Addiction Services

Tobacco

How Smoking Makes You (and Others) Sick

Smoking tobacco is related to dozens of diseases and conditions and has negative effects on nearly every organ of our body. Smoking tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death.

What Does Smoking Hurt?

• Lungs: Smoking is the cause of most cases of lung cancer. Smoking also is the primary cause of other lung problems, such as emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic bronchitis.
• Heart and circulatory system: Smoking increases your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke. A person who smokes more than 25 cigarettes daily has five times the risk of heart disease compared to someone who doesn't smoke.
• Cancer: Smoking is a major cause of cancer of the esophagus, larynx, throat (pharynx) and mouth and contributes to cancer of the bladder, pancreas, liver, kidney, cervix, stomach, colon and rectum, and some leukemias.
• Appearance: The chemicals in tobacco smoke can dry and irritate the skin, as well as promote wrinkles. Smoking also yellows teeth, fingers and fingernails.
• Fertility: Smoking increases the risk of infertility and miscarriage in women and the risk of impotence and infertility in men.
• Senses: Smoking deadens the senses of taste and smell, so food isn't as appetizing as it once was.

Many other health issues are caused by, or aggravated by, smoking, such as glaucoma, high cholesterol, tooth decay, cataracts and osteoporosis.

Who Else Does Smoking Hurt?

If you smoke, everyone around you is also smoking, against their will. Second-hand smoke is made up of more than 4,000 chemicals including carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, benzene, chromium, nickel, vinyl chloride, and arsenic. Every time you exhale that mix, they inhale it.

Children are particularly vulnerable to second-hand smoke because they breathe faster than adults. Inhaling it increases their chances of developing asthma by 200 to 400 per cent. They are also more likely to develop ear infections, and, most deadly of all, become smokers themselves.

Smoking is known to affect babies before they are born. Nicotine, carbon monoxide and the other chemicals in tobacco smoke are passed to the baby through the placenta; some of these chemicals are known to cause cancer. Smoking also increases risks of complications in pregnancy and could result in still births, spontaneous abortions, decreased fetal growth, premature births, placental abruption, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and low birth weight.

Even pets are not immune. Breathing in second-hand smoke can lead to breathing problems, excess salivation, and vomiting for them, too. Those are just the external signs. Internally, your pet could develop cardiac abnormalities and lung cancer, just like a human. Worse yet, if your pet accidentally swallows a cigarette butt, it could be fatal.

Get Help Today

You, and everyone around you, could start to experience the benefits of living tobacco-free today. Call your local Addiction Services office to speak with a tobacco-treatment specialist. Offices are located across the province, and the service is free.