Because tobacco smoking is addictive, the diseases that cigars and cigarettes can cause become unavoidable for some smokers. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports a success rate of less than 10 percent for those who try to quit smoking. This doesn't mean that people shouldn't try to quit; with health risks that include death, the stakes are as high as they can get. Besides damaging the lungs and respiratory system, tobacco use can harm the entire body.
Eyes
In 2004, the U.S. Surgeon General added cataracts to the list of health risks caused by smoking cigarettes. Cataracts cause gradual vision loss that may require surgery to restore.
Mouth
The surgeon general also includes periodontitis, a severe gum disease, and cancers of the mouth, larynx and throat among the diseases to which tobacco users prove susceptible. The Mayo Clinic notes that the gum condition can cause tooth loss and greatly increase the chances for heart attack and stroke. The cancer conditions can generate pain and lead to voice disorders.
Bones
The risk for osteoporosis climbs among women smokers, whose bone density becomes measurably lower than that of nonsmokers. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC show that this can increase the possibility of hip fractures.
Blood
The CDC also notes that red blood cells are attacked by the carbon monoxide created by smoking cigarettes. The carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin, decreasing the amount of oxygen that blood cells can carry. The resulting oxidative stress may lead to cancer, heart disease and emphysema. Leukemia, or cancer of the blood, is another tobacco disease risk.
Lungs and Respiratory System
Smoking cigarettes remains the main cause of lung cancer, according to the American Lung Association, and most cases are fatal. Among all deaths from all types of cancer, lung cancer is the greatest cause. The disease can spread to other organs, such as the kidney, stomach and pancreas.
Tobacco use also damages healthy lung tissue over time, resulting in chronic bronchitis and emphysema, which can also prove fatal. The surgeon general notes that the health risks for additional respiratory diseases, such as pneumonia and asthma, may become greater in smokers as well.
Heart and Circulatory System
Tobacco users' health risks for coronary heart disease climbs due to their development of atherosclerosis. The American Heart Association (AHA) reports that smoking decreases good HDL cholesterol and raises blood pressure, increasing the chance for heart attack, aneurysm and stroke.
The AHA points out that smoking cigarettes, in particular, poses the greatest risk. Cigar and pipe smokers probably are more prone to coronary heart disease than the nonsmoking public, but at a lower incidence rate than cigarette smokers.
