essay on the harms of smoking

Essay on Smoking

500 words essay on smoking.

One of the most common problems we are facing in today’s world which is killing people is smoking. A lot of people pick up this habit because of stress , personal issues and more. In fact, some even begin showing it off. When someone smokes a cigarette, they not only hurt themselves but everyone around them. It has many ill-effects on the human body which we will go through in the essay on smoking.

Ill-Effects of Smoking

Tobacco can have a disastrous impact on our health. Nonetheless, people consume it daily for a long period of time till it’s too late. Nearly one billion people in the whole world smoke. It is a shocking figure as that 1 billion puts millions of people at risk along with themselves.

Cigarettes have a major impact on the lungs. Around a third of all cancer cases happen due to smoking. For instance, it can affect breathing and causes shortness of breath and coughing. Further, it also increases the risk of respiratory tract infection which ultimately reduces the quality of life.

In addition to these serious health consequences, smoking impacts the well-being of a person as well. It alters the sense of smell and taste. Further, it also reduces the ability to perform physical exercises.

It also hampers your physical appearances like giving yellow teeth and aged skin. You also get a greater risk of depression or anxiety . Smoking also affects our relationship with our family, friends and colleagues.

Most importantly, it is also an expensive habit. In other words, it entails heavy financial costs. Even though some people don’t have money to get by, they waste it on cigarettes because of their addiction.

How to Quit Smoking?

There are many ways through which one can quit smoking. The first one is preparing for the day when you will quit. It is not easy to quit a habit abruptly, so set a date to give yourself time to prepare mentally.

Further, you can also use NRTs for your nicotine dependence. They can reduce your craving and withdrawal symptoms. NRTs like skin patches, chewing gums, lozenges, nasal spray and inhalers can help greatly.

Moreover, you can also consider non-nicotine medications. They require a prescription so it is essential to talk to your doctor to get access to it. Most importantly, seek behavioural support. To tackle your dependence on nicotine, it is essential to get counselling services, self-materials or more to get through this phase.

One can also try alternative therapies if they want to try them. There is no harm in trying as long as you are determined to quit smoking. For instance, filters, smoking deterrents, e-cigarettes, acupuncture, cold laser therapy, yoga and more can work for some people.

Always remember that you cannot quit smoking instantly as it will be bad for you as well. Try cutting down on it and then slowly and steadily give it up altogether.

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Conclusion of the Essay on Smoking

Thus, if anyone is a slave to cigarettes, it is essential for them to understand that it is never too late to stop smoking. With the help and a good action plan, anyone can quit it for good. Moreover, the benefits will be evident within a few days of quitting.

FAQ of Essay on Smoking

Question 1: What are the effects of smoking?

Answer 1: Smoking has major effects like cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and more. It also increases the risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems with the immune system .

Question 2: Why should we avoid smoking?

Answer 2: We must avoid smoking as it can lengthen your life expectancy. Moreover, by not smoking, you decrease your risk of disease which includes lung cancer, throat cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more.

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Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking

Smoking and death, smoking and increased health risks, smoking and cardiovascular disease, smoking and respiratory disease, smoking and cancer, smoking and other health risks, quitting and reduced risks.

Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causes many diseases, and reduces the health of smokers in general. 1,2

Quitting smoking lowers your risk for smoking-related diseases and can add years to your life. 1,2

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. 1

Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. This is nearly one in five deaths. 1,2,3
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
Illegal drug use
Alcohol use
Motor vehicle injuries
Firearm-related incidents
More than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the United States. 1
Smoking causes about 90% (or 9 out of 10) of all lung cancer deaths. 1,2 More women die from lung cancer each year than from breast cancer. 5
Smoking causes about 80% (or 8 out of 10) of all deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 1
Cigarette smoking increases risk for death from all causes in men and women. 1
The risk of dying from cigarette smoking has increased over the last 50 years in the U.S. 1

Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. 1

For coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times 1,6
For stroke by 2 to 4 times 1
Of men developing lung cancer by 25 times 1
Of women developing lung cancer by 25.7 times 1
Smoking causes diminished overall health, increased absenteeism from work, and increased health care utilization and cost. 1

Smokers are at greater risk for diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular disease). 1,2

Smoking causes stroke and coronary heart disease, which are among the leading causes of death in the United States. 1,3
Even people who smoke fewer than five cigarettes a day can have early signs of cardiovascular disease. 1
Smoking damages blood vessels and can make them thicken and grow narrower. This makes your heart beat faster and your blood pressure go up. Clots can also form. 1,2
A clot blocks the blood flow to part of your brain;
A blood vessel in or around your brain bursts. 1,2
Blockages caused by smoking can also reduce blood flow to your legs and skin. 1,2

Smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs (alveoli) found in your lungs. 1,2

Lung diseases caused by smoking include COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. 1,2
Cigarette smoking causes most cases of lung cancer. 1,2
If you have asthma, tobacco smoke can trigger an attack or make an attack worse. 1,2
Smokers are 12 to 13 times more likely to die from COPD than nonsmokers. 1

Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body: 1,2

Blood (acute myeloid leukemia)
Colon and rectum (colorectal)
Kidney and ureter
Oropharynx (includes parts of the throat, tongue, soft palate, and the tonsils)
Trachea, bronchus, and lung

Smoking also increases the risk of dying from cancer and other diseases in cancer patients and survivors. 1

If nobody smoked, one of every three cancer deaths in the United States would not happen. 1,2

Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and affects a person’s overall health. 1,2

Preterm (early) delivery
Stillbirth (death of the baby before birth)
Low birth weight
Sudden infant death syndrome (known as SIDS or crib death)
Ectopic pregnancy
Orofacial clefts in infants
Smoking can also affect men’s sperm, which can reduce fertility and also increase risks for birth defects and miscarriage. 2
Women past childbearing years who smoke have weaker bones than women who never smoked. They are also at greater risk for broken bones.
Smoking affects the health of your teeth and gums and can cause tooth loss. 1
Smoking can increase your risk for cataracts (clouding of the eye’s lens that makes it hard for you to see). It can also cause age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is damage to a small spot near the center of the retina, the part of the eye needed for central vision. 1
Smoking is a cause of type 2 diabetes mellitus and can make it harder to control. The risk of developing diabetes is 30–40% higher for active smokers than nonsmokers. 1,2
Smoking causes general adverse effects on the body, including inflammation and decreased immune function. 1
Smoking is a cause of rheumatoid arthritis. 1
Quitting smoking is one of the most important actions people can take to improve their health. This is true regardless of their age or how long they have been smoking. Visit the Benefits of Quitting page for more information about how quitting smoking can improve your health.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General . Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014 [accessed 2017 Apr 20].
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: What It Means to You . Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2010 [accessed 2017 Apr 20].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. QuickStats: Number of Deaths from 10 Leading Causes—National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2010 . Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2013:62(08);155. [accessed 2017 Apr 20].
Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, Gerberding JL. Actual Causes of Death in the United States . JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association 2004;291(10):1238–45 [cited 2017 Apr 20].
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General . Rockville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General, 2001 [accessed 2017 Apr 20].
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reducing the Health Consequences of Smoking: 25 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General . Rockville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 1989 [accessed 2017 Apr 20].

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Harms of Cigarette Smoking and Health Benefits of Quitting

What harmful chemicals does tobacco smoke contain.

Tobacco smoke contains many chemicals that are harmful to both smokers and nonsmokers. Breathing even a little tobacco smoke can be harmful ( 1 - 4 ).

Of the more than 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 250 are known to be harmful, including hydrogen cyanide , carbon monoxide , and ammonia ( 1 , 2 , 5 ).

Among the 250 known harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 69 can cause cancer. These cancer-causing chemicals include the following ( 1 , 2 , 5 ):

Acetaldehyde
Aromatic amines
Beryllium (a toxic metal)
1,3–Butadiene (a hazardous gas)
Cadmium (a toxic metal)
Chromium (a metallic element)
Ethylene oxide
Formaldehyde
Nickel (a metallic element)
Polonium-210 (a radioactive chemical element)
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Tobacco-specific nitrosamines
Vinyl chloride

What are some of the health problems caused by cigarette smoking?

Smoking is the leading cause of premature, preventable death in this country. Cigarette smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke cause about 480,000 premature deaths each year in the United States ( 1 ). Of those premature deaths, about 36% are from cancer, 39% are from heart disease and stroke , and 24% are from lung disease ( 1 ). Mortality rates among smokers are about three times higher than among people who have never smoked ( 6 , 7 ).

Smoking harms nearly every bodily organ and organ system in the body and diminishes a person’s overall health. Smoking causes cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, liver, pancreas, stomach, cervix, colon, and rectum, as well as acute myeloid leukemia ( 1 – 3 ).

Smoking also causes heart disease, stroke, aortic aneurysm (a balloon-like bulge in an artery in the chest), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) ( chronic bronchitis and emphysema ), diabetes , osteoporosis , rheumatoid arthritis, age-related macular degeneration , and cataracts , and worsens asthma symptoms in adults. Smokers are at higher risk of developing pneumonia , tuberculosis , and other airway infections ( 1 – 3 ). In addition, smoking causes inflammation and impairs immune function ( 1 ).

Since the 1960s, a smoker’s risk of developing lung cancer or COPD has actually increased compared with nonsmokers, even though the number of cigarettes consumed per smoker has decreased ( 1 ). There have also been changes over time in the type of lung cancer smokers develop – a decline in squamous cell carcinomas but a dramatic increase in adenocarcinomas . Both of these shifts may be due to changes in cigarette design and composition, in how tobacco leaves are cured, and in how deeply smokers inhale cigarette smoke and the toxicants it contains ( 1 , 8 ).

Smoking makes it harder for a woman to get pregnant. A pregnant smoker is at higher risk of miscarriage, having an ectopic pregnancy , having her baby born too early and with an abnormally low birth weight, and having her baby born with a cleft lip and/or cleft palate ( 1 ). A woman who smokes during or after pregnancy increases her infant’s risk of death from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) ( 2 , 3 ). Men who smoke are at greater risk of erectile dysfunction ( 1 , 9 ).

The longer a smoker’s duration of smoking, the greater their likelihood of experiencing harm from smoking, including earlier death ( 7 ). But regardless of their age, smokers can substantially reduce their risk of disease, including cancer, by quitting.

What are the risks of tobacco smoke to nonsmokers?

Secondhand smoke (also called environmental tobacco smoke, involuntary smoking, and passive smoking) is the combination of “sidestream” smoke (the smoke given off by a burning tobacco product) and “mainstream” smoke (the smoke exhaled by a smoker) ( 4 , 5 , 10 , 11 ).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. National Toxicology Program, the U.S. Surgeon General, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have classified secondhand smoke as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) ( 5 , 11 , 12 ). Inhaling secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in nonsmoking adults ( 1 , 2 , 4 ). Approximately 7,300 lung cancer deaths occur each year among adult nonsmokers in the United States as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke ( 1 ). The U.S. Surgeon General estimates that living with a smoker increases a nonsmoker’s chances of developing lung cancer by 20 to 30% ( 4 ).

