Smoking can cause emphysema, throat and lung cancer, asthma, susceptibility to pneumonia, cardiopulmonary disease and heart attacks, according to the Medical News Today website. The site also notes that smokers do not heal as quickly as non-smokers from illness and injury. In addition, smokers have a shorter life-span and many die when only middle-aged. Cigarettes contain formaldehyde, a common ingredient in embalming fluid used to preserve dead bodies, according to the Medical News Today website.
Smokeless Tobacco
Smokeless tobacco is the leading cause of esophageal, throat and mouth cancer. The Medical News Today website notes that 4,000 compounds are used to manufacture tobacco products, including tar and nicotine. The calming effect that some smokers feel from that work-break cigarette results from carbon monoxide cutting off the airways and shutting down the respiratory system. This similar relaxation affect that occurs with bagged or loose tobacco is from the stimulant in nicotine. In addition, many smokers drink caffeine with these tobacco products, adding additional stimulants to the bloodstream.
Misconceptions
Medical News website states that there are no safe tobacco products. The website indicates that tobacco is the only consumer product that actually kills people when used as the manufacturer intended. The Articles Base points to a common misconception that smoking filtered or low-tar cigarettes is a safe alternative to other cigarettes. Low-tar cigarettes are as harmful as high-tar cigarettes because smokers are more prone to inhaling deeply, smoking the cigarette all the way to the filter and smoking more cigarettes. In addition, light cigarettes are equally dangerous because they are often enhanced with additional chemical elements, such as acetone, ammonia, arsenic, benzene and cadmium.
Addiction
Cigarettes are addictive and it is difficult because smokers realize nicotine produces dopamine, a brain chemical that makes you feel happy and more animated each time you smoke, says the Medical News website. Continued smoking encourages the body to depend on nicotine for the euphoria it brings, and many people smoke while ingesting caffeine, an additionally addictive stimulant. The Mayo Clinic website reports that only 7 percent of 35 million smokers successfully quit each year.
Smoking and Skin Damage
The Medical News Today website confirms that smoking speeds the aging process of skin, which contributes to wrinkles, and notes that skin damage from smoking can occur in 10 years or less. The length and frequency of smoking determines the level of skin damage. Skin damage also occurs on the inner arms and other areas of the body and is not reversible.
Statistics
According to the Center for Disease Control, approximately 443,000 people in the United States died prematurely from cigarette smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke between 2000 and 2004. The CDC also indicates that each year there are 160,848 deaths attributed to cancer, 128,497 to cardiovascular diseases and 103,338 to respiratory diseases, all linked to smoking.
