By
Terry Orr
(Former smoker of 20+ years)
America and most of the world has known for more than 50
years that smoking is hazard to our health and subsequently the dangers of
second-hand smoke – yet it is still legal to smoke despite the dangers – not
only to the individual smoker – but those folks near them being attacked by
second hand smoke. The cost associated with smoking-related health in America
exceeds $150 Billion Dollars – and I believe this figure is probably grossly
understated. Between 5.4 and 6 million people die each year due to
smoking-related health issues.
Just the Facts (Source: CDC):
Smoking
harms nearly every organ of the body. Smoking causes many diseases and reduces the
health of smokers in general.
Smoking and Death
Smoking causes death.
The
adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 443,000
deaths, or nearly one of every five deaths, each year in the United States.
More deaths are caused each year by tobacco
use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug
use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.
Smoking causes an estimated 90% of all lung
cancer deaths in men and 80% of all lung cancer deaths in women.
An estimated 90% of all deaths from chronic
obstructive lung disease are caused by smoking.
Smoking and Increased Health
Risks
Compared with nonsmokers, smoking is estimated to increase
the risk of:
Coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times;
Stroke by 2 to 4 times;
Men developing lung cancer by 23 times;
Women developing lung cancer by 13 times; and
Dying from chronic obstructive lung diseases
(such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema) by 12 to 13 times.
Smoking and Cardiovascular
Disease
Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the
leading cause of death in the United States.
Cigarette smoking causes reduced circulation
by narrowing the blood vessels (arteries) and puts smokers at risk of
developing peripheral vascular disease (i.e., obstruction of the large arteries
in the arms and legs that can cause a range of problems from pain to tissue
loss or gangrene).
Smoking causes abdominal aortic aneurysm
(i.e., a swelling or weakening of the main artery of the body—the aorta—where
it runs through the abdomen).
Smoking and Respiratory
Disease
Smoking causes lung cancer.
Smoking causes lung diseases (e.g., emphysema,
bronchitis, chronic airway obstruction) by damaging the airways and alveoli
(i.e., small air sacs) of the lungs.
Smoking and Cancer
Smoking causes the following
cancers:
Acute myeloid leukemia
Bladder cancer
Cancer of the cervix
Cancer of the esophagus
Kidney cancer
Cancer of the larynx (voice box)
Lung cancer
Cancer of the oral cavity (mouth)
Pancreatic cancer
Cancer of the pharynx (throat)
Stomach cancer
Smoking and Other Health Effects
Infertility,
Preterm delivery,
Stillbirth,
Low birth weight, and
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
Smoking is associated with
the following adverse health effects:
Postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone
density than women who never smoked.
Women who smoke have an increased risk for hip
fracture than women who never smoked.
Conclusions
The World Health Organization, Cancer Organizations, and
many others continue to implement and encourage countries and individuals to
quit smoking. Quitting is NOT EASY – but with your personal support team –
including your healthcare provider and family – it is doable! So please – start
today – thank you.
Worldwide - 6 million people die each
year from tobacco and 600,00 die from exposure to second-hand smoke.