Secondhand smoke causes disease and premature death in nonsmoking adults and children ( 2 , 4 ). Exposure to secondhand smoke irritates the airways and has immediate harmful effects on a person’s heart and blood vessels. It increases the risk of heart disease by an estimated 25 to 30% ( 4 ). In the United States, exposure to secondhand smoke is estimated to cause about 34,000 deaths from heart disease each year ( 1 ). Exposure to secondhand smoke also increases the risk of stroke by 20 to 30% ( 1 ). Pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk of having a baby with a small reduction in birth weight ( 1 ).

Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk of SIDS, ear infections, colds, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Secondhand smoke exposure can also increase the frequency and severity of asthma symptoms among children who have asthma. Being exposed to secondhand smoke slows the growth of children’s lungs and can cause them to cough, wheeze, and feel breathless ( 2 , 4 ).

Is smoking addictive?

Smoking is highly addictive. Nicotine is the drug primarily responsible for a person’s addiction to tobacco products, including cigarettes. The addiction to cigarettes and other tobacco products that nicotine causes is similar to the addiction produced by using drugs such as heroin and cocaine ( 13 ). Nicotine is present naturally in the tobacco plant. But tobacco companies intentionally design cigarettes to have enough nicotine to create and sustain addiction.

The amount of nicotine that gets into the body is determined by the way a person smokes a tobacco product and by the nicotine content and design of the product. Nicotine is absorbed into the bloodstream through the lining of the mouth and the lungs and travels to the brain in a matter of seconds. Taking more frequent and deeper puffs of tobacco smoke increases the amount of nicotine absorbed by the body.

Are other tobacco products, such as smokeless tobacco or pipe tobacco, harmful and addictive?

Yes. All forms of tobacco are harmful and addictive ( 4 , 11 ). There is no safe tobacco product.

In addition to cigarettes, other forms of tobacco include smokeless tobacco , cigars , pipes , hookahs (waterpipes), bidis , and kreteks .

Smokeless tobacco : Smokeless tobacco is a type of tobacco that is not burned. It includes chewing tobacco , oral tobacco, spit or spitting tobacco, dip, chew, snus, dissolvable tobacco, and snuff. Smokeless tobacco causes oral (mouth, tongue, cheek and gum), esophageal, and pancreatic cancers and may also cause gum and heart disease ( 11 , 14 ).
Cigars : These include premium cigars, little filtered cigars (LFCs), and cigarillos. LFCs resemble cigarettes, but both LFCs and cigarillos may have added flavors to increase appeal to youth and young adults ( 15 , 16 ). Most cigars are composed primarily of a single type of tobacco (air-cured and fermented), and have a tobacco leaf wrapper. Studies have found that cigar smoke contains higher levels of toxic chemicals than cigarette smoke, although unlike cigarette smoke, cigar smoke is often not inhaled ( 11 ). Cigar smoking causes cancer of the oral cavity, larynx, esophagus, and lung. It may also cause cancer of the pancreas. Moreover, daily cigar smokers, particularly those who inhale, are at increased risk for developing heart disease and other types of lung disease.
Pipes : In pipe smoking, the tobacco is placed in a bowl that is connected to a stem with a mouthpiece at the other end. The smoke is usually not inhaled. Pipe smoking causes lung cancer and increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, and esophagus ( 11 , 17 , 18 ).
Hookah or waterpipe (other names include argileh, ghelyoon, hubble bubble, shisha, boory, goza, and narghile): A hookah is a device used to smoke tobacco (often heavily flavored) by passing the smoke through a partially filled water bowl before being inhaled by the smoker. Although some people think hookah smoking is less harmful and addictive than cigarette smoking ( 19 ), research shows that hookah smoke is at least as toxic as cigarette smoke ( 20 – 22 ).
Bidis : A bidi is a flavored cigarette made by rolling tobacco in a dried leaf from the tendu tree, which is native to India. Bidi use is associated with heart attacks and cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, and lung ( 11 , 23 ).
Kreteks : A kretek is a cigarette made with a mixture of tobacco and cloves. Smoking kreteks is associated with lung cancer and other lung diseases ( 11 , 23 ).

Is it harmful to smoke just a few cigarettes a day?

There is no safe level of smoking. Smoking even just one cigarette per day over a lifetime can cause smoking-related cancers (lung, bladder, and pancreas) and premature death ( 24 , 25 ).

What are the immediate health benefits of quitting smoking?

The immediate health benefits of quitting smoking are substantial:

Heart rate and blood pressure , which are abnormally high while smoking, begin to return to normal.
Within a few hours, the level of carbon monoxide in the blood begins to decline. (Carbon monoxide reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen.)
Within a few weeks, people who quit smoking have improved circulation, produce less phlegm , and don’t cough or wheeze as often.
Within several months of quitting, people can expect substantial improvements in lung function ( 26 ).
Within a few years of quitting, people will have lower risks of cancer, heart disease, and other chronic diseases than if they had continued to smoke.

What are the long-term health benefits of quitting smoking?

Quitting smoking reduces the risk of cancer and many other diseases, such as heart disease and COPD , caused by smoking.

Data from the U.S. National Health Interview Survey show that people who quit smoking, regardless of their age, are less likely to die from smoking-related illness than those who continue to smoke. Smokers who quit before age 40 reduce their chance of dying prematurely from smoking-related diseases by about 90%, and those who quit by age 45-54 reduce their chance of dying prematurely by about two-thirds ( 6 ).

Regardless of their age, people who quit smoking have substantial gains in life expectancy, compared with those who continue to smoke. Data from the U.S. National Health Interview Survey also show that those who quit between the ages of 25 and 34 years live about 10 years longer; those who quit between ages 35 and 44 live about 9 years longer; those who quit between ages 45 and 54 live about 6 years longer; and those who quit between ages 55 and 64 live about 4 years longer ( 6 ).

Also, a study that followed a large group of people age 70 and older ( 7 ) found that even smokers who quit smoking in their 60s had a lower risk of mortality during follow-up than smokers who continued smoking.

Does quitting smoking lower the risk of getting and dying from cancer?

Yes. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of developing and dying from cancer and other diseases caused by smoking. Although it is never too late to benefit from quitting, the benefit is greatest among those who quit at a younger age ( 3 ).

The risk of premature death and the chances of developing and dying from a smoking-related cancer depend on many factors, including the number of years a person has smoked, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, and the age at which the person began smoking.

Is it important for someone diagnosed with cancer to quit smoking?

Quitting smoking improves the prognosis of cancer patients. For patients with some cancers, quitting smoking at the time of diagnosis may reduce the risk of dying by 30% to 40% ( 1 ). For those having surgery, chemotherapy, or other treatments, quitting smoking helps improve the body’s ability to heal and respond to therapy ( 1 , 3 , 27 ). It also lowers the risk of pneumonia and respiratory failure ( 1 , 3 , 28 ). In addition, quitting smoking may lower the risk that the cancer will recur, that a second cancer will develop, or that the person will die from the cancer or other causes ( 27 , 29 – 32 ).

Where can I get help to quit smoking?

NCI and other agencies and organizations can help smokers quit:

Visit Smokefree.gov for access to free information and resources, including Create My Quit Plan , smartphone apps , and text message programs
Call the NCI Smoking Quitline at 1–877–44U–QUIT ( 1–877–448–7848 ) for individualized counseling, printed information, and referrals to other sources.
See the NCI fact sheet Where To Get Help When You Decide To Quit Smoking .

Essay on Effects of Smoking

Students are often asked to write an essay on Effects of Smoking in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Effects of Smoking

Introduction.

Smoking is a harmful habit that affects the smoker and those around them. It’s a leading cause of various health problems.

Health Risks

Smoking damages almost every organ in the body. It causes lung diseases, heart problems, and increases the risk of stroke.

Effects on Non-smokers

Secondhand smoke exposes non-smokers to the same risks. It’s especially harmful to children, causing respiratory infections and sudden infant death syndrome.

Long-term Consequences

Smoking leads to addiction and can reduce life expectancy. It also affects the quality of life due to the health issues it causes.

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250 Words Essay on Effects of Smoking

Smoking, a widely prevalent habit, is a significant public health issue. Despite the known deleterious effects, many people continue to smoke, highlighting the addictive nature of nicotine. This essay delves into the effects of smoking on individual health and society.

Health Implications

Smoking is a primary risk factor for numerous diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disorders. It harms nearly every organ in the body, reducing overall health. The carcinogens in tobacco smoke damage DNA, leading to mutations that can cause cancer, particularly lung cancer. Moreover, smoking affects the heart and blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Social and Economic Impact

Beyond the health implications, smoking has profound social and economic effects. The habit often leads to social isolation as non-smokers may avoid smokers due to the unpleasant smell and secondhand smoke. Economically, smoking imposes a substantial burden on healthcare systems due to the high cost of treating smoking-related illnesses.

Psychological Consequences

Smoking also has psychological effects. Nicotine addiction can lead to increased stress and anxiety. Withdrawal symptoms can be severe, making quitting a daunting task. This dependency can affect an individual’s quality of life and mental wellbeing.

500 Words Essay on Effects of Smoking

Smoking, a widespread habit with serious health implications, is a topic of concern that merits significant attention. Despite the known dangers, millions globally continue to smoke, affecting not only their health but also those in their vicinity. This essay delves into the effects of smoking, focusing on health, environmental, and social impacts.

Health Effects of Smoking

Smoking is unequivocally linked to numerous health issues. The most well-known and severe is lung cancer, with smoking accounting for approximately 85% of all cases. However, the health implications extend beyond just lung disease. Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It also affects the entire cardiovascular system, increasing the likelihood of blood clots, which can lead to life-threatening conditions.

Environmental Impact

The environmental effects of smoking are often overlooked but are significant. Cigarette production involves deforestation for tobacco farming, pesticide use, and water pollution from manufacturing processes. Furthermore, cigarette butts, the most littered item globally, contain non-biodegradable filters that can take years to decompose, releasing toxic chemicals into the environment.

Secondhand smoke also contributes to air pollution. It contains over 4000 chemicals, many of which are carcinogenic, posing risks to non-smokers, especially in enclosed spaces. This highlights the broader environmental implications of smoking, extending its impact beyond the individual smoker.

