about 15% of all deaths at older ages. In addition, the increasing incidence of smoking in the developing world is likely to lead to a new epidemic of smoking-related diseases. Smoking contributes to the onset of many diseases and is thought to account for 87% of deaths in lung cancer, 82% in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 21% in coronary heart disease (CHD), and 18% in stroke cases. Therefore, once addicted to nicotine, the smoker faces an unacceptably increased risk of respiratory, neoplastic, and cardiovascular disorders.
Smoking’s Multifaceted Risks
Even without overt pulmonary symptoms, the smoker has a chronic inflammatory disease of the lower airways with an accelerated decline in lung function. In addition to causing lung cancer, smoking has been linked to other forms of cancer, including cancer of the larynx (or voicebox); cancer of the mouth, throat, and esophagus; and cancer of the kidneys, pancreas, and bladder. Pregnant women who smoke have a greater chance of miscarriage or giving birth to stillborn, low-birth weight, or premature babies. Recent studies have also linked smoking to premature facial wrinkling. Researchers say smoking more than triples the average person’s chance of premature facial wrinkling, and that the severity of wrinkling increases with the number of pack-years, doubling and in some cases quadrupling depending on the number of packs smoked per day over a long period. Smoking also stains your fingers and teeth and leaves a stale smell on your hair, breath, and clothes. Studies indicate that breathing second-hand smoke, or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), can also pose certain risks.
Second-Hand Smoke Hazards
The toxins in second-hand smoke can burn the eyes, nose, and throat, cause coughing; increase the heart rate; raise blood pressure; cause headaches; and upset the stomach. Over time, breathing second-hand smoke can increase the risk of lung problems, cancer, heart attacks, and strokes. Those with health problems are at greater risk, particularly those with heart problems, allergies, or breathing problems, such as asthma. Infants and young children may also be seriously affected by second-hand smoke. Studies indicate that children of smokers are more likely to have coughs, colds, lung problems, ear infections, behavior problems, heart disease, and cancer later in life. But, that’s not all. Smoking also greatly increases the risk of heart disease. There were almost 180,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease in 1990 that were caused by cigarette smoking. In 1990, smoking caused more than 84,000 deaths from lung diseases such as pneumonia, emphysema, bronchitis, and influenza. There is some good news, however. If a smoker kicks the habit, the death rate from heart disease drops to the rate of nonsmokers after 5 years. And the rate of cancer drops to that of the nonsmoker after quitting for 10 years.
