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

News From The March Issue Of Chest
PREGNANT SMOKERS WITH ASTHMA HAVE INCREASED HEALTH RISKS Pregnant women with asthma who smoke have an increased risk for asthma symptoms and fetal growth abnormalities. Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina observed 2,210 pregnant women with asthma to determine the effect of active and passive household smoking on asthma severity and obstetric/neonatal outcomes...
Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:00:00 PST

Cigarette Ads Fuel Teens' Desire To Start Smoking
The more that teens see cigarette ads, the greater their risk of taking a puff. A new study shows that the particular content of tobacco marketing resonates with youth and that the vivid imagery in tobacco advertising captures their interest, although teens typically are more resistant to the promotional seduction of other products...
Publ.Date : Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:00:00 PST

Five Tips To Help A Stressed-Out President Or Anyone Else Quit Smoking
President Barack Obama's recent physical examination revealed that he is in generally good health and that he is still trying to quit smoking. His doctor's advice: keep up his "smoking cessation efforts"; in other words, he should keep trying to kick the habit...
Publ.Date : Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:00:00 PST

The Speed At Which Nicotine Peaks In The Brain
Nicotine takes much longer than previously thought to reach peak levels in the brains of cigarette smokers, according to new research conducted at Duke University Medical Center. Traditionally, scientists thought nicotine inhaled in a puff of cigarette smoke took a mere seven seconds to be taken up by the brain, and that each puff produced a spike of nicotine...
Publ.Date : Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:00:00 PST

Three Harvard School Of Public Health Alumni Named To New FDA Tobacco Advisory Committee
The recently formed Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Center for Tobacco Products has just created a new Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee to review and evaluate safety, dependence, and health issues relating to tobacco products and provide appropriate advice, information, and recommendations to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs...
Publ.Date : Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:00:00 PST

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