Social Consequences

Moreover, smoking can lead to social isolation as society becomes more aware of the risks of secondhand smoke. Many public spaces now prohibit smoking, and smokers may find themselves excluded from social gatherings to protect the health of others. The addictive nature of smoking can also lead to strained relationships and emotional distress.

In conclusion, the effects of smoking are multifaceted, extending far beyond the individual smoker’s health. It has severe environmental consequences and significant social implications, affecting both the smoker and those around them. While efforts to reduce smoking prevalence have had some success, it remains a pressing public health issue. As such, it is crucial to continue education and prevention efforts, emphasizing the far-reaching effects of this damaging habit.

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Leading cause of death, illness and impoverishment

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing over 8 million people a year around the world. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.3 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke (4) .

All forms of tobacco use are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide. Other tobacco products include waterpipe tobacco, cigars, cigarillos, heated tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, pipe tobacco, bidis and kreteks, and smokeless tobacco products.

Around 80% of the 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries (5) , where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest. Tobacco use contributes to poverty by diverting household spending from basic needs such as food and shelter to tobacco. This spending behaviour is difficult to curb because tobacco is so addictive.

The economic costs of tobacco use are substantial and include significant health care costs for treating the diseases caused by tobacco use as well as the lost human capital that results from tobacco-attributable morbidity and mortality.

Key measures to reduce the demand for tobacco

Surveillance is key.

Good monitoring tracks the extent and character of the tobacco epidemic and indicates how best to tailor policies. Almost half of the world's population are regularly asked about their tobacco use in nationally representative surveys among adults and adolescents.

Second-hand smoke kills

Second-hand smoke is the smoke that fills restaurants, offices, homes, or other enclosed spaces when people smoke tobacco products. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. Second-hand smoke causes serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including coronary heart disease and lung cancer, and kills around 1.3 million people prematurely every year.

Over a quarter of the world's population living in 74 countries are protected by comprehensive national smoke-free laws.

Tobacco users need help to quit

Among smokers who are aware of the dangers of tobacco, most want to quit. Counselling and medication can more than double a tobacco user’s chance of successful quitting.

National comprehensive cessation services with full or partial cost-coverage are available to assist tobacco users to quit in only 32 countries, representing around a third of the world's population.

Pictorial health warnings work

Hard-hitting anti-tobacco mass media campaigns and pictorial health warnings prevent children and other vulnerable groups from taking up tobacco use, and increase the number of tobacco users who quit.

Over half the world’s population live in the 103 countries that meet best practice for graphic health warnings, which includes among other criteria, large (50% or more of the main areas of the package) pictorial health warnings displayed in the local language.

1.5 billion people live in the 36 countries that have aired at least one strong anti-tobacco mass media campaign within the last 2 years.

Bans on tobacco advertising lower consumption

Tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) increases and sustains tobacco use by effectively recruiting new tobacco users and discouraging tobacco users from quitting.

One third of countries (66), representing a quarter of the world’s population, have completely banned all forms of TAPS.

Taxes are effective in reducing tobacco use

Tobacco taxes are the most cost-effective way to reduce tobacco use, especially among youth and low-income groups. A tax increase that increases tobacco prices by 10% decreases tobacco consumption by about 4% in high-income countries and about 5% in low- and middle-income countries.

Even so, high tobacco taxes are rarely implemented. Only 41 countries, with 12% of the world's population, have introduced taxes on tobacco products so that at least 75% of the retail price is tax.

Smoking: Causes and Effects Essay

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Among numerous bad habits of modern society smoking seems to be of the greatest importance. Not only does it affect the person who smokes, but also those who are around him. Many people argue about the appropriate definition of smoking, whether it is a disease or just a bad habit. Considering the peculiarities of a habit and of a disease, smoking can be considered as a habit rather than a disease. Among signifiers of a bad habit, it should be pointed out that a bad habit can be controlled by willpower, it can be prevented, and it can be cured (Gilman and Zun 33). Smoking can be fought against with the help of all the points mentioned above. Thus, it is a bad habit which can be easily refused if an individual possessing it has a strong decision to quit. Moreover, it can be cured in many different ways, and it can be prevented by education and other social norms.

Considering the first element, which one of the most important out of the three, willpower is a key to get rid of such a bad habit as smoking, which is very difficult to give up. If a person has a strong determination to quit smoking, he will have to endure considerably a short period of time of physical discomfort. One of the most important part of quitting, is that that is doesn’t require medical help, that is to say, a person is not likely to suffer a procedure that is risky to health and life. In comparison to alcoholism or drug addiction, where medical help is essential to save life of a person who needs a certain amount of an alcohol or drug substance in has blood to survive, the lack of nicotine in blood produces just a physical discomfort that is not dangerous for health and can be handled with the help of willpower. Regarding the second aspect of a bad habit, prevention, smoking can be prevented in early childhood with the help of proper education and social norms (Brinkman et al 689). Many people start smoking when they are teenagers just to prove they are adults in companies. If the society was able to produce a negative impression of this bad habit, so that it doesn’t seem to be sign of being an adult, it would be easier to prevent many children from smoking (Albaum et al 11).

The last aspect of a bad habit is a cure for it. Smoking can be cured in many different ways. There are many different techniques, starting from a nicotine plaster and ending with special clinics and communities helping people to get rid of this problem. If a person wants to quit, he or she has various options to help him or her to solve this problem. To conclude, smoking is a bad habit that can be easily quitted. Although there is an addiction to smoking, the lack of nicotine is not dangerous to the life of a smoker and can be handled without medical intervention. The most important aspect of this bad habit, which actually makes a habit, is that it can be quitted with the help of willpower. Moreover, it can be prevented with alteration of attitude towards smoking and it can be cured in many different ways (Albaum et al 23).

Despite widespread public awareness of the multiple health risks associated with smoking, one out of every four girls under age 18 is a smoker and more than 25 million American women smoke. Whereas the last two decades have seen an overall decrease in smoking prevalence, the rate of smoking has declined much more slowly among women than among men. If current trends continue, smoking rates of women will overtake those of men by the year 2000. Smoking rates are highest, approaching 30%, among women of reproductive age (18–44 years). Rates of smoking are particularly high among young White women with a high school education or less and low income. Cessation rates are lower among African American women (30% have quit) compared to White women (43% have quit). Minority and young women who have low rates of self-initiated cessation are also underrepresented in formal smoking cessation programs (Gilman and Zun 87). A greater proportion of women than men are pre-contemplators, that is, not considering quitting smoking within 6 months and have lower self-confidence that they could quit if they were to try. The debate continues regarding whether or not women are less likely to be successful at quitting when they try than men, with some evidence suggesting that women are more likely than men to relapse and others indicating no gender differences). Regardless, rates of relapse are very high, both among self-quitters and those who participate in formal cessation programs (Albaum et al 24).

Interventions specifically designed for smokers have attempted to address the role of weight concerns as an inhibitor to cessation and long-term maintenance. A randomized trial tested nicotine gum or a behavioral weight control program each alone, or in combination as adjuncts to an intensive group cessation intervention for weight concerned women smokers. The intervention integrated accepted cognitive and behavioral coping strategies for quitting smoking, changing eating behaviors, and developing a walking program.

Works Cited

Albaum, G., Baker, K.G., Hozier, G.C., Rogers, R.D. Smoking Behavior, Information Sources, and Consumption Values of Teenagers: Implications for Public Policy and Other Intervention Failures. Journal of Consumer Affairs , 36 (1), 2002: 5-55.

Brinkman, M.C., Callahan, P.J., Gordon, S.M., Kenny, D.V., Wallace, L.A. Volatile Organic Compounds as Breath Biomarkers for Active and Passive Smoking. Environmental Health Perspectives, 110 (7), 2002, p. 689.

Gilman Sander L. and Xhou Zun. Smoke: A GlobalHistory of Smoking. Reaktion Books; illustrated edition edition, 2004.

The Relationship Between the High Rate of Urbanization in Africa and AIDS Spread
Health Care System Improvements for the Eastern Michigan University
Lifestyle Management While Quitting Smoking
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Health Effects of Smoking

Smoking is the number one cause of preventable disease and death worldwide. Smoking-related diseases claim more than 480,000 lives in the U.S. each year. Smoking costs the U.S. at least $289 billion each year, including at least $151 billion in lost productivity and $130 billion in direct healthcare expenditures. 1

Key Facts about Smoking

Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, at least 69 of which are known to cause cancer. 2 Smoking is directly responsible for approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and approximately 80 percent of deaths caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema and chronic bronchitis. 1
Among adults who have ever smoked daily, 78% had smoked their first cigarette by the time they were 18 years of age, and 94% had by age 21. 3
Among current smokers, 73% of their diagnosed smoking-related conditions are chronic lung diseases. Even among smokers who have quit, chronic lung disease still accounts for 50% of smoking-related conditions. 4
Smoking harms nearly every organ in the body, and is a main cause of lung cancer and COPD. It also is a cause of coronary heart disease, stroke and a host of other cancers and diseases. 1 See more of the health effects caused by smoking.

Smoking Rates among Adults & Youth

In 2017, an estimated 34.3 million, or 14.0% of adults 18 years of age and older were current cigarette smokers. 5
Men tend to smoke more than women. In 2017, 15.8% of men currently smoked cigarettes daily compared to 12.2% of women. 5
Prevalence of current cigarette smoking in 2017 was highest among American Indians/Alaska Natives (24.6%), non-Hispanic whites (15.3%) and non-Hispanic blacks (15.1%), and was lowest among Hispanics (9.9%) and Asian-Americans (7.0%). 5
In 2017, 7.6 % of high school students and 2.1% of middle school students were current cigarette users. 6

Facts about Quitting Smoking

Nicotine is the chemical in cigarettes that causes addiction. Smokers not only become physically addicted to nicotine; they also link smoking with many social activities, making smoking an extremely difficult addiction to break. 7
In 2017, an estimated 55.2 million adults were former smokers. Of the 34.3 million current adult smokers, 48.4% stopped smoking for a day or more in the preceding year because they were trying to quit smoking completely. 5
Quitting smoking for good often requires multiple attempts. Using counseling or medication alone increases the chance of a quit attempt being successful; the combination of both is even more effective. 8
There are seven medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to aid in quitting smoking. Nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges are available over the counter, and a nicotine nasal spray and inhaler are currently available by prescription. Bupropion SR (Zyban®) and varenicline (Chantix®) are non-nicotine pills. 8
Individual, group and telephone counseling are effective. Telephone quitline counseling is available in all 50 states and is effective for many different groups of smokers. 8

Learn about the American Lung Association’s programs to help you or a loved one quit smoking , and join our advocacy efforts to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. Visit Lung.org or call the Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872).

The Health Effects of Smoking

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking - 50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. 2014.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease A Report of the Surgeon General. 2010.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2017. Analysis by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2015. Analysis performed by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017. Analysis by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. Tobacco/Nicotine Research Report: Is Nicotine Addictive? January 2018.

