Smoking tobacco is associated with numerous health conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, infertility and respiratory disease, according to a 2010 article in The New York Times. Your risk for these diseases increases even if you smoke in moderation. Fortunately, if you stop smoking, your chance for developing these conditions decreases considerably and quickly, based on evidence cited by the American Cancer Society. If you are a smoker, learn as much as possible about the harmful effects of smoking to motivate yourself to quit.
Cancer
Cancer develops when abnormal cells are created within your body and multiply uncontrollably, forming a tumor, according to the National Cancer Institute. It can lead to premature death if left untreated, and treatments are often costly, invasive and painful. Smoking increases your risk for cancer, especially in your lungs, mouth and throat. If you are a smoker, your risk for developing lung cancer is 23 times greater than non-smokers, according to the American Cancer Society.
Cardiovascular Disease
Diseases involving your heart and blood vessels, such as atherosclerosis, or fatty buildup in the arteries, and hypertension, or high blood pressure, are collectively referred to as cardiovascular disease. Smoking is a major contributor to these conditions because it may damage the cells of your heart and blood vessels, and cause your blood to clot more than normal, according to the American Heart Association. If you smoke, your risk for developing cardiovascular disease may be up to three times greater than non-smokers, reports the health guide in The New York Times.
Lifespan
Smoking often causes premature death. In fact, according to Action on Smoking and Health, it decreases the lifespan for women by an average of 14.5 years, and men by 13.2 years. There are nearly a half million smoking-related deaths in the United States each year, which account for about 20 percent of all deaths, report the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is more deaths per year than those caused by alcohol and drug use, car accidents, human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, murders and suicides combined, according to the CDC.
Respiratory Disease
Respiratory diseases, including asthma, emphysema, bronchitis and lung cancer, negatively affect your respiration, or breathing, which is how your body delivers oxygen to the blood and rids itself of carbon dioxide. Smoking contributes to these conditions by damaging the air pathways and alveoli, or air pockets, in your lungs, according to the CDC. Smoking causes between 80 and 90 percent of deaths attributed to emphysema, bronchitis and lung cancer, based on research cited by the American Lung Association.
