As far back as 1000 B.C., the Maya of Central America may have been the first people to smoke tobacco. Three thousand years later, the American Lung Association describes cigarette smoking as the No. 1 cause of preventable disease and death worldwide. Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, many of which contain poisons and can cause cancer.
Time Frame
Within seconds, the poisonous toxins of inhaled cigarette smoke enter the blood stream. Carbon monoxide makes up the bulk of gas found in the smoke of a lit cigarette, the same poisonous gas found in automotive exhaust. Cigarette smoke begins to cause damage to every organ of your body immediately. Your body also becomes addicted to the nicotine in tobacco quickly. The addictive elements of nicotine cause the overwhelming majority of smokers to fail at repeated attempts to quit smoking cigarettes.
Effects
One out of every two lifetime smokers will die from the effects of smoking. Nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke increase your blood pressure and heart rate and cause strain on your heart and blood vessels. Smoking increases your chance of having a stroke or heart attack dramatically as compared to the chances of a nonsmoker. Smoking makes you 10 times more likely to have lung cancer than someone who does not smoke.
Considerations
Smoking while pregnant can result in low birthweight babies and preterm deliveries and accounts for 10 percent of all infant deaths. Newborns born to smoking mothers may suffer from narrowed airways and reduced lung function. And the cost of smoking adds up. Health-care costs associated with smoking-related illness go up with the rising cost of health care. Lost productivity in the workplace due to tobacco-related illness also adds to the social cost of smoking. In 2010, a pack of cigarettes costs $5, so a one-pack per day smoker will spend $1,825 per year on cigarettes.
Prevention/Solution
Stop smoking and within 10 years the chances of having a heart attack will be the same as someone who never smoked. Your cancer risk drops to that of a non-smoker 15 years after you quit. Quitting smoking usually requires multiple attempts. The American Lung Association provides resources to help smokers find a way to kick the habit.
Expert Insight
About 8.6 million people in the U.S. have at least one serious illness caused by smoking, according to the American Lung Association. Smoking causes about 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and more than 80 percent of emphysema and chronic bronchitis deaths.
