Tobacco is obtained from the plant Nicotina tabacum and contains the addictive drug known as nicotine, says "The Tobacco Atlas." Several other harmful substances are also found in tobacco and/or tobacco smoke, including arsenic, acetone and...
Smoking and other forms of tobacco use are detrimental to your entire body, from the inside out. You know you should quit smoking, and you know that it increases your risk of serious disease--even death. The effects of smoking are responsible for...
Tobacco smoke damages cellular DNA to affect developing babies in the womb genetically. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), fetuses can be exposed to cigarette smoke in several ways, not only by contact with...
Although drinking alcohol in moderation can reduce health risks in certain ways, smoking any amount of tobacco is detrimental to your health. In some aspects, drinking both excessive amounts of alcohol and smoking tobacco actually have worse...
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an estimated 23.9 percent of people in the United States over the age of 12 were current cigarette smokers in 2008. However, the American Heart Association (AHA) reports that cigarette...
Nearly one in five deaths that occur in the United States are due to smoking. Smoking causes more deaths than HIV, murder, alcohol and motor vehicle accidents combined, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC....
According to the American Council for Drug Education, tobacco use is responsible for more than 400,000 deaths in the United States each year. Tobacco in cigarettes, cigars, pipes and snuff, or smokeless tobacco, contains a highly addictive central...
While smoking tobacco has long been linked to poor growth in a fetus and other short-term effects, more recent studies have looked at the long-term effects that tobacco has on a baby whose mother smoked during the pregnancy. According to Merck...
Smoking tobacco has powerful effects on the central nervous system. Cigarettes act as a central nervous system stimulant, affecting the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, GABA and others. The most significant...
Tobacco's ability to wreak havoc on health is well known, yet cigarettes continue to lure new smokers into a life of nicotine addiction. The tobacco industry won't be closing up shop anytime soon, so educating smokers about the mechanisms by which...
Nicotine is thought to be one of the main addictive and active components of tobacco. It directly affects the cells of the brain and spinal cord, which make up the central nervous system. Nicotine from smoking tobacco is absorbed through the lungs...
The American Cancer Society (ACS) calls cigarette smoking the single major cause of cancer death in the United States. Smoking is linked to mortality from cardiovascular disease and lung disorders. Cigarette smoke contains thousands of poisonous...
Although the National Institute of Drug Abuse reports that there are more than 4,000 chemicals present in cigarette smoke, nicotine is the only one that tobacco companies directly tried to account for when manufacturing cigarettes. Tobacco...
Little by little, tobacco use harms the human body until, in many cases, death occurs. The U.S. Surgeon General holds smoking accountable for one in five American deaths, and the majority of these victims were long-term smokers. In fact, half of...
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), nicotine is a highly addictive drug. Nicotine causes changes in brain chemistry that are both physically and psychologically addictive. Tobacco can be ingested in two main ways: by chewing or...
Inhaling nicotine in tobacco is most commonly done by smoking cigarettes. There are roughly 60 million cigarette smokers in America as of 2007. Astoundingly, the American Council for Drug Education reports 30 percent of adolescents smoke, a...
Researchers have been studying the health effects of smoking for decades. Tobacco smoke puts a smoker at risk for heart disease and lung cancer and exposes others to these same risks. The carcinogens in cigarette smoke are known for their toxic...
Living with one or two parents who abuse alcohol or tobacco often has several negative effects on children. You are more likely to become an alcohol or tobacco addict yourself, according to the college textbooks "Understanding Psychology" and "An...
Tobacco is a dangerous, highly addictive substance that can have long-term negative effects on your oral health. Tobacco can be smoked -- in cigarette or cigar form -- or chewed. Both methods of tobacco consumption are dangerous to your oral...
Smoking increases your risk of cancer, heart attack, stroke, macular degeneration, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Kicking your smoking habit and starting an exercise regimen will not only improve your health, but also combat the effects of...
According to the American Lung Association, cigarette smoking is the top cause of preventable disease. Sixty nine of the 48,000 chemicals in cigarettes are cancerous. Smoking causes the vast majority of lung cancer in men and women. Coronary...
Tobacco is the plant material in cigarettes, cigars and smokeless products like chew and snuff. It contains nicotine--a highly addictive drug produced by the plant to repel insects. Despite the well-known health dangers of smoking, many...
The damaging health effects of tobacco use include heart and lung diseases and a host of cancers and reproductive problems. Social and economic forces also make smoking cigarettes risky. In the process of trying to feel good, cigarette smokers...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, toxic effects of tobacco causes more deaths each year than HIV, suicides and murders, alcohol use and accidents on the road combined. Among tobacco's 250 known toxic chemicals is...
Tobacco addiction is a dangerous habit that kills about 440,000 people in the United States each year, according to the National Institutes on Drug Abuse. Tobacco products including cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco contain nicotine (the...
Smoking tobacco has long been associated with health risks and damage to the body. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, tar and hundreds of chemical additives known to cause cancer. According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 1.3...
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that nearly 443,000 Americans die each year as the result of a complication from smoking. In addition, more than 8.6...
While skin aging is a natural process, the sun, cigarette smoke and pollution can accelerate aging, making your skin appear more wrinkled and thin. These aging signs are typically the cause of increased free radicals in the body. Free radicals...
Nicotine is one of many chemicals in tobacco. It's a stimulant, and as such, causes the user to feel more alert, although some describe a feeling of relaxation as well. It is a mood-altering drug that makes people feel good temporarily, which is...
Coughing could be due to a cold or the flu, but the reason for a cough isn't always clear. Even your doctor may have trouble determining the exact cause. Learn about the different causes, symptoms, and treatments of a cough in this video.