Fiore M, Jaen C, Baker T, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Vol 35. Rockville, MD; 2008.

Page last updated: September 11, 2024

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Cause and Effects of Smoking Cigarettes, Essay Example

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Smoking cigarettes has historically been a leisurely and highly popular social activity that a litany of people turn to as a way to assuage daily stress, lose weight, and feel socially accepted in a constantly evolving social world. Tobacco, the main ingredient in cigarettes, has high levels of nicotine, which is a highly addictive ingredient that makes it hard for people to quit smoking if nicotine is ingested on a quotidian basis (Woolbright, 1994, p. 337). According to the CDC (2014), cigarette smoking causes over 480,000 deaths annually in the United States alone, which translates into one out of every five people extirpating due to the ingestion of tobacco. A preventable cause of death, cigarette smoking kills more persons than accidents caused due motor vehicle accidents, alcohol consumption, illegal drug use, deaths involving firearms, and the HIV/AIDS virus altogether (Center For Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Women who smoke tobacco disproportionately suffer from even more health problems as it directly harms not only their reproductive health but also their mortality and morbidity rates of their progeny or future children (American Lung Association, n.d.). People should not smoke because it not only spawns negative health effects but also because it is not economically useful. If people stopped smoking, many lives would be both indirectly and directly saved from premature and preventative deaths as a result.

Doctors and other medical experts pinpoint the various health hazards caused by smoking, especially to the statistics pertaining to the nexus between smoking cigarettes and premature death, in order to convince people to quit smoking. In the past five decades, the risk of premature death in both female and male smokers has profoundly increased (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). According to the CDC (2014), smoking cigarettes causes a handful of diseases because it adversely impacts almost all bodily organs and detracts from the general health of enthusiastic smokers. The risk of developing coronary heart disease (COPD), various cardiovascular maladies, and stroke–the leading cause of death in the United States alone–increases two to four times as much due to the damage it spawns to blood vessels because tobacco narrows and thickens them. These ramifications cause rapid heartbeat, which results in higher blood pressure levels which renders smokers vulnerable to blood clots. If blood clots prevent blood from reaching the heart, people put themselves at risk for heart attack due to the fact that the heart does not get enough oxygen and thus kills the heart muscle. In addition, blood clots can also cause a stroke because they can hinder blood flow to the brain. Shockingly, quitting smoking even after just one year drastically enhances an individual’s risk of incurring poor cardiovascular health. Moreover, smoking is directly connected to various respiratory diseases due to the fact that it harms both airways and alveoli, or the minute air vacs, that are in the lungs. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), emphysema, and bronchitis are common forms of lung disease that chronic smokers often develop. In addition, medical experts correlate cigarette smoking with a litany of cancers, which have been pinpointed as the primary cause of lung cancer in individuals who smoke for a protracted period of time. Smoking cigarettes can also spawn various other types of cancer, including cancer in the stomach, liver, kidneys, bladders, pancreas, and oropharynx. Smoking not only puts smokers at risk for these often fatal types of cancer but also to those around smokes as a result of second-hand smoking. Second-hand smoke, according to the CDC (2014), causes an estimated 34,000 deaths per year in non-smokers because they too develop various cardiovascular diseases while an estimated 8,000 persons prematurely dying as a result of stroke (CDC, 2014). They also are put at risk for developing lung cancer by approximately thirty percent, and their risk for heart attack is also amplified. Physicians estimate that if nobody smoked cigarettes around the world, an estimated one out of every three deaths caused by cancer would not manifest (1).

More poignantly, smoking cigarettes negatively impacts women’s reproductive health, and children who are exposed to cigarette smoke suffer from often fatal effects. Many studies have analyzed and outlined the negative ramifications of maternal smoking on both the mother and the baby and/or infant ( Hofhuis, de Jongste, & Merkus, 2003 & Woolbright, 1994). Many states require documentation on birth certificates of maternal tobacco consumption (Woolbright, 1994). Despite the Surgeon General’s stern warning that maternal smoking has been linked to fetal injury, premature birth, and/or low birth rate, 15-37% of pregnant women still smoke cigarettes while pregnant (Hofhuis, de Jongste, & Merkus, 2003). Mothers who smoke also frequently participate in other high-risk behaviors that also negatively impacts the health of their progeny. Additionally, factors including marital and socio-economic status in addition education level affect the outcome of pregnancies due to increased vulnerability to cigarette smoking (Woolbright, 1994, p. 330). Low birth weight is the main impact of maternal smoking, although the existing literature pinpoints infant death and premature birth as major ramifications of it as well. Infant exposure to tobacco after they are born puts him or her at risk of premature death if they develop respiratory diseases in addition to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Woolbright, 1994). Hofhuis, de Jongste, and Merkus (2003) assessed how smoking cigarettes during pregnancy in addition to passive smoking thereafter affects both the mortality and morbidity rates in children. Statistics show that other obstetric complications directly linked to smoking, including spontaneous abortions, premature rupture of membranes, ectopic pregnancies, and complications related to the placenta. Smoking also stunts the lung growth that fetuses need in utero, which results in the child suffering from weakened lungs after birth while also exponentially increases the child’s chance of suffering from asthma and a vast array of other crippling respiratory diseases. In addition, it stunts brain development and detracts from the child’s mental acuity.

Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking. (2014, February 6). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Retrieved November 21, 2015 from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_ cig_smoking/

American Lung Association. (n.d.). Women and tobacco use. American Lung Association . Retrieved November 21, 2015 from http://www.lung.org/stop- smoking/about-smoking/facts- figures/women-and-tobacco-use.html

Ault, R. W., Jr., R. E., Jackson, J. D., Saba, R. S., & Saurman, D. S. (1991). Smoking and Absenteeism. Applied Economics , 23 , 743-754.

Hodgson TA. Cigarette Smoking and Lifetime Medical Expenditures. Millbank Q 1992, 70, 81-125.

Hofhuis, W., de Jongste, J. C., & Merkus, P. J. (2003). Adverse Health Effects of Prenatal and Postnatal Tobacco Smoke Exposure on Children. Arch Dis Child , 88 , 1086-1090.

Woolbright, L. A. (1994). The effects of maternal smoking on infant health. Population Research and Policy Review , 13 (3), 327-339.

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Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the US, accounting for about 1 in 5 deaths each year.

On average, people who smoke die about 10 years earlier than people who have never smoked.

How smoking tobacco affects your cancer risk

How smoking tobacco damages your lungs, how smoking tobacco affects your heart and blood vessels, how smoking tobacco can affect your sex life and reproductive system, other ways smoking tobacco affects your health, how smoking tobacco can affect children and teens.

Most people know smoking can cause cancer. But it can also cause a number of other diseases and can damage nearly every organ in the body, including the lungs, heart, blood vessels, reproductive organs, mouth, skin, eyes, and bones.

Smoking causes about 20% of all cancers and about 30% of all cancer deaths in the United States.

About 80% of lung cancers , as well as about 80% of all lung cancer deaths, are due to smoking. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in people in the United States.

Smoking also increases the risk for cancers of the:

Larynx (voice box)
Pharynx (throat)
Colon/rectum

It also raises the risk of acute myeloid leukemia .

Cigarettes, cigars, and pipes can all cause cancer. There is no safe form of tobacco smoke.

Smoking damages the airways and small air sacs in your lungs. This damage starts soon after someone starts smoking, and lung function continues to worsen as long as the person smokes. Still, it may take years for the problem to become noticeable enough for lung disease to be diagnosed.

Smoke damage in the lungs can lead to serious long-term lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) . Smoking can also increase the risk of lung infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis , and it can worsen some existing lung diseases, such as asthma .

COPD, which is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, includes both chronic bronchitis and emphysema (discussed below). Most people with COPD have both of these conditions, but the severity of each of them varies from person to person.

In COPD, damage to the small airways in the lungs makes it hard for the lungs to get oxygen to the rest of the body.

Smoking is by far the most common cause of COPD. The risk goes up the more you smoke and the longer you smoke.

Some of the early signs and symptoms of COPD can include noises in the chest (such as wheezing, rattling, or whistling), shortness of breath when active, and coughing up mucus (phlegm). Over time, COPD can make it hard to breathe at rest as well, sometimes even when a person is getting oxygen through a mask or nasal tube.

COPD tends to get worse over time, especially if a person continues to smoke. There is no cure for COPD, although some medicines might help with symptoms.

Chronic bronchitis

Chronic bronchitis is a common problem in people who smoke for a long time. In this disease, the airways make too much mucus, forcing the person to try to cough it out. The airways become inflamed (swollen), and the cough becomes chronic (long-lasting). The symptoms can get better at times, but the cough keeps coming back. Over time, the airways can get blocked by scar tissue and mucus, which can lead to bad lung infections (pneumonia).

There’s no cure for chronic bronchitis, but quitting smoking can help keep symptoms under control and help keep the damage from getting worse.

In emphysema, the walls between the tiny air sacs in the lungs break down, which creates larger but fewer sacs. This lowers the amount of oxygen reaching the blood. Over time, these sacs can break down to the point where a person with emphysema might struggle to get enough air, even when at rest.

People with emphysema are at risk for many other problems linked to weak lung function, including pneumonia. In later stages of the disease, patients often need an oxygen mask or tube to help them breathe.

Emphysema cannot be cured, but it can be treated and slowed down if the person stops smoking.

Why do people who smoke have “smoker’s cough?”

Tobacco smoke has many chemicals and particles that can irritate the upper airways and the lungs. When a person inhales these substances, the body tries to get rid of them by making mucus and causing a cough.

The early morning cough common among people who smoke happens for many reasons. Normally, tiny hair-like structures (called cilia ) in the airways help sweep harmful material out of the lungs. But tobacco smoke slows this sweeping action, so some of the mucus and particles in the smoke stay in the lungs and airways. While the person sleeps (and doesn’t smoke), some cilia recover and start working again. After waking up, the person coughs because the lungs are trying to clear away the irritants and mucus that built up from the day before.

So-called “smoker’s cough” can be an early sign of COPD.

Smoking tobacco damages your heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular system), increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke.

Smoking is a major cause of coronary heart disease (CHD) , in which the arteries of the heart can’t supply the heart muscle with enough oxygen-rich blood. CHD is the main cause of heart attacks, and it’s the leading cause of death in the United States.

Smoking causes high blood pressure, lowers your ability to exercise, and makes your blood more likely to clot. It also lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels in the blood. All of these are risk factors for heart attacks and strokes .

Smoking is a major risk factor for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) . In PAD, plaque builds up in the arteries that carry blood to the head, organs, and limbs. This increases your risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.

