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Smoking and Your Health

kids readingSmoking harms nearly every organ of the body. It causes nearly one of every five deaths in the United States each year.

Cigarette smoke affects your body. For a text-version of the information displayed on the infographic, use the link after the image.

Infographic text-only version.

Is smoking a risk factor for autoimmune diseases?

Smoking is a risk factor for several autoimmune diseases, including Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. It may also play a role in periodic flare-ups of signs and symptoms of autoimmune diseases. Smoking doubles your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

How does smoking affect my bones?

Recent studies show a direct relationship between tobacco use and decreased bone density. Smoking is one of many factors—including weight, alcohol consumption, and activity level—that increase your risk for osteoporosis, a condition in which bones weaken and become more likely to fracture.

Significant bone loss has been found in older women and men who smoke. Quitting smoking appears to reduce the risk for low bone mass and fractures. However, it may take several years to lower a former smoker’s risk.

In addition, smoking from an early age puts women at even higher risk for osteoporosis. Smoking lowers the level of the hormone estrogen in your body, which can cause you to go through menopause earlier, boosting your risk for osteoporosis.

How does smoking affect my heart and blood vessels?

The chemicals in tobacco smoke harm your blood cells and damage the function of your heart. This damage increases your risk for:

  • Atherosclerosis, a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up in your arteries
  • Aneurysms, which are bulging blood vessels that can burst and cause death
  • Coronary heart disease (CHD), which happens when plaque builds up in the arteries
  • Heart attack and damage to your arteries
  • Heart disease
  • Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a condition in which plaque builds up in the arteries that carry blood to the head, organs, and limbs
  • Stroke, which is sudden death of brain cells caused by blood clots or bleeding

Breathing tobacco smoke can even change your blood chemistry and damage your blood vessels. As you inhale smoke, cells that line your body’s blood vessels react to its chemicals. Your heart rate and blood pressure go up and your blood vessels thicken and narrow.

How does smoking affect my lungs and breathing?

Every cigarette you smoke damages your breathing and scars your lungs. Smoking causes:

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease that gets worse over time and causes wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and other symptoms
  • Emphysema, a condition in which the walls between the air sacs in your lungs lose their ability to stretch and shrink back. Your lung tissue is destroyed, making it difficult or impossible to breathe.
  • Chronic bronchitis, which causes swelling of the lining of your bronchial tubes. When this happens, less air flows to and from your lungs.
  • Pneumonia

People with asthma can suffer severe attacks when around cigarette smoke.

Can smoking affect my vision?

Smoking is as bad for your eyes as it is for the rest of your body. Research has linked smoking to an increased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and optic nerve damage, all of which can lead to blindness.

Do cigarettes cause cancer?

Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. About 70 of them are known to cause cancer. Smoking cigarettes is the number-one risk factor for lung cancer. But, smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body, including your:

  • Bladder
  • Bone marrow and blood
  • Cervix
  • Esophagus
  • Kidneys and ureters
  • Larynx (voice box)
  • Lungs
  • Mouth, nose, and throat
  • Pancreas
  • Stomach
  • Trachea

Learn more about cigarettes.

Do light cigarettes cause cancer?

There is no such thing as a safe cigarette. People who smoke any kind of cigarette are at an increased risk for smoking-related diseases. Although it is no longer legal to sell light cigarettes, people who smoked light cigarettes in the past are likely to have inhaled the same amount of toxic chemicals as those who smoked regular cigarettes. They remain at high risk of developing smoking-related cancers and other diseases. Learn more about light cigarettes.

Do menthol cigarettes cause cancer?

There is no scientific evidence that menthol cigarettes are safer than regular cigarettes. Learn more about menthol cigarettes.

Can smoking cigars and pipes cause cancer?

Cigar and pipe smoke, like cigarette smoke, contains toxic and cancer-causing chemicals that are harmful to both smokers and non-smokers. Cigar and pipe smoking causes cancers of the:

  • Bladder
  • Esophagus
  • Larynx (voice box)
  • Lips
  • Lungs
  • Mouth
  • Throat
  • Tongue

If you smoke cigars daily, you are at increased risk for developing heart disease and lung diseases such as emphysema. Learn more about cigars and pipes.

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