The Dangers of Smoking

We have all learned about the dangers of cigarettes, but their impact reaches far beyond personal health. From immediate effects on the body to long-term chronic diseases, from secondhand smoke risks to environmental damage, smoking affects nearly every part of our lives. With nearly half a million American lives lost each year, understanding the full scope is crucial to create change.

History of Smoking

Cigarettes have a thousand-year long history. However, tobacco companies’ deceptive marketing tactics are much more recent. They have used everything from cartoon characters to empty promises about masculinity and femininity to sell their product. Once concerns about the dangers of smoking and health effects became known to the public, Big Tobacco even hired doctors to endorse their products. Now, they turn to clever lies about mental health and culture to meet their sales quotas.

Cigarette Facts

One of the most alarming aspects of cigarette smoke is the sheer number of harmful chemicals present. When burned, cigarettes release over 7,000 chemicals, many of which are poisonous and at least 70 are known carcinogens, meaning they cause cancer.

Those chemicals include:

• Acetone (found in nail polish remover)
• Acetic acid (found in vinegar)
• Ammonia (found in toilet cleaner)
• Arsenic (found in rat poison)
• Benzene (found in rubber cement)
• Butane (found in lighter fluid)
• Cadmium (found in battery acid)
• Carbon monoxide (found in car exhaust)
• Formaldehyde (found in embalming fluid)
• Hexamine (found in lighter fluid)
• Lead (found in batteries)
• Naphthalene (found in moth balls)
• Methane (found in sewer gas)
• Methanol (found in rocket fuel)
• Nicotine (found in insecticide)
• Tar (found in paint)
• Toluene (found in industrial solvent)

The Health Impacts of Cigarettes

Short-Term Health Effects

The dangers of cigarettes become evident almost immediately after the first use. Symptoms include:

• Increased heart rate and blood pressure
• Coughing
• Reduced taste and smell
• Shortness of breath
• Irritation of the eyes, nose and throat
• Fatigue
• Reduced oxygen supply to the body’s tissues

Nicotine addiction can happen within 10 seconds of puffing a cigarette. The chemical reaches your brain and regulates your feeling of pleasure. When this effect wears off, it causes you to crave more, which makes it difficult to quit smoking.

Long-Term Health Effects

The long-term dangers of cigarettes are well-documented and devastating. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States — costing nearly half a million Americans their lives every year. It’s also the main culprit for several chronic and severe diseases and complications, including:

• Cancer: According to the American Cancer Society, smoking causes 20% of all cancers and 30% of all cancer-related deaths in the U.S. Smoking increases the risk of several types of cancer, most notably including:
  • Lung
  • Mouth
  • Larynx
  • Esophagus
  • Kidney
  • Cervix
  • Bladder
  • Pancreas
  • Stomach
  • Colon
  • Acute myeloid leukemia
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Smoking damages the lung’s small airways making it hard for the body to get oxygen. This causes labored breathing, wheezing and restlessness. Overtime, COPD can lead to mucus buildup in the lungs. There is no cure for COPD.
• Lung infections: People who smoke are at an increased risk of pneumonia and tuberculosis.
• Coronary heart disease: Smoking can prohibit the heart from supplying blood to the rest of the body. This can lead to:
  • Heart attack
  • Stroke
  • Blood clots
  • Plaque build up
• Infertility: Women who smoke are more likely to have trouble conceiving. Smoking can also cause complications during pregnancy which can lead to low birth weight, delayed development, breathing issues, trouble feeding or even miscarriage or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Smoking can also negatively impact the male reproductive system.
• Diabetes: People who smoke have a 30-40% higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes than nonsmokers. It can also make insulin less effective for individuals who suffer from Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

The dangers of cigarettes extend beyond life-threatening and chronic diseases. It can also lead to:

• Gum disease and tooth loss
• Bad breath
• Decreased immune system
• Slowed wound healing
• Decreased bone density

Mental health is also included among the dangers of cigarettes, mostly due to nicotine. Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical found in cigarettes, and toxic at certain doses. It is the chemical that keeps users hooked. It negatively affects the brain, nervous system and heart, and can cause detrimental mental health issues, such as:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Irritability
• Trouble focusing
• Learning disabilities
• Mood swings

Secondhand Smoke Health Effects

The dangers of cigarettes extend beyond the person using them. Secondhand smoke is a combination of smoke burning from a cigarette, and the smoke exhaled by a tobacco user. It may seem like a hazy inconvenience or off-putting smell, but it is more than just a nuisance. Secondhand smoke exposes everyone nearby to the same dangerous toxins as smoking. In fact, it only takes 30 minutes of exposure to cause heart damage like that experienced by an everyday smoker — and the effects of secondhand smoke cause at least 41,000 deaths among nonsmoking adults each year.

When it comes to the dangers of cigarettes, no level of exposure to secondhand smoke is “safe” — it is classified as a Class A carcinogen. Smoking inside, no matter the room, will expose everyone indoors to the toxic chemicals. Cigarette smoke travels through ventilation systems, outlets, floorboards, jacks, light fixtures and cracks in the wall.

The health risks associated with secondhand smoke include but are not limited to:

• Bronchitis
• Increased asthma attacks
• Ear infections
• Pneumonia
• Respiratory infections
• Stroke
• Lung cancer
• COPD
• Reduced fertility

The Path Forward

The key to cutting cigarette smoking is knowledge, and we’ve had a few recent wins in that area. A federal appeals court upheld the FDA’s rule requiring visual or graphic health warnings on cigarette packs and ads. This puts the dangers of cigarettes front and center. The ruling gives the U.S. an opportunity to catch up with 138 countries who have already implemented this evidence-backed labeling.

Another huge success came in 2019, when the minimum age to purchase tobacco was raised 3 years, also known as Tobacco 21. This change cut cigarette access to our most vulnerable groups: children and teens. But there is still more to do.

While lower taxes keep cigarettes affordable, flavors like menthol hide the dangers of cigarettes behind a minty mask. This makes cigarettes enticing to everyone, but especially kids. Action is needed to target the tobacco industry’s blatant targeting of youth and low-income Americans.

If you or someone you know is thinking about quitting cigarettes, the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline offers FREE support, such as patches, gum or lozenges. Visit OKhelpline.com to learn more.