Smoking increases the risk of having an aortic aneurysm . This is a balloon-like bulge in the aorta, the main artery carrying blood from the heart to other organs. It is caused by a weakening of the wall of the aorta. Aortic aneurysms can grow larger over time, and they can be life threatening if they rupture (break open).

Smoking can cause or worsen poor blood flow to the arms and legs, which is called peripheral vascular disease or (PVD) . This can lead to pain in the legs when walking, and may lead to open sores that don’t heal.

Because smoking affects blood flow, it can lower the body’s ability to heal from cuts. This is why many doctors won’t do certain operations on patients unless they stop smoking.

Tobacco use can damage a woman’s reproductive health. For example, women who smoke are more likely to have trouble getting pregnant .

Smoking while pregnant can also lead to health problems that can affect both mother and baby. Women who smoke while pregnant have a higher risk of:

An ectopic pregnancy (where the embryo implants outside the uterus), which can threaten the mother’s life
Problems with the placenta, which is the organ that connects the mother to fetus. The placenta might be in the wrong spot ( placenta previa ), or it might separate from the uterus too early ( placental abruption ). These problems might lead to serious bleeding, early delivery (premature birth), or other problems with the delivery, some of which might require an emergency Caesarean section (C-section).
P r emature births and low birth-weight babies
Miscarriages and stillbirths
Having a child with a cleft lip, cleft palate, and possibly other birth defects

Babies of mothers who smoke during and after pregnancy are also more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) .

Smoking can damage blood vessels anywhere in the body. Blood flow in the penis is a key part of male erections. Men who smoke have a higher risk of erectile dysfunction . This risk increases the more they smoke and the longer they smoke.

Smoking can also affect sperm, which can reduce fertility and increase the risk for miscarriages and birth defects.

Smoking can affect a person’s health in many other ways as well, harming nearly every organ in the body. Here are a few examples of other ways smoking tobacco can affect your health:

Increased risk of gum disease and tooth loss
Lowered immune system function
Increased risk of type 2 diabetes
Decreased sense of smell and taste
Premature aging of the skin
Bad breath and stained teeth
Lower bone density (thinner bones), which means a higher risk for broken bones, including hip fracture
Higher risk of rheumatoid arthritis
Increased risk for cataracts (clouding of the lenses of the eyes)
Increased risk for age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness
Wounds taking longer to heal

Many of the health problems linked to smoking can lower a person’s quality of life. Smoking-related illness can make it harder for a person to breathe, get around, work, or play. Quitting smoking , especially at younger ages, can reduce smoking-related disability.

Cigarette smoking and the use of tobacco products can cause health problems in children and teens. Over time, these can include the serious health problems discussed above, which might start at even younger ages.

One of the most serious problems is nicotine addiction, which often leads to long-term tobacco use as kids get older. There is also some evidence that nicotine harms the brain development of teenagers. It is important to know that most e-cigarettes and similar products also contain nicotine.

Children and teens who smoke regularly tend to have more health problems than kids who don’t, such as:

Coughing spells
Shortness of breath, even when not exercising
Wheezing or gasping
More frequent headaches
Increased phlegm (mucus)
Respiratory illnesses that are worse and happen more often
Worse cold and flu symptoms
Reduced physical fitness
Poor lung growth and function, which increases the risk of COPD later in life

Tobacco use is linked to other harmful behaviors in teens

Research has shown that teen tobacco users are more likely to use alcohol and illegal drugs than are non-users. Teens who smoke are also more likely to get into fights, carry weapons, attempt suicide, suffer from mental health problems such as depression, and engage in high-risk sexual behaviors. This doesn’t necessarily mean that tobacco use caused these behaviors, but they’re more common in teens who use tobacco.

In addition, using e-cigarettes (also known as vaping) might play a part in a kid or teenager wanting to experiment with other tobacco products. To learn more about e-cigarettes, see What Do We Know About E-cigarettes?

The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team

Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.

American Cancer Society. Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures 2019-2020 . Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society; 2020.

Cao S, Gan Y, Dong X, Liu J, Lu Z. Association of quantity and duration of smoking with erectile dysfunction: A dose-response meta-analysis. J Sex Med . 2014;11(10):2376-2384.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking. 2020. Accessed at www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking/index.htm on October 12, 2020.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, and Office on Smoking and Health. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease: A Report of the Surgeon General. 2010. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53017/ on October 12, 2020.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Smoking & Tobacco Use Fast Facts. 2020. Accessed at www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/index.htm# on October 12, 2020.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Tips From Former Smokers: Pregnancy. 2020. Accessed at https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/pregnancy.html on October 19, 2020.

Drope J, Cahn Z, Kennedy R, et al. Key issues surrounding the health impacts of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and other sources of nicotine. CA Cancer J Clin. 2017;87(6):449-471. Accessed at https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21413 on October 12, 2020.

Feldman H, Johannes C, Derby C, et al. Erectile dysfunction and coronary risk factors: Prospective results from the Massachusetts male aging study. Prev Med . 2000;30:328-338.

Hackshaw A, Rodeck C, Boniface S. Maternal smoking in pregnancy and birth defects: A systematic review based on 173 687 malformed cases and 11.7 million controls. Hum Reprod Update . 2011;17(5):589-604.

Islami F, Goding Sauer A, et al. Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States. CA Cancer J Clin . 2018;68(1):31-54. doi: 10.3322/caac.21440. Epub 2017 Nov 21.

Jha P, Ramasundarahettige C, Landsman V, et al. 21st-century hazards of smoking and benefits of cessation in the United States. New Engl J Med . 2013;368(4):341–350.

Nagelmann A, Tonnov Ä, Laks T, et al. Lung dysfunction of chronic smokers with no signs of COPD. COPD . 2011;8(3):189-195.

National Institutes of Health. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. How Does Smoking Affect the Heart and Blood Vessels? Accessed at https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/smoking-and-your-heart on October 12, 2020.

Rodriguez D. Cigarette and tobacco products in pregnancy: Impact on pregnancy and the neonate. UpToDate. 2020. Accessed at https://www.uptodate.com/contents/cigarette-and-tobacco-products-in-pregnancy-impact-on-pregnancy-and-the-neonate on October 19, 2020.

US Department of Health & Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking---50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General . 2014. Accessed at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK179276/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK179276.pdf on October 12, 2020.

Waldie KE, McGee R, Reeder AI, Poulton R. Associations between frequent headaches, persistent smoking, and attempts to quit. Headache. 2008;48:545-552.

Last Revised: October 28, 2020

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The Dangers of Smoking and Its Prevent

In our current society, the free choice of smoking has gradually evolved into an alarming levels of addiction. Although smokers are warned on the dangers of smoking on the cigarette packs, they have repeatedly ignored this notion, and though avoidable, cigarette smoking has continued to cause deaths and disability across the world. Even smoking adherents have come to acknowledge that the bizarre act of smoking does not maintain or add value to life nor bring contentment to social, cultural, sexual, or spiritual needs, but only brings harm to the health of an individual.

Despite factors such as political, psychological, pharmacological, commercial, and sociological are said to influence smoking, it does not serve as a ground for this distasteful behavior that has led to passive smoking and the deaths, and health implications for non-smokers.

Smoking has created a heavy load on public health and health care system through morbidity, which has led to the rise in mortality rates. Since tobacco is not prohibited, this has left anti-smoking campaigners to only prescribe and instruct the public ”not to smoke” through creative adverts that show dazzling statistics on the prevalence of smoking and the ill-health and sometimes deaths that it has caused. The ill effects brought by smoking have motivated me to write this literature, since it has proved to be the biggest threat to current and future world health.

Thousands of people die every year due to smoking and many more die through passive means. Smoking has therefore led to adverse and extensive health effects through both passive and active means. Through passive means smoking has left non-smokers with sore eyes, coughs, sore throats, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and such effects can prove to be deplorable for people who are ill or have breathing difficulties, by increasing the asperity of asthma attacks (Slovic, 2001).

Active smoking can also cause various cancers and serious chest diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smokers are likely to die from lung cancer, although passive smoking can also be blamed when a non-smoker develops this disease. Smoking has been known to be a contributory factor in the development of pancreatic cancer and epidemiological studies show that it is a significant factor in the growth of oral cancer, while still being associated with the occurrence of cancerous tumors of the pancreas (Slovic, 2001).

Cigarette smoking by pregnant mothers has also been shown to affect the fetus by restricting intrauterine growth, reducing the number of fetal breathing movements, increasing intrapartum asphyxia risk, while also fewer accelerations of the fetal heart rate have been noticed. To add-on this, smoking also affects the birth weight, length and head circumference of the infant, this has therefore led to a large variation in infant birth weight and body length.

Parental smoking has on many occasions been linked with increased respiratory disorders in children, especially infants. Various studies have shown that passive smoking has taken a great toll on the lung function in children by having small decreases in pulmonary output function on both the large and small air passages when compared with the children of non-smokers. In children maternal smoking may lead to future health complications such as acute and chronic middle ear disease, childhood asthma, adulthood asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, antisocial behavior and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In severe circumstances, smoking has led to an increase of pregnancy loss and infant deaths, this in turn has greatly reduced life expectancy (Owing, 2005).

There is also a direct cost of smoking in monetary terms through treatment, and an indirect cost through the loss of productivity. The monetary cost of smoking has forced important resources which could have been used for family and economic use to be directed towards treatment. Such occurrence has increased the levels of poverty dramatically, especially in a scenario where the victim is the breadwinner. During this time of treatment the victim undergoes a dormancy period which in turn affects the greater economy due to loss of production (Mason, 2009).

According to the Globe and Mail article, ”Smoking is good for my business”, by David Ginsburg, he claims that some other school of thought have argued that the cigarette related to smoking has helped raise and sustain the economy through revenues from tobacco tax, and has helped put food on the table for various individuals by creating jobs. Therefore, some quarters may have the opinion that tobacco and the cigarette associated with it, is really good for business as from this various events have gained tobacco sponsorship. Author Ginsburg greatly opposes this kind of thought and opinion because it does not value the basic concept of life itself, and he goes ahead to give an example.

He states, ”suppose 350 people were to die from a plane crash, various government agencies would be involved and every news channel would give it a serious coverage, while the plane company would be in serious trouble” (Ginsburg, 1997). This kind of concern is not given on the equal toll on human life that is lost as a result of cigarette sales, simply on the basis that these sales are good for the economy, tobacco sponsorships and jobs. The author also states that, ” the families and friends of victims who have died through smoking should not be consoled on the justification that died for the economic good of the society and sponsorship deal”.

