The hazards of smoking are real – they are not fabricated statements that are calculated to scare the holy terror out of smokers, though the reality is that it should. In fact, if you value your life so much, you would steer clear of smoking or even steer clear of the smokers themselves – the hazards of smoking do not just affect the smokers themselves, but also the people in their immediate vicinity.
Smoking is the one of the, if not the, major cause of preventable deaths around the world. On average, smokers die 5 to 8 years earlier than non-smokers. Cigarette smoke has more than 4,000 carcinogenic – cancer-causing – compounds, plus 400 other toxins. Some of these hazards are typical ingredients you will find in known poisonous substances like arsenic, DDT, insect poison, and rat poison, and some can also be found in nail polish removers and wood varnish. These substances causes the risks of developing certain diseases and illnesses - like cancers of the bladder, cervix, esophagus, kidney, mouth, pancreas, and throat – to be more than the average of non-smokers who are not exposed to any traces of cigarette or tobacco smoke. Smoking is also the primary cause of emphysema – a devastating lung disease that slowly destroys one’s ability of breathing
The hazards of smoking are especially multiplied for those who have:
Blood vessel disease
Diabetes
Heart disease
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Family history of such diseases
Risks of fatal heart diseases are twice greater for smokers and those who live with smokers. Another hazard of smoking is the increase of the likelihood of suffering a stroke. Women who take birth control pills and smoke, especially those over 35 years old, have increased risk of heart attack or stroke – not to mention that smoking increases the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Children born to smoking mothers have lower birth weights than the average, and they suffer a higher risk of asthma and chronic ear infections, less efficient lung function, and more frequent respiratory functions. Still another is increased blood pressure – smoking decreases the HDL – the “good cholesterol” – level of the blood.
Smokers and those around smokers have twice or thrice greater chance of suffering peptic ulcers. They also have more risk of hip, vertebral, and wrist fractures, as the nicotine of cigarettes causes the bones of the body to brittle. Smoking complicates sleep disorders – and probably one of the greatest hazards of smoking is that it decreases the body’s immunity; hence, smokers and those around them tend to get colds, respiratory tract infections, and other diseases much more quickly.
Other hazards of smoking:
Smoking is the leading cause of chronic lung diseases, and has been linked to 90% of all lung cancer cases.
Smoking is responsible for 25% of heart attack deaths.
Smoking is the attributed cause of 75% of deaths from chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Environmental tobacco smoke is classified as class A (known human) carcinogen along with arsenic, asbestos, benzene, and radon gas.