General Effects of Smoking on the Body

For most it is not surprising to hear that smoking harms your body in many different ways.  Not only does smoking damage the immune system it increases the risk of infections.  Generally, smokers tend to be less healthy than non-smokers.

Compared to non-smokers illnesses tend to last longer for smokers and because of this more time is missed at work.  If hospitalized due to an illness smokers tend to require longer stays.

Smokers have a greater risk of complications and have a lower survival rate after surgery because of damage to the body’s defenses. They are at increased risk of infections, pneumonia, and other respiratory complications.

At times we all know what it feels like to be growing old.  Sometimes our muscles and bones remind us vividly how we are aging.  Compared to non-smokers, smoker's bone density tends to be lower.

Although arteriosclerosis is more commonly thought of as a heart disease, it can affect arteries anywhere in the body, including those in the legs and brain. Healthy arteries are strong, flexible and elastic, and the inner walls are smooth, allowing blood to flow freely through them to nourish tissues and organs.

Smoking causes many types of cancer, especially lung cancer, which is the second leading cause of death among Americans. It is responsible for one of every four deaths in the United States. Each year more than half a million Americans, more than 1,500 people a day, die of cancer.

Lung cancer was one of the first diseases linked to smoking. In 1964, the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health concluded that smoking causes lung cancer. In later years, the list of diseases linked to smoking has grown.

More Reasons Quitting Smoking is a Good Idea

New Test Allows Individualized Profiles Of Cigarette Smoking
A test for one of the thousands of chemicals in cigarette smoke has the potential for more accurately estimating smokers' mouth level exposure and may have applications for developing custom-tailored quitting approaches for the more than 43 million people in the United States who still smoke, and hundreds of millions elsewhere, scientists said...
Publ.Date : Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:00:00 PDT

Medicare Expands Coverage For Tobacco-Related Counseling
The Hill: "The Obama administration on Wednesday expanded Medicare to cover more seniors hoping to kick their tobacco habits." Previously, Medicare rules allowed the program to cover tobacco-related counseling only for beneficiaries who already suffered from a tobacco-related disease...
Publ.Date : Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:00:00 PDT

American Schoolchildren Smoking Less, But Tobacco Use Decline Is Losing Steam
The number of middle and high school children who use tobacco products has dropped since 2000, but the decline has been slowing down in recent years, says a CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) report Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report...
Publ.Date : Sun, 29 Aug 2010 08:00:00 PDT

Medicare To Cover Evidence-Based Tobacco Cessation Counseling
People who want to give up smoking may be entitled to Medicare cover for evidence-based cessation counseling, the HSS (Department of Health and Human Services, USA) announced. Before this announcement, only individuals with a tobacco-related disease were entitled to Medicare cover for counseling to give up smoking...
Publ.Date : Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:00:00 PDT

Nicotine May Directly Promote Development Of Breast Cancer
Scientists have discovered that when nicotine binds to nAchRs (nicotinic acetylcholine receptors), it may not only promote addiction, but breast cancer as well. We know that non-nicotine components of smoking are carcinogens, however, very little is known about how nicotine acts on cells to encourage cancer growth, the scientists explain...
Publ.Date : Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PDT

Babies' First Full Nappy Can Reveal Mother's Smoking
Meconium, the dark and tarry stools passed by a baby during the first few days after birth, can be used to determine how much the mother smoked, or if she was exposed to tobacco smoke during pregnancy...
Publ.Date : Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:00:00 PDT

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