Posted by Health Handouts | Posted in Health Tips, Wellness Tips | Posted on 07-11-2010
Smoking harms nearly every major organ in the body. Some of the chemicals from tobacco smoke include carbon monoxide, tar, arsenic and lead. All of these are poisonous. Tobacco also contains nicotine. Nicotine causes the addiction to tobacco products. Tobacco smoke contains at least 60 known cancer-causing substances.
Cigarette tobacco use is responsible for –
o Almost 30 percent of all cancer deaths in the USA.
o More than 75 percent of all lung cancer deaths.
o Most cancers of the larynx (voice box), mouth, esophagus and bladder.
Cigarette use of tobacco causes chronic emphysema and chronic bronchitis. It also causes heart illness, stroke and cataracts.
Your risk increases with the exposure of cigarette smoke over your lifetime.
Be sure to use of tobacco during pregnancy could cause complications including stillbirths and low birth weight. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) has also been linked to smoking during pregnancy.
When you stop smoking, there are major and immediate health benefits.
Health benefits include decreasing the risk of lung and other cancers, heart attack, stroke and chronic lung illness. The sooner you quit, the greater the health benefit.
Be certain to use of tobacco = single most preventable cause of death in the USA. Consult with your healthcare team about getting help to stop tobacco use.