Smoking is one lifestyle habit that can cause serious and long-lasting health problems. Among those are cardiovascular and lung disease, and cancer. In order to reduce your risk or prevent these conditions from developing, you should try to quit smoking as soon as possible.
Cardiovascular Disease
Smoking increases your risk of developing atherosclerosis. Similar to cholesterol, tobacco smoke causes fatty deposits to line the walls of your arteries. The deposits cause your arteries to narrow, harden and become less flexible. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis clogs your arteries and forces your heart to work much harder to pump blood through your body. This can drastically increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Heart Attack
Smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and physical activity are the major risks of having a heart attack or stroke. These factors narrow your arteries. If your artery is successfully clogged, it causes a heart attack or stroke, depending on where the blockage occurs.
The more you smoke, the more likely you are to suffer from a heart attack or stroke. According to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, if you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, you double your risk. That number goes up the more you smoke. In addition, nonsmokers are more likely to survive a heart attack than smokers.
Lung Disease
Smoking is a main contributor to the development of emphysema and chronic bronchitis. If you are suffering from heart disease as well, these conditions can combine to cause heart failure. Smoking can also lead to lung cancer. In fact, according to the Mayo Clinic, it is the single biggest risk factor in developing lung cancer.
Cancer
Smoking greatly increases your risk of cancer. Tobacco smoke contains about 4,000 chemicals. Many of these are carcinogens, cancer-causing substances. Aside from lung cancer, smoking can cause cancers of the bladder, kidney, cervix, throat, mouth, esophagus, pancreas and stomach.
Cost
Aside from the numerous health concerns, smoking can also hurt you in your pocket. The price of cigarettes is increasing as taxes continue to rise.
Over a prolonged period, smoking can have a substantial financial impact. For example, if a pack of cigarettes cost $5 and you smoke a pack per day, it will cost you $1,825 a year. This is a conservative estimate, as most cigarette packs cost more than $5.
