Most people know that smoking is bad for your health, but how bad is it? You might not know the details. Let us look at three ways in which smoking hurts people:
- Physical harm caused by smoking
- Harm caused by second-hand smoke
- Smoking related deaths
Physical harm caused by smoking
- For all adults
- stroke and chronic headaches
- blurry vision, cataracts
- ear infections
- wrinkled skin
- foul breath, yellow teeth, gingivitis
- emphysema, bronchitis
- chronic cough, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD)
- heart diseases, high blood pressure
- psoriasis
- cold hands and feet
- impotence, decreased sperm count
- For females in particular
- tend to age faster and look older
- decreased ability to get pregnant and have babies
- increased risk of miscarriage
- increased risk of preterm deliveries, low birth weights
- delivery of babies that suffer from Sudden Infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- For babies
- Pre-matured births
- Inner ear infection
- Allergic rhinitis
- Bronchitis, pneumonia
- Allergic cough
- Allergic dermatitis
- Cancers caused by smoking
- Brain cancer, cancer of the nose
- Cancer of the mouth and tongue
- Cancer of the pharynx, larynx, and esophagus
- Lung cancer
- Breast cancer
- Stomach cancer, intestinal cancer
- Pancreatic cancer, Liver cancer
- Cancer of the kidney and bladder
- Prostate cancer
- Colon cancer
- Uterine cancer, ovarian cancer
Harm caused by second-hand smoke
- What is second-hand smoke?
- What are health effects of second-hand smoke?
- How Does Second-hand Smoke Affect Your Children and Grandchildren?
- How do I protect my family from second-hand smoke?
- Over 400,000 people die every year in the U.S. due to cigarette smoking.
- Second-hand smoke causes approximately 53,000 deaths each year in non-smokers.
- At least 3000 deaths each year are from lung cancer in individuals who do not smoke.
- Another 35,000 non-smokers die each year from heart disease due to the exposure to second-hand smoke.
- About 1,900 to 2,700 infants die each year from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) that is associated with second-hand smoke exposure, according to the California EPA’s estimation.
Second-hand smoke is the smoke breathed out by a smoker and the smoke from the tip of a burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe. It contains more than 4000 chemicals of which 200 are poisonous and over 60 are known to cause cancer.
Second-hand smoke causes approximately 53,000 deaths each year in non-smokers. Three thousand of these deaths are due to lung cancer. Another 35,000 non-smokers die from heart disease due to the exposure to second-hand smoke.
Second-hand smoke is especially harmful to young children. At a time when their lungs are still developing, exposure to second-hand smoke results in decreased lung function. Children who breathe second-hand smoke are more likely to suffer from pneumonia, bronchitis, coughing, wheezing, increased mucous production, runny noses, and ear infections. They are also more likely to develop asthma. In children with asthma, breathing second-hand smoke causes more frequent asthmatic attacks. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that second-hand smoke is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children under 18 months of age each year, resulting in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year.
The California EPA estimates that 1,900 to 2,700 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) deaths per year are associated with exposure to second-hand smoke.
If you are currently smoking, never smoke around children! Don’t smoke in your house or in the car because the smoke lingers even after you have put the cigarette out. Ask family members and other visitors to not smoke in your house. Ask them to go outside when they smoke because the smoke can make your children ill. Make sure your child/grandchild’s day care and school environments are smoke free as well. Eat in smoke free restaurants or in non-smoking sections.