Killer... snuff it out!

Cigarette smoking is the most important preventable cause of premature death in the United States. It accounts for nearly 440,000 of the more than 2.4 million annual deaths. Cigarette smokers have a higher risk of developing several chronic disorders.

These include fatty build ups in arteries, several types of cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (lung problems).

Atherosclerosis (build up of fatty substances in the arteries) is a chief contributor to the high number of deaths from smoking. Many studies detail the evidence that cigarette smoking is a major cause of coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack.

Bronchitis and Emphysema

Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are two common lung diseases specifically associated with smoking.

Chronic bronchitis is the production of excess mucus in our lungs and causes problems in absorbing oxygen. The excess mucus impairs breathing and is usually associated with constant coughing, which is a natural mechanism that removes foreign particles and irritants from our lungs.

Healthy lungs have a natural cleaning process that removes the dust and smoke and other foreign particles that are part of the air, allowing us to breathe normally.

Tobacco smoke contains many harmful chemicals, and the smoke itself limits our lungs’ natural filtering or cleaning system. Cigarette smoke also contains substances that directly damage the lung tissue.

Smoking irritates the bronchial tubes in the lungs which in turn results in the production of more mucus. Smokers’ cough, as it is commonly known, is a sign that the lungs are trying to clean themselves.

Long-term exposure to cigarette smoke destroys the structure of our lungs, reducing their capacity to absorb oxygen. At the same time, the tiny airways which transfer oxygen from the lungs to the blood vessels are destroyed, resulting in less oxygen getting into the bloodstream.

The symptoms of chronic bronchitis are a constant cough and excess phlegm. There is also a higher incidence of throat and lung infections. People with chronic bronchitis are more susceptible to both lung and heart failure.

Unless treated, the disease will become progressively worse.

Quitting smoking will stop the build-up of excess mucus and phlegm. After quitting, smokers will find that they cough more than when they smoked, but this is due to the cleaning mechanism working to clear out the accumulated smoke-related mucus and phlegm. This is only temporary.

Emphysema

Emphysema, often called “lung rot”, is a degenerative disease.

It shows up as shortness of breath - a feeling of breathlessness accompanying any movement or exertion.

The first signs of emphysema may only be a slight shortness of breath. Many people consider their heavy breathing as just being out of shape, but gradually they will notice that climbing stairs or lifting heavy objects makes them wheeze and leaves them breathless.

As the disease progresses, breathing becomes a major effort. Nothing can be done to correct the damage caused by emphysema. Lung damage is permanent and cannot be reversed.

Emphysema is a debilitating disease and as individuals age, they become progressively weaker.

Nearly all cases of emphysema are caused by long-term smoking.

Those who smoke approximately 20 cigarettes a day will, sooner or later, have some sign of the disease

Stopping smoking will help stop the progression of the disease.

What You Can Do

With both bronchitis and emphysema, the first step in preventing further lung damage is to quit smoking.

Mouth diseases

Smoking tobacco, whether it’s cigarettes, cigars or pipes, increases the risk of cancer on the lips, in the mouth or in the throat.

Depending on the number of cigarettes smoked, cigarette smokers are six times more likely to die from different mouth related cancers.

Cigar smokers are twice as likely to die from mouth related deceases compared to non-smokers. The most common places where oral cancer forms is on the tongue, the gums, or the floor of the mouth.

Using chewing tobacco also increases the risks of mouth and throat cancers

Impotence and smoking

Impotence, or erectile dysfunction, is twice as likely to occur in smokers than non-smokers. Exposure to second-hand smoke is a significant factor in becoming impotent.

Impotence is the constant inability of a man to maintain an erection for sexual purposes. It is estimated that impotence affects over 30 million men in the United States.

Sexual functioning requires the coordination of several functions in the body. This includes the nervous system (mental stimulation) working in coordination with hormones, and the vascular system which pumps blood into the muscle tissue that maintains the erection. Smoking can affect all these systems, thereby, causing impotence.

Many diseases caused by smoking involve blockage of the arteries, meaning that smoking inhibits the flow of blood throughout the body. Strokes and heart attacks are one result of severe blood flow blockage. Impotence is another result of arterial blockage.

Long-term smoking causes more physiological damage. In a United States study, a healthy men who smoked, with no history of impotence, heart disease or diabetes, were interviewed twice over 8 years. The second interview revealed that although these men still had no heart disease or diabetes, they were twice as likely to experience moderate or severe impotence.

A secondary study indicated that smoking is an independent risk factor contributing to impotence. After considering other risk factors, it was found that current smokers were twice as likely to experience impotence as non-smokers.

The study concluded: The heavy smokers (40+ cigarettes/day) had the “softest” night-time erections; smoking was related to an abnormal decline of blood pressure in the penis.