In my view and conclusion, cigarette smoking is by any means not justified because it does not add any value to the human life, instead, it only leaves families and the greater society in distress. Tough measures should be put in place and adhered to, to protect non-smokers from being passive smokers. Smoking has continued to wipe out generations while still leaving a burden to the future. Although it may be claimed that tobacco creates jobs and brings in revenues to the economy, I rest my case by saying that, what good is the economy when everyone is ailing and dying.

Ginsburg, D. (1997). Smoking is good for My Business . Globe and Mail.

Mason, P. (2009). Know the Facts about Drinking and Smoking . The Rosen Publishing Group. New York, NY. Web.

Owing, J. H. (2005). Trends in Smoking and Health Research . Nova Publishers. New York, NY. Web.

Slovic, P. (2001). Smoking: Risk, perception & policy . SAGE. California. Web.

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National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (US) Office on Smoking and Health. Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US); 2012.

Cover of Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults

Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General.

1 introduction, summary, and conclusions.

Introduction

Tobacco use is a global epidemic among young people. As with adults, it poses a serious health threat to youth and young adults in the United States and has significant implications for this nation’s public and economic health in the future ( Perry et al. 1994 ; Kessler 1995 ). The impact of cigarette smoking and other tobacco use on chronic disease, which accounts for 75% of American spending on health care ( Anderson 2010 ), is well-documented and undeniable. Although progress has been made since the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health in 1964 ( U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare [USDHEW] 1964 ), nearly one in four high school seniors is a current smoker. Most young smokers become adult smokers. One-half of adult smokers die prematurely from tobacco-related diseases ( Fagerström 2002 ; Doll et al. 2004 ). Despite thousands of programs to reduce youth smoking and hundreds of thousands of media stories on the dangers of tobacco use, generation after generation continues to use these deadly products, and family after family continues to suffer the devastating consequences. Yet a robust science base exists on social, biological, and environmental factors that influence young people to use tobacco, the physiology of progression from experimentation to addiction, other health effects of tobacco use, the epidemiology of youth and young adult tobacco use, and evidence-based interventions that have proven effective at reducing both initiation and prevalence of tobacco use among young people. Those are precisely the issues examined in this report, which aims to support the application of this robust science base.

Nearly all tobacco use begins in childhood and adolescence ( U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS] 1994 ). In all, 88% of adult smokers who smoke daily report that they started smoking by the age of 18 years (see Chapter 3 , “The Epidemiology of Tobacco Use Among Young People in the United States and Worldwide”). This is a time in life of great vulnerability to social influences ( Steinberg 2004 ), such as those offered through the marketing of tobacco products and the modeling of smoking by attractive role models, as in movies ( Dalton et al. 2009 ), which have especially strong effects on the young. This is also a time in life of heightened sensitivity to normative influences: as tobacco use is less tolerated in public areas and there are fewer social or regular users of tobacco, use decreases among youth ( Alesci et al. 2003 ). And so, as we adults quit, we help protect our children.

Cigarettes are the only legal consumer products in the world that cause one-half of their long-term users to die prematurely ( Fagerström 2002 ; Doll et al. 2004 ). As this epidemic continues to take its toll in the United States, it is also increasing in low- and middle-income countries that are least able to afford the resulting health and economic consequences ( Peto and Lopez 2001 ; Reddy et al. 2006 ). It is past time to end this epidemic. To do so, primary prevention is required, for which our focus must be on youth and young adults. As noted in this report, we now have a set of proven tools and policies that can drastically lower youth initiation and use of tobacco products. Fully committing to using these tools and executing these policies consistently and aggressively is the most straight forward and effective to making future generations tobacco-free.

The 1994 Surgeon General’s Report

This Surgeon General’s report on tobacco is the second to focus solely on young people since these reports began in 1964. Its main purpose is to update the science of smoking among youth since the first comprehensive Surgeon General’s report on tobacco use by youth, Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People , was published in 1994 ( USDHHS 1994 ). That report concluded that if young people can remain free of tobacco until 18 years of age, most will never start to smoke. The report documented the addiction process for young people and how the symptoms of addiction in youth are similar to those in adults. Tobacco was also presented as a gateway drug among young people, because its use generally precedes and increases the risk of using illicit drugs. Cigarette advertising and promotional activities were seen as a potent way to increase the risk of cigarette smoking among young people, while community-wide efforts were shown to have been successful in reducing tobacco use among youth. All of these conclusions remain important, relevant, and accurate, as documented in the current report, but there has been considerable research since 1994 that greatly expands our knowledge about tobacco use among youth, its prevention, and the dynamics of cessation among young people. Thus, there is a compelling need for the current report.

Tobacco Control Developments

Since 1994, multiple legal and scientific developments have altered the tobacco control environment and thus have affected smoking among youth. The states and the U.S. Department of Justice brought lawsuits against cigarette companies, with the result that many internal documents of the tobacco industry have been made public and have been analyzed and introduced into the science of tobacco control. Also, the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with the tobacco companies resulted in the elimination of billboard and transit advertising as well as print advertising that directly targeted underage youth and limitations on the use of brand sponsorships ( National Association of Attorneys General [NAAG] 1998 ). This settlement also created the American Legacy Foundation, which implemented a nationwide antismoking campaign targeting youth. In 2009, the U.S. Congress passed a law that gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products in order to promote the public’s health ( Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act 2009 ). Certain tobacco companies are now subject to regulations limiting their ability to market to young people. In addition, they have had to reimburse state governments (through agreements made with some states and the Master Settlement Agreement) for some health care costs. Due in part to these changes, there was a decrease in tobacco use among adults and among youth following the Master Settlement Agreement, which is documented in this current report.

Recent Surgeon General Reports Addressing Youth Issues

Other reports of the Surgeon General since 1994 have also included major conclusions that relate to tobacco use among youth ( Office of the Surgeon General 2010 ). In 1998, the report focused on tobacco use among U.S. racial/ethnic minority groups ( USDHHS 1998 ) and noted that cigarette smoking among Black and Hispanic youth increased in the 1990s following declines among all racial/ethnic groups in the 1980s; this was particularly notable among Black youth, and culturally appropriate interventions were suggested. In 2000, the report focused on reducing tobacco use ( USDHHS 2000b ). A major conclusion of that report was that school-based interventions, when implemented with community- and media-based activities, could reduce or postpone the onset of smoking among adolescents by 20–40%. That report also noted that effective regulation of tobacco advertising and promotional activities directed at young people would very likely reduce the prevalence and onset of smoking. In 2001, the Surgeon General’s report focused on women and smoking ( USDHHS 2001 ). Besides reinforcing much of what was discussed in earlier reports, this report documented that girls were more affected than boys by the desire to smoke for the purpose of weight control. Given the ongoing obesity epidemic ( Bonnie et al. 2007 ), the current report includes a more extensive review of research in this area.

The 2004 Surgeon General’s report on the health consequences of smoking ( USDHHS 2004 ) concluded that there is sufficient evidence to infer that a causal relationship exists between active smoking and (a) impaired lung growth during childhood and adolescence; (b) early onset of decline in lung function during late adolescence and early adulthood; (c) respiratory signs and symptoms in children and adolescents, including coughing, phlegm, wheezing, and dyspnea; and (d) asthma-related symptoms (e.g., wheezing) in childhood and adolescence. The 2004 Surgeon General’s report further provided evidence that cigarette smoking in young people is associated with the development of atherosclerosis.

The 2010 Surgeon General’s report on the biology of tobacco focused on the understanding of biological and behavioral mechanisms that might underlie the pathogenicity of tobacco smoke ( USDHHS 2010 ). Although there are no specific conclusions in that report regarding adolescent addiction, it does describe evidence indicating that adolescents can become dependent at even low levels of consumption. Two studies ( Adriani et al. 2003 ; Schochet et al. 2005 ) referenced in that report suggest that because the adolescent brain is still developing, it may be more susceptible and receptive to nicotine than the adult brain.

Scientific Reviews

Since 1994, several scientific reviews related to one or more aspects of tobacco use among youth have been undertaken that also serve as a foundation for the current report. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) ( Lynch and Bonnie 1994 ) released Growing Up Tobacco Free: Preventing Nicotine Addiction in Children and Youths, a report that provided policy recommendations based on research to that date. In 1998, IOM provided a white paper, Taking Action to Reduce Tobacco Use, on strategies to reduce the increasing prevalence (at that time) of smoking among young people and adults. More recently, IOM ( Bonnie et al. 2007 ) released a comprehensive report entitled Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation . Although that report covered multiple potential approaches to tobacco control, not just those focused on youth, it characterized the overarching goal of reducing smoking as involving three distinct steps: “reducing the rate of initiation of smoking among youth (IOM [ Lynch and Bonnie] 1994 ), reducing involuntary tobacco smoke exposure ( National Research Council 1986 ), and helping people quit smoking” (p. 3). Thus, reducing onset was seen as one of the primary goals of tobacco control.

As part of USDHHS continuing efforts to assess the health of the nation, prevent disease, and promote health, the department released, in 2000, Healthy People 2010 and, in 2010, Healthy People 2020 ( USDHHS 2000a , 2011 ). Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. For 3 decades, Healthy People has established benchmarks and monitored progress over time in order to encourage collaborations across sectors, guide individuals toward making informed health decisions, and measure the impact of prevention activities. Each iteration of Healthy People serves as the nation’s disease prevention and health promotion roadmap for the decade. Both Healthy People 2010 and Healthy People 2020 highlight “Tobacco Use” as one of the nation’s “Leading Health Indicators,” feature “Tobacco Use” as one of its topic areas, and identify specific measurable tobacco-related objectives and targets for the nation to strive for. Healthy People 2010 and Healthy People 2020 provide tobacco objectives based on the most current science and detailed population-based data to drive action, assess tobacco use among young people, and identify racial and ethnic disparities. Additionally, many of the Healthy People 2010 and 2020 tobacco objectives address reductions of tobacco use among youth and target decreases in tobacco advertising in venues most often influencing young people. A complete list of the healthy people 2020 objectives can be found on their Web site ( USDHHS 2011 ).

In addition, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health has published monographs pertinent to the topic of tobacco use among youth. In 2001, NCI published Monograph 14, Changing Adolescent Smoking Prevalence , which reviewed data on smoking among youth in the 1990s, highlighted important statewide intervention programs, presented data on the influence of marketing by the tobacco industry and the pricing of cigarettes, and examined differences in smoking by racial/ethnic subgroup ( NCI 2001 ). In 2008, NCI published Monograph 19, The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use ( NCI 2008 ). Although young people were not the sole focus of this Monograph, the causal relationship between tobacco advertising and promotion and increased tobacco use, the impact on youth of depictions of smoking in movies, and the success of media campaigns in reducing youth tobacco use were highlighted as major conclusions of the report.

