The American Lung Association cites smoking as the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the world. In the United States, 393,000 people lost their lives due to smoking. Not only is smoking deadly, it is expensive as well; in 2004, smokers cost the United States $96 billion in health care services.
Short-term Effects
Not all health effects of smoking take years to develop. According to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, there are short-term health effects that occur as soon as a smoker inhales the chemicals from the cigarette. Heart rate and blood pressure increase immediately. The body’s temperature decreases due to the decrease in blood and oxygen in the body. Fat and cholesterol deposits increase in the blood, acid in the stomach increases and taste and smell decrease.
Cardiovascular Disease
Nicotine constricts the blood vessels and the carbon monoxide damages the lining of the blood vessels. This causes the heart to work harder to pump blood throughout the body. Over time, this can lead to coronary artery disease. According to MayoClinic.com, symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath and heart attack. Damage done to the blood vessels also results in peripheral artery disease. PAD occurs when a person’s extremities do not receive enough blood and oxygen. Symptoms include pain when walking in the hips or legs, numbness or weakness in the legs, sores on feet or legs that are slow to heal and no pulse or very weak pulse in a person’s legs.
Respiratory Disease
Smoking increases a person’s risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD. According to the American Lung Association, COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis and occurs when the amount of air into and out of the lungs is less than normal. Less oxygen gets into the body and carbon dioxide is harder to get out of the body. Symptoms include wheezing, constant coughing, shortness of breath and producing excess sputum. According to the American Lung Association, 80 to 90 percent of all COPD cases are due to smoking.
Cancer
Smoking causes a wide variety of cancers because of the 4,800 chemicals in cigarettes, 69 of those chemical are found to cause cancer, according to the American Lung Association. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking causes acute myeloid leukemia, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, cancer of the bladder, cancer of the larynx and pharynx, cervical cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, cancer of the esophagus, cancer of the uterus and cancer of the mouth.
Pregnancy and Childbirth
According to the American Lung Association, 10.7 percent of women smoked during pregnancy. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that smoking during pregnancy can lead to low birth weight babies, preterm delivery, stillbirths and sudden infant death syndrome. The American Lung Association says that even healthy, full-term babies can have narrowed airways and reduced lung function. The American Lung Association estimates that neonatal health care costs due to maternal smoking cost $366 million per year.
