Cigarette smoke contains dangerous particulate and multiple carcinogens that create health problems in smokers and nonsmokers alike. Because the chemicals in tobacco are directly and indirectly inhaled, as well as distributed and encountered in the environment, smoking has become a critical public health issue. According to the American Cancer Society, or ACS, tobacco smoke harms any living cell that comes into contact with it. Once in a gaseous state, the chemicals in cigarettes enter the bloodstream and can affect the entire body.
Respiratory Effects
The Environmental Protection Agency states that carbon monoxide and particulate are two destructive products of cigarette smoke. Oxygen levels in the blood are upset by the presence of excess carbon monoxide. Breathing particulate slows the operation of the lung's cilia, fibers which are meant to remove unwanted toxins. Health problems in the airways and lungs may result.
Over time, this damage to lung tissue causes bronchitis and emphysema, two types of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder also known as COPD. The American Lung Association, or ALA, reports that COPD hampers breathing and can lead to heart failure and death. The ALA notes that COPD is the fourth leading cause of U.S. deaths, 85 percent of which are attributed to cigarette smoke.
Cardiovascular Effects
The carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke binds to smokers' and affected nonsmokers' red blood cells, preventing their hemoglobin from carrying its maximum oxygen load. An already lower level of oxygen flow to the heart is further reduced by atherosclerosis, or narrowed arteries, a common source of health problems among tobacco smokers.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, relates that even slight secondhand cigarette smoke exposure can damage the lining of blood vessels and make blood platelets sticky and more prone to clotting. This increases the risk for vascular health problems, heart attack and stroke.
Immune System Effects
Inhaling smoke from cigarettes inhibits the immune system, according to the ACS, making smokers and those who contact secondhand smoke more susceptible to respiratory infection and asthma attacks. Suppressed immunity makes smokers' bodies less able to fight cancer cell growth. This may explain the high death rate among smokers who contract cancer, with 85 percent of all lung cancer deaths linked to tobacco smoke.
Toxic Effects
The carcinogens in cigarettes are circulated via the bloodstream and may affect nearly any part of the human body. The CDC notes that primary and secondhand smoke can prompt cancer growth. As of 2004, the known cancers linked to tobacco include leukemia as well as mouth, larynx, throat, lung, kidney, pancreas, stomach, bladder, uterus and cervix cancers.