The Community Preventive Services Task Force (2011) provides evidence-based recommendations about community preventive services, programs, and policies on a range of topics including tobacco use prevention and cessation ( Task Force on Community Preventive Services 2001 , 2005 ). Evidence reviews addressing interventions to reduce tobacco use initiation and restricting minors’ access to tobacco products were cited and used to inform the reviews in the current report. The Cochrane Collaboration (2010) has also substantially contributed to the review literature on youth and tobacco use by producing relevant systematic assessments of health-related programs and interventions. Relevant to this Surgeon General’s report are Cochrane reviews on interventions using mass media ( Sowden 1998 ), community interventions to prevent smoking ( Sowden and Stead 2003 ), the effects of advertising and promotional activities on smoking among youth ( Lovato et al. 2003 , 2011 ), preventing tobacco sales to minors ( Stead and Lancaster 2005 ), school-based programs ( Thomas and Perara 2006 ), programs for young people to quit using tobacco ( Grimshaw and Stanton 2006 ), and family programs for preventing smoking by youth ( Thomas et al. 2007 ). These reviews have been cited throughout the current report when appropriate.

In summary, substantial new research has added to our knowledge and understanding of tobacco use and control as it relates to youth since the 1994 Surgeon General’s report, including updates and new data in subsequent Surgeon General’s reports, in IOM reports, in NCI Monographs, and in Cochrane Collaboration reviews, in addition to hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, policy reports, and systematic reviews. Although this report is a follow-up to the 1994 report, other important reviews have been undertaken in the past 18 years and have served to fill the gap during an especially active and important time in research on tobacco control among youth.

Focus of the Report

Young People

This report focuses on “young people.” In general, work was reviewed on the health consequences, epidemiology, etiology, reduction, and prevention of tobacco use for those in the young adolescent (11–14 years of age), adolescent (15–17 years of age), and young adult (18–25 years of age) age groups. When possible, an effort was made to be specific about the age group to which a particular analysis, study, or conclusion applies. Because hundreds of articles, books, and reports were reviewed, however, there are, unavoidably, inconsistencies in the terminology used. “Adolescents,” “children,” and “youth” are used mostly interchangeably throughout this report. In general, this group encompasses those 11–17 years of age, although “children” is a more general term that will include those younger than 11 years of age. Generally, those who are 18–25 years old are considered young adults (even though, developmentally, the period between 18–20 years of age is often labeled late adolescence), and those 26 years of age or older are considered adults.

In addition, it is important to note that the report is concerned with active smoking or use of smokeless tobacco on the part of the young person. The report does not consider young people’s exposure to secondhand smoke, also referred to as involuntary or passive smoking, which was discussed in the 2006 report of the Surgeon General ( USDHHS 2006 ). Additionally, the report does not discuss research on children younger than 11 years old; there is very little evidence of tobacco use in the United States by children younger than 11 years of age, and although there may be some predictors of later tobacco use in those younger years, the research on active tobacco use among youth has been focused on those 11 years of age and older.

Tobacco Use

Although cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use in the United States, this report focuses on other forms as well, such as using smokeless tobacco (including chew and snuff) and smoking a product other than a cigarette, such as a pipe, cigar, or bidi (tobacco wrapped in tendu leaves). Because for young people the use of one form of tobacco has been associated with use of other tobacco products, it is particularly important to monitor all forms of tobacco use in this age group. The term “tobacco use” in this report indicates use of any tobacco product. When the word “smoking” is used alone, it refers to cigarette smoking.

Organization of the Report

This chapter begins by providing a short synopsis of other reports that have addressed smoking among youth and, after listing the major conclusions of this report, will end by presenting conclusions specific to each chapter. Chapter 2 of this report (“The Health Consequences of Tobacco Use Among Young People”) focuses on the diseases caused by early tobacco use, the addiction process, the relation of body weight to smoking, respiratory and pulmonary problems associated with tobacco use, and cardiovascular effects. Chapter 3 (“The Epidemiology of Tobacco Use Among Young People in the United States and Worldwide”) provides recent and long-term cross-sectional and longitudinal data on cigarette smoking, use of smokeless tobacco, and the use of other tobacco products by young people, by racial/ethnic group and gender, primarily in the United States, but including some worldwide data as well. Chapter 4 (“Social, Environmental, Cognitive, and Genetic Influences on the Use of Tobacco Among Youth”) identifies the primary risk factors associated with tobacco use among youth at four levels, including the larger social and physical environments, smaller social groups, cognitive factors, and genetics and neurobiology. Chapter 5 (“The Tobacco Industry’s Influences on the Use of Tobacco Among Youth”) includes data on marketing expenditures for the tobacco industry over time and by category, the effects of cigarette advertising and promotional activities on young people’s smoking, the effects of price and packaging on use, the use of the Internet and movies to market tobacco products, and an evaluation of efforts by the tobacco industry to prevent tobacco use among young people. Chapter 6 (“Efforts to Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use Among Young People”) provides evidence on the effectiveness of family-based, clinic-based, and school-based programs, mass media campaigns, regulatory and legislative approaches, increased cigarette prices, and community and statewide efforts in the fight against tobacco use among youth. Chapter 7 (“A Vision for Ending the Tobacco Epidemic”) points to next steps in preventing and reducing tobacco use among young people.

Preparation of the Report

This report of the Surgeon General was prepared by the Office on Smoking and Health (OSH), National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USDHHS. In 2008, 18 external independent scientists reviewed the 1994 report and suggested areas to be added and updated. These scientists also suggested chapter editors and a senior scientific editor, who were contacted by OSH. Each chapter editor named external scientists who could contribute, and 33 content experts prepared draft sections. The draft sections were consolidated into chapters by the chapter editors and then reviewed by the senior scientific editor, with technical editing performed by CDC. The chapters were sent individually to 34 peer reviewers who are experts in the areas covered and who reviewed the chapters for scientific accuracy and comprehensiveness. The entire manuscript was then sent to more than 25 external senior scientists who reviewed the science of the entire document. After each review cycle, the drafts were revised by the chapter and senior scientific editor on the basis of the experts’ comments. Subsequently, the report was reviewed by various agencies within USDHHS. Publication lags prevent up-to-the-minute inclusion of all recently published articles and data, and so some more recent publications may not be cited in this report.

Evaluation of the Evidence

Since the first Surgeon General’s report in 1964 on smoking and health ( USDHEW 1964 ), major conclusions concerning the conditions and diseases caused by cigarette smoking and the use of smokeless tobacco have been based on explicit criteria for causal inference ( USDHHS 2004 ). Although a number of different criteria have been proposed for causal inference since the 1960s, this report focuses on the five commonly accepted criteria that were used in the original 1964 report and that are discussed in greater detail in the 2004 report on the health consequences of smoking ( USDHHS 2004 ). The five criteria refer to the examination of the association between two variables, such as a risk factor (e.g., smoking) and an outcome (e.g., lung cancer). Causal inference between these variables is based on (1) the consistency of the association across multiple studies; this is the persistent finding of an association in different persons, places, circumstances, and times; (2) the degree of the strength of association, that is, the magnitude and statistical significance of the association in multiple studies; (3) the specificity of the association to clearly demonstrate that tobacco use is robustly associated with the condition, even if tobacco use has multiple effects and multiple causes exist for the condition; (4) the temporal relationship of the association so that tobacco use precedes disease onset; and (5) the coherence of the association, that is, the argument that the association makes scientific sense, given data from other sources and understanding of biological and psychosocial mechanisms ( USDHHS 2004 ). Since the 2004 Surgeon General’s report, The Health Consequences of Smoking , a four-level hierarchy ( Table 1.1 ) has been used to assess the research data on associations discussed in these reports ( USDHHS 2004 ). In general, this assessment was done by the chapter editors and then reviewed as appropriate by peer reviewers, senior scientists, and the scientific editors. For a relationship to be considered sufficient to be characterized as causal, multiple studies over time provided evidence in support of each criteria.

Four-level hierarchy for classifying the strength of causal inferences based on available evidence.

When a causal association is presented in the chapter conclusions in this report, these four levels are used to describe the strength of the evidence of the association, from causal (1) to not causal (4). Within the report, other terms are used to discuss the evidence to date (i.e., mixed, limited, and equivocal evidence), which generally represent an inadequacy of data to inform a conclusion.

However, an assessment of a casual relationship is not utilized in presenting all of the report’s conclusions. The major conclusions are written to be important summary statements that are easily understood by those reading the report. Some conclusions, particularly those found in Chapter 3 (epidemiology), provide observations and data related to tobacco use among young people, and are generally not examinations of causal relationships. For those conclusions that are written using the hierarchy above, a careful and extensive review of the literature has been undertaken for this report, based on the accepted causal criteria ( USDHHS 2004 ). Evidence that was characterized as Level 1 or Level 2 was prioritized for inclusion as chapter conclusions.

In additional to causal inferences, statistical estimation and hypothesis testing of associations are presented. For example, confidence intervals have been added to the tables in the chapter on the epidemiology of youth tobacco use (see Chapter 3 ), and statistical testing has been conducted for that chapter when appropriate. The chapter on efforts to prevent tobacco use discusses the relative improvement in tobacco use rates when implementing one type of program (or policy) versus a control program. Statistical methods, including meta-analytic methods and longitudinal trajectory analyses, are also presented to ensure that the methods of evaluating data are up to date with the current cutting-edge research that has been reviewed. Regardless of the methods used to assess significance, the five causal criteria discussed above were applied in developing the conclusions of each chapter and the report.

Major Conclusions
Cigarette smoking by youth and young adults has immediate adverse health consequences, including addiction, and accelerates the development of chronic diseases across the full life course.
Prevention efforts must focus on both adolescents and young adults because among adults who become daily smokers, nearly all first use of cigarettes occurs by 18 years of age (88%), with 99% of first use by 26 years of age.
Advertising and promotional activities by tobacco companies have been shown to cause the onset and continuation of smoking among adolescents and young adults.
After years of steady progress, declines in the use of tobacco by youth and young adults have slowed for cigarette smoking and stalled for smokeless tobacco use.
Coordinated, multicomponent interventions that combine mass media campaigns, price increases including those that result from tax increases, school-based policies and programs, and statewide or community-wide changes in smoke-free policies and norms are effective in reducing the initiation, prevalence, and intensity of smoking among youth and young adults.
Chapter Conclusions

The following are the conclusions presented in the substantive chapters of this report.

