Nicotine is one of the most often used addictive drugs, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Found in cigarettes, nicotine is a leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States. Though you may be aware that smoking causes cancer, you may not be aware of the wide array of poisons present in cigarettes and the full extent of health risks you face as a smoker.
Addictive Quality
Cigarettes are made of tobacco, which contains nicotine. Nicotine is highly addictive. If you smoke, your body and mind quickly gets accustomed to having nicotine, producing withdrawal symptoms when nicotine is not present in your body. This addictive quality makes quitting smoking extremely difficult.
Poisonous Chemicals
According to the Center for Young Women's Health, cigarettes contain 4,000 chemicals. Many of these chemicals are poisonous, and when you inhale the smoke from a cigarette these poisons travel through your bloodstream and spread throughout your body. Poisonous chemicals present in cigarettes include nicotine, arsenic, methane, ammonia, cadmium, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, butane and hydrogen cyanide. These chemicals have alternate uses that do not pertain to cigarettes. For example, arsenic is used in rat poison, ammonia is used in floor cleaner and butane is lighter fluid.
Cardiovascular Disease
Smokers face an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease which is the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking reduces circulation and narrows blood vessels, increasing the risk of a smoker to develop peripheral vascular disease, which is an obstruction of the large arteries in the arms and legs that can cause gangrene or tissue loss. Smoking also causes the swelling or weakening of the aorta where it runs through the abdomen, putting smokers at risk for abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Respiratory Disease
Smoking damages your airways and the small air sacs in your lungs. This damage leads to respiratory disease that includes emphysema, bronchitis and chronic airway obstruction. Smoking also causes lung cancer, which often results in death.
Cancer
Smoking causes other cancers besides just lung cancer. Throat cancer, including cancer of the voice box and esophagus, as well as mouth cancer are caused by smoking. Kidney, bladder, stomach and pancreas cancer are also caused by smoking in addition to cancer of the reproductive system such as cervical and uterine cancer. Smoking also causes acute myeloid leukemia.
Other Health Problems
If you smoke, you face an array of negative health impacts due to your addiction. Smokers face an increased risk of developing cataracts, which may lead to blindness. After menopause, women who smoke have lower bone density than women who do not smoke, which puts women at an increased risk for hip fractures.
Fertility and Birth Problems
Smoking is associated with infertility, prematurity, stillbirth, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome. If you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, you should give your child the best start in life by not smoking.