It is possible to fully or partially recover erectile function by just quitting smoking. The problem in recovery is the degree of damage that has been inflicted, and the identification of which system has been affected. The greater the length of time spent smoking, the greater the damage to the biological systems that cause impotence. Men who have reported losing their erections before orgasm have completely reversed this situation by quitting smoking.

Smoking is a major risk factor that contributes to a form of heart disease called cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death in Canada.

Cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease is defined as diseases and injuries of the heart, the blood vessels of the heart, and the system of blood vessels (veins and arteries) throughout the body and within the brain.

Cigarette and tobacco smoke, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes are the six major independent risk factors for coronary heart disease that you can modify or control. Cigarette smoking is so widespread and significant as a risk factor that the Surgeon General has called it “the leading preventable cause of disease and deaths in the United States.”

Cigarette smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease by itself. When it acts with other factors, it greatly increases risk. Smoking increases blood pressure, decreases exercise tolerance and increases the tendency for blood to clot. Smoking also increases the risk of recurrent coronary heart disease after bypass surgery.

Cigarette smoking is the most important risk factor for young men and women.

It produces a greater relative risk in persons under age 50 than in those over 50. Women who smoke and use oral contraceptives greatly increase their risk of coronary heart disease and stroke compared with nonsmoking women who use oral contraceptives.

Smoking decreases HDL (good) cholesterol. Cigarette smoking combined with a family history of heart disease also seems to greatly increase the risk.

Although there are many aspects of this disease, the fundamental problem is that the supply of oxygen and the necessary nutrients carried by our blood are constricted or blocked. This causes injury to our heart muscles. Smoking, or even exposure to second-hand smoke, makes the heart work harder by:

Decreasing the oxygen carried in the blood - carbon monoxide and other gases replace oxygen with each inhalation of cigarette smoke; Increasing the heart rate - the heart beats faster to get more oxygen by accessing a greater volume of oxygen-poor blood;

Decreasing the size of blood vessels - a build up of fat deposits associated with nicotine and carbon monoxide makes blood vessels and arteries smaller which limits the blood supply to the heart.

Cigarette smoking is a well-known risk factor that contributes to, and significantly, increases the chance of having cardiovascular disease. In 1996, cardiovascular disease accounted for 37% of all deaths in Canada.

While more men than women died of heart disease (22% versus 19%), more women died of stroke (9% versus 6%). The build up of fat deposits in the blood supply system is called Coronary Artery Disease (sometimes called Coronary Heart Disease or C.H.D.) and can eventually lead to blocked blood vessels and arteries, which, in turn, can cause permanent damage to the heart muscles.

The damage to the heart muscles because of a lack of oxygen can result in a heart attack.

The risk of developing Coronary Heart Disease increases with the length and intensity of exposure to cigarette smoke

Smokers have a 70% greater chance of dying from Coronary Heart Disease than non-smokers.

Smoking more than 40 cigarettes per day increases the chance of dying by 200 to 300% in comparison with non-smokers.

Among people younger than 65, 45% of Coronary Heart Disease in men and 40% in women is caused by cigarette smoking.

Among people 65 or older, 15% of Coronary Heart Disease in men and 9% in women is caused by smoking.

Stopping smoking reduces the risk of smoking-related cardiovascular disease by approximately 50% within one year, and to normal levels (i.e. people who never smoked) within five years.

Smoking and strokes

Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death in Canada and affects two organs in the body: the heart and the brain. When the brain is affected, it is called a stroke, which is a blockage in the blood vessels that limits or stops the blood flow to or in the brain.

Studies show that cigarette smoking is an important risk factor for stroke.

Inhaling cigarette smoke produces several effects that damage the cerebrovascular system. Women who take oral contraceptives and smoke increase their risk of stroke many times. Smoking also creates a higher risk for peripheral arterial disease and aortic aneurysm.

A stroke is a brain injury caused by a lack of blood.

Without blood, the brain does not receive the necessary nutrients and oxygen. This can lead to permanent damage.

Having a stroke can lead to severe mental or physical problems, such as full paralysis, partial paralysis, loss of speech or loss of sight. There are three types of stroke: transient ischemic attack (TIA), haemorrhagic, and ischemic:

A TIA is a mini-stroke. Generally, there is no permanent brain damage, but it is often a warning that a major stroke is about to happen.

Seeing a doctor immediately lessens the risk of a major stroke; Haemorrhagic strokes occur when a blood vessel bursts inside the brain, increasing pressure in the head and injuring brain cells;

An ischemic stroke is the most serious and permanently damages brain cells by starving them of necessary oxygen and nutrients.

Cigarette smoking is a well-known risk factor that contributes to, and significantly increases, the chances of having a stroke. The risk of stroke is approximately 50% higher in smokers than in non-smokers. The risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day.

Smokers who consume more than 25 cigarettes/day have the highest risk of a stroke. Stopping smoking reduces the risk of stroke:

by approximately 50% within one year;

to normal levels (people who never smoked) within five years.

Source : Internet