The Office of the U.S. Surgeon General periodically issues updates on research about tobacco use and disease risk due to smoking. Its major revelation in 1964, that cigarette smoking causes lung and larynx cancer, was significantly expanded upon in a 2004 report.
A number of health problems plus several forms of cancer previously not linked to smoking are now known to occur in higher than normal incidence in smokers. Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona termed smoking "the leading preventable cause of death and disease" in the United States.
Nicotine Addiction
Nicotine addiction is a brain disease directly caused by tobacco use. The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes that nicotine addiction is as strong as that of heroin, extremely difficult to quit, and the precursor to serious chronic health problems and premature death.
Pneumonia
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that smokers' lowered immunity and lower-functioning respiratory systems place them at greater risk for more frequent respiratory infections, including pneumonia.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
The American Lung Association lists chronic bronchitis and emphysema as two diseases due to smoking that can be fatal. These two forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represent the fourth major cause of death in the U.S.
Coronary Heart Disease
The risk for coronary heart disease, the number-one cause of death in America, climbs by up to four times the norm for smokers, according to the CDC. Potentially fatal consequences may include heart attack, stroke and abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Cancers
Besides the lung and larynx cancers caused by tobacco use, the surgeon general added leukemia, or cancer of the blood, to the list of diseases due to smoking in 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Because the carcinogens in cigarettes enter the bloodstream and travel to other parts of the body, other sites may experience cancer cell growth. Other known cancer sites linked to cigarette smoking include the cervix and uterus; bladder and kidney; stomach and pancreas; and the mouth, throat and esophagus.
Cataracts
As the toxins from tobacco use are distributed throughout the body, they can attack vulnerable organs, such as the eyes. The HHS announced that cataracts are now recognized as health problems due to cigarette smoking, as of 2004. This condition causes partial, progressive or complete vision loss.
Periodontitis
In addition to circulating toxins internally, smoking causes health problems at the source---the mouth, where smoke is ingested. Apart from mouth and throat cancers, cigarette smoking can cause periodontitis, the HHS notes. This gum disease shows severe symptoms, including swelling, bleeding and receding gums and bone degradation that can result in tooth loss.
