Different people become addicted to smoking at different rates, but some individuals only need minimal exposure to get hooked, according to the Mayo Clinic website. Smokers are more likely to start the habit as teenagers and to know someone else who smokes. According to American Cancer Society, the younger a smoker is when he starts, the less likely it is he will be able to stop.
Smoke Significance
Smoke from tobacco products like cigars and cigarettes contains thousands of chemicals, according to the American Cancer Society and the Mayo Clinic site. Many are poisonous and possibly deadly when they contribute to cancer, heart disease and lung disease. Tar, which is a major component of smoke from burning cigarettes, consists of more than 4,000 chemicals. Research has confirmed that more than 60 of those chemicals contribute to cancer. Among the dangerous chemicals found in cigarette smoke are nicotine, benzene, methanol, cyanide, formaldehyde and ammonia. Smoke also contains toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, in addition to radioactive substances.
Cancer Effects
Smoking is responsible for the death of approximately 87 percent of lung cancer patients in the United States each year, according to the American Cancer Society. Using tobacco causes the death of about a third of all U.S. cancer patients each year. Besides lung cancer, smoking and using tobacco--including smokeless tobacco--can cause cancer of the bladder, cervix, esophagus, kidney, larynx, mouth, pancreas, stomach and throat, as well as leukemia.
Quitting
Smokers who stop smoking before they reach age 50 reduce their risk of dying in the following 15 years by half, according to the Mayo Clinic site. In addition, former smokers are half as likely to suffer a heart attack a year after they quit, and no more likely to have a stroke than a nonsmoker five to 15 years after they quit. However, achieving those health benefits requires not smoking at all. Former smokers often relapse and being smoking again, and they must quit again if their goal is to improve their health.
Secondhand Smoke
All exposure to secondhand smoke endangers the health of nonsmokers, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. The American Cancer Society defines secondhand smoke as the smoke that cigarettes and other tobacco products release while burning and the smoke that smokers exhale. Secondhand smoke causes cancer in humans, and it also can cause acute asthma, severe respiratory problems, heart disease and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, according to the Surgeon General. Potential victims of secondhand smoke include children and infants, especially when their parents smoke.
Nicotine Warning
According to the American Cancer Society, nicotine is the most widespread type of drug addiction in the United States as of July 2010. Some research indicates that nicotine, the addictive substance in tobacco products, can be as addictive as cocaine and heroin. Nicotine is so addictive because the chemical makes tobacco users psychologically and physically dependent. If a smoker manages to quit but smokes again later, her body will react as if she never stopped, no matter how much time has passed.
