Smoking is the leading cause of all cancer deaths. It also is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. Smoking can take years off your life. But that does not stop millions of men from lighting up every day. Among American men who are 18 and older, 24.8 million are smokers, according to the American Heart Association.
Gender
More men smoke than women: 23.1 percent of American men smoke vs. 18.3 percent of American women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.
Race
The statistics also indicate that race plays a role in smoking. In adult men age 18 and older 25.6 percent who smoke are black or African-American, according to the American Heart Association, while 23.5 percent are Caucasian and 20.7 percent are Hispanic or Latino.
Mortality Rates
Cigarette smoking is responsible for 269,655 deaths annually among men, according to the CDC. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women in the United States, the CDC reports, and men suffer a 10 percent higher mortality rate than women from lung cancer due to smoking. This addictive habit is a factor in approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths among men compared to 80 percent among women, according to the CDC. Men who smoke increase their risk of dying from lung cancer by 22 percent and increase their risk of dying from bronchitis and emphysema by nearly 10 times, according to the CDC.
Coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease is the leading case of death among men and women, yet men are at a greater risk of heart disease, according to the Mayo Clinic website, which also reports that smoking is one of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease. According to the CDC, "Nicotine constricts your blood vessels, and carbon monoxide can damage their inner lining, making them more susceptible to atherosclerosis. Heart attacks are more common in smokers than in nonsmokers."
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD is defined as the "persistent obstruction of the airways occurring with emphysema, chronic bronchitis or both disorders," according to the Merk Manuals, and cigarette smoking is a primary cause of COPD. About 12 million people in the United States have COPD, according to the Mayo Clinic site, and it is second only to heart disease as a cause of disability that forces people to stop working. It is the fourth-most-common cause of death, accounting for more than 120,000 deaths per year of Americans, according to he Mayo Clinic, which adds that COPD affects men more often than women, but men and women die at about equal rates as a result of COPD.
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
When it comes to men and smoking, abdominal aortic aneurysm is another area of concern. Men between the ages of 65 to 75 who have smoked should talk to their physician about this condition, according to the website HealthFinder. The aorta is the main blood vessel in the body; it brings blood to the pelvis, abdomen and legs. If the wall of an artery is weak the artery can swell like a balloon, causing an aneurysm. An abdominal aortic aneurysm occurs in the part of the aorta running through the abdomen. If an aneurysm grows large enough to burst, it can cause serious bleeding and death. It can be treated if it is found. Men are much more likely than women to have an abdominal aortic aneurysm, and a person is eight times more likely to develop an aneurysm if he smokes.
