If you grew up a few decades ago, smoking in the household was a fairly normal occurrence. Now, the health risks of tobacco are widely known, with legislation being passed to ban smoking from many types of public places. Smoking can do damage to your appearance as well as put you at risk for serious health conditions. You may not know, however, that smoking can also harm other people.
Cigarette Ingredients
You may only be familiar with tobacco, the main ingredient in cigarettes. Tobacco contains nicotine, the substance that purportedly causes addiction. There are approximately 598 other ingredients in one cigarette, however; most of them are toxic chemicals. According to the American Lung Association, acetone, benzene, tar, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, lead and toluene are some of the compounds found in one cigarette. When burned, the website states, these ingredients form more than 4,000 chemicals. The general public is warned about these chemicals when they are present in other consumer products, such as acetone in nail polish or toluene in paint; however, cigarette labels do not let the public know these chemicals are being inhaled in cigarette smoke.
Oxidative Damage
A study published in "Fundamental and Cinical Pharmacology" in July 2010 discussed several effects of tobacco use. Led by Dr. M.A. Babizhayev, researchers stated that cigarette smoking increases reactive oxygen species, or ROS. ROS are substances that cause severe damage to tissues, cells, DNA, and organs. Because smoking propogates ROS, you run the risk of developing several different, and potentially lethal, types of chronic disorders. The American Lung Association states that smoking killed an average of 443,000 people each year from 2000 to 2004.
Cancer
Among the most prevelant of the disorders associated with smoking is lung cancer. Lung cancer happens to be the leading kind of cancer death in the U.S., according to an August 2010 article in "Oncology." The article also states that 50 percent of lung cancer patients are smokers, and 83 percent continue to smoke after diagnosis. Those who choose to continue smoking double their risk of dying, while those who quit see better treatment results. Smoking does not just produce lung cancer; if you smoke there is a significant risk of developing mouth, throat, and gastric cancers. "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention" published an article in August 2010 that found tobacco use increased incidences of gastric cancer among middle-aged and older men in China. Dr. K.A. Moy and colleagues concluded that modification of the patients' lifestyle choices may reduce the incidence of gastric cancer.
Cardiovascular Disease
Developing cardiovascular disease is another risk of smoking. According to the American Lung Association, smoking is a cause of coronary heart disease and increases your risk for heart attacks and strokes. The study in the journal "Fundamental and Cinical Pharmacology" states that smoking increases the fatty build-up in arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis.
Dental Health
In addition to staining your teeth yellow, cigarette smoking has been linked to bone loss around teeth as well as increased plaque build-up. A study conducted by J.G. Souza and colleagues was published in the "Journal of Oral Implantology" in August 2010. The study investigated the effects of smoking on dental health in comparison to non-smoking patients. The researchers concluded that smokers has an increased incidence of bone loss as well as higher levels of plaque build-up around the gum line.
Pregnancy
According to the American Lung Association, if you smoke while you are pregnant, there is a good chance the baby will have a low birth-weight or be born early. Smoking during pregnancy is responsible for 20 to 30 percent of low birth-weight babies, states the website. Even babies born at a healthy weight have been found to have narrowed airways and reduced lung function.
Secondhand Smoke
It turns out there is a good reason, besides the fire hazard, why smoking is banned on airplanes and other public places. Secondhand smoke has been found to be just as harmful as puffing on a cigarette. Chronic inhalation of secondhand smoke can lead to heart attacks, lung cancer, and infant death, states the American Lung Association website. It also lowers the academic performance of children and adolescents, according to a study published in the "Journal of Pediatrics" in July of 2010.
References
- American Lung Association: Cigarette Ingredients
- "Fundamental and Cinical Pharmacology"; Smoking and health: association between telomere length and factors impacting on human disease, quality of life and life span in a large population-based cohort under the effect of smoking duration; MA Babizhayev and YE Yegorov; July 2010
- American Lung Association: Smoking Statistics
- "Oncology"; Smoking Cessation: An Integral Part of Lung Cancer Treatment; JK Cataldo, S Dubey, and JJ Prochaska; August 2010
- "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention"; Alcohol and Tobacco Use in Relation to Gastric Cancer: A Prospective Study of Men in Shanghai, China; KA Moy et al; August 2010