Chapter 2. The Health Consequences of Tobacco Use Among Young People

The evidence is sufficient to conclude that there is a causal relationship between smoking and addiction to nicotine, beginning in adolescence and young adulthood.
The evidence is suggestive but not sufficient to conclude that smoking contributes to future use of marijuana and other illicit drugs.
The evidence is suggestive but not sufficient to conclude that smoking by adolescents and young adults is not associated with significant weight loss, contrary to young people’s beliefs.
The evidence is sufficient to conclude that there is a causal relationship between active smoking and both reduced lung function and impaired lung growth during childhood and adolescence.
The evidence is sufficient to conclude that there is a causal relationship between active smoking and wheezing severe enough to be diagnosed as asthma in susceptible child and adolescent populations.
The evidence is sufficient to conclude that there is a causal relationship between smoking in adolescence and young adulthood and early abdominal aortic atherosclerosis in young adults.
The evidence is suggestive but not sufficient to conclude that there is a causal relationship between smoking in adolescence and young adulthood and coronary artery atherosclerosis in adulthood.

Chapter 3. The Epidemiology of Tobacco Use Among Young People in the United States and Worldwide

Among adults who become daily smokers, nearly all first use of cigarettes occurs by 18 years of age (88%), with 99% of first use by 26 years of age.
Almost one in four high school seniors is a current (in the past 30 days) cigarette smoker, compared with one in three young adults and one in five adults. About 1 in 10 high school senior males is a current smokeless tobacco user, and about 1 in 5 high school senior males is a current cigar smoker.
Among adolescents and young adults, cigarette smoking declined from the late 1990s, particularly after the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998. This decline has slowed in recent years, however.
Significant disparities in tobacco use remain among young people nationwide. The prevalence of cigarette smoking is highest among American Indians and Alaska Natives, followed by Whites and Hispanics, and then Asians and Blacks. The prevalence of cigarette smoking is also highest among lower socioeconomic status youth.
Use of smokeless tobacco and cigars declined in the late 1990s, but the declines appear to have stalled in the last 5 years. The latest data show the use of smokeless tobacco is increasing among White high school males, and cigar smoking may be increasing among Black high school females.
Concurrent use of multiple tobacco products is prevalent among youth. Among those who use tobacco, nearly one-third of high school females and more than one-half of high school males report using more than one tobacco product in the last 30 days.
Rates of tobacco use remain low among girls relative to boys in many developing countries, however, the gender gap between adolescent females and males is narrow in many countries around the globe.

Chapter 4. Social, Environmental, Cognitive, and Genetic Influences on the Use of Tobacco Among Youth

Given their developmental stage, adolescents and young adults are uniquely susceptible to social and environmental influences to use tobacco.
Socioeconomic factors and educational attainment influence the development of youth smoking behavior. The adolescents most likely to begin to use tobacco and progress to regular use are those who have lower academic achievement.
The evidence is sufficient to conclude that there is a causal relationship between peer group social influences and the initiation and maintenance of smoking behaviors during adolescence.
Affective processes play an important role in youth smoking behavior, with a strong association between youth smoking and negative affect.
The evidence is suggestive that tobacco use is a heritable trait, more so for regular use than for onset. The expression of genetic risk for smoking among young people may be moderated by small-group and larger social-environmental factors.

Chapter 5. The Tobacco Industry’s Influences on the Use of Tobacco Among Youth

In 2008, tobacco companies spent $9.94 billion on the marketing of cigarettes and $547 million on the marketing of smokeless tobacco. Spending on cigarette marketing is 48% higher than in 1998, the year of the Master Settlement Agreement. Expenditures for marketing smokeless tobacco are 277% higher than in 1998.
Tobacco company expenditures have become increasingly concentrated on marketing efforts that reduce the prices of targeted tobacco products. Such expenditures accounted for approximately 84% of cigarette marketing and more than 77% of the marketing of smokeless tobacco products in 2008.
The evidence is sufficient to conclude that there is a causal relationship between advertising and promotional efforts of the tobacco companies and the initiation and progression of tobacco use among young people.
The evidence is suggestive but not sufficient to conclude that tobacco companies have changed the packaging and design of their products in ways that have increased these products’ appeal to adolescents and young adults.
The tobacco companies’ activities and programs for the prevention of youth smoking have not demonstrated an impact on the initiation or prevalence of smoking among young people.
The evidence is sufficient to conclude that there is a causal relationship between depictions of smoking in the movies and the initiation of smoking among young people.

Chapter 6. Efforts to Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use Among Young People

The evidence is sufficient to conclude that mass media campaigns, comprehensive community programs, and comprehensive statewide tobacco control programs can prevent the initiation of tobacco use and reduce its prevalence among youth.
The evidence is sufficient to conclude that increases in cigarette prices reduce the initiation, prevalence, and intensity of smoking among youth and young adults.
The evidence is sufficient to conclude that school-based programs with evidence of effectiveness, containing specific components, can produce at least short-term effects and reduce the prevalence of tobacco use among school-aged youth.
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Cite this Page National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (US) Office on Smoking and Health. Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US); 2012. 1, Introduction, Summary, and Conclusions.
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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Smoking — The Dangers Of Smoke From Cigarettes

The Dangers of Smoke from Cigarettes

Categories: Medicare Smoking

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Published: Mar 18, 2021

Words: 1653 | Pages: 4 | 9 min read

Works Cited

The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team. 'Why People Start Using Tobacco, and Why It's Hard to Stop.' cancer.org, American Cancer Society, 13 Nov. 2015, www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/ tobacco-and-cancer/why-people-start-using-tobacco.html.
Feldscher, Karen. 'Home stress, work stress linked with increased smoking.' hsph.harvard.edu, The President and Fellows of Harvard College, 12 Sept. 2012, www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/ nelson-work-family-conflict-smoking/.
Hertel, Andrew W., and Robin J. Mermelstein. 'Smoker Identity and Smoking Escalation Among Adolescents.' Health Psychology, vol. 31, July 2012, pp. 467-75. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, doi:10.1037/a0028923.
King, Heidi Tyline. 'What Happens to Your Body When You Take a Puff of a Cigarette?' keckmedicine.org, Keck Medicine of USC, www.keckmedicine.org/ what-happens-to-your-body-when-you-take-a-puff-of-a-cigarette/.
Landry, Sue. 'He Wanted You to Know.' whyquit.com, edited by John R. Polito, Whyquit.com, 15 July 1999, whyquit.com/whyquit/BryanLeeCurtis.html.
Mental Health Foundation. 'Smoking and mental health.' mentalhealth.org.uk, Mental Health Foundation, www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/ smoking-and-mental-health.
Office on Smoking and Health, and National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 'Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke.' cdc.gov, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 17 Jan. 2018, www.cdc.gov/tobacco/ data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/health_effects/index.htm.
Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 'Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking.' cdc.gov, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 17 Jan. 2000, www.cdc.gov/tobacco/ data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking/index.htm. Accessed 15 Sept. 2019.

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Cause and Effects of Smoking Cigarettes, Essay Example
According to the CDC (2014), smoking cigarettes causes a handful of diseases because it adversely impacts almost all bodily organs and detracts from the general health of enthusiastic smokers. The risk of developing coronary heart disease (COPD), various cardiovascular maladies, and stroke-the leading cause of death in the United States alone ...
Tobacco smoking: Health impact, prevalence, correlates and
Background and objectives: Despite reductions in prevalence in recent years, tobacco smoking remains one of the main preventable causes of ill-health and premature death worldwide.This paper reviews the extent and nature of harms caused by smoking, the benefits of stopping, patterns of smoking, psychological, pharmacological and social factors that contribute to uptake and maintenance of ...
Argumentative Essay on Smoking Cigarettes
The dangers of smoking cigarettes have been well-documented, yet millions of people continue to engage in this harmful habit. The debate over the impact of smoking on public health is ongoing, with some arguing for stricter regulations and others advocating for personal freedom. In this essay, we will explore the various arguments surrounding smoking cigarettes and ultimately make the case for ...
Health Risks of Smoking Tobacco
Smoking can affect a person's health in many other ways as well, harming nearly every organ in the body. Here are a few examples of other ways smoking tobacco can affect your health: Increased risk of gum disease and tooth loss. Lowered immune system function. Increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
The Dangers of Smoking and Its Prevent
Through passive means smoking has left non-smokers with sore eyes, coughs, sore throats, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and such effects can prove to be deplorable for people who are ill or have breathing difficulties, by increasing the asperity of asthma attacks (Slovic, 2001). Active smoking can also cause various cancers and serious chest ...
The Effects of Smoking on the Body
blood vessels. Nicotine causes blood vessels to tighten, which restricts the flow of blood. Smoking also raises blood pressure, weakens blood vessel walls, and increases your risk of blood clots ...
Health effects associated with smoking: a Burden of Proof study
We identified three outcomes with a 4-star association with smoking: COPD (72% increase in risk based on the BPRF, 0.54 ROS), lower respiratory tract infection (54%, 0.43) and pancreatic cancer (52%, 0.42). In the present study, we provide detailed results for one example 4-star association: current smoking and COPD.
1 Introduction, Summary, and Conclusions
Tobacco use is a global epidemic among young people. As with adults, it poses a serious health threat to youth and young adults in the United States and has significant implications for this nation's public and economic health in the future (Perry et al. 1994; Kessler 1995). The impact of cigarette smoking and other tobacco use on chronic disease, which accounts for 75% of American spending ...
The Dangers of Smoke from Cigarettes
This not only imposes a threat on the smoker, but everyone who breathes in the air around them. After becoming exceptionally popular in the 1980s, smoking cigarettes has become a worldwide epidemic. The aim of this essay is to educate younger generations about the dangers of smoke.

Essay on Smoking

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Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking

Harms of Cigarette Smoking and Health Benefits of Quitting

What are some of the health problems caused by cigarette smoking?

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Essay on Effects of Smoking

100 Words Essay on Effects of Smoking

Health Risks

Effects on Non-smokers

Long-term Consequences

250 Words Essay on Effects of Smoking

Health Implications

Social and Economic Impact

Psychological Consequences

500 Words Essay on Effects of Smoking

Health Effects of Smoking

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Leading cause of death, illness and impoverishment

Key measures to reduce the demand for tobacco

Second-hand smoke kills

Tobacco users need help to quit

Pictorial health warnings work

Bans on tobacco advertising lower consumption

Taxes are effective in reducing tobacco use

Smoking: Causes and Effects Essay

Works Cited

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Smoking Rates among Adults & Youth

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Cause and Effects of Smoking Cigarettes, Essay Example

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Health Risks of Smoking Tobacco

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The Dangers of Smoking and Its Prevent

Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General.

The 1994 Surgeon General’s Report

Tobacco Control Developments

Recent Surgeon General Reports Addressing Youth Issues

Scientific Reviews

Young People

Tobacco Use

Chapter 2. The Health Consequences of Tobacco Use Among Young People

Chapter 3. The Epidemiology of Tobacco Use Among Young People in the United States and Worldwide

Chapter 4. Social, Environmental, Cognitive, and Genetic Influences on the Use of Tobacco Among Youth