Smoking damages every part of the body, there is no organ that it does not touch. It causes many diseases. It reduces the quality and enjoyment of life and also reduces the life expectancy of a smoker.
Smoking has a devastating effect on the individual and their family and friends. And yet, every day nearly 6,000 children under the age of 18 start smoking; of these, nearly 2,000 will become regular smokers. That’s almost 800,000 a year. It is estimated that at least 4.5 million American teenagers are cigarette smokers, and approximately 90 percent of smokers start before the age of 21. Smoking cigarettes during childhood and adolescence causes significant health problems. These problems include the production of cough and phlegm, an increase in the number and severity of respiratory illnesses, decreased physical fitness, an unfavorable blood lipid profile, and a possible slowing of lung growth rate and blood glucose level. maximum lung function. It is estimated that 440,000 Americans die each year from diseases caused by smoking.
It has been estimated that in England 364,000 patients are admitted to hospital each year due to illnesses caused by smoking. This is 7,000 hospital admissions per week, or 1,000 per day. For every death caused by smoking, approximately 20 smokers suffer from a smoking-related disease. In 1997/98, cigarette smoking caused approximately 480,000 patients to consult their physician for heart disease, 20,000 for stroke, and nearly 600,000 for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Half of all teens who currently smoke will die from diseases caused by cigarette smoke if they continue to smoke. A quarter will die before the age of 70, losing an average of 21 years of life. It is estimated that between 1950 and 2000 six million Britons, 60 million people worldwide, died from tobacco-related diseases. One in two long-term smokers will die prematurely as a result of smoking, half of them in middle age. Most die from one of the three main diseases associated with smoking: lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (bronchitis and emphysema), and coronary heart disease.
In the United Kingdom, deaths from smoking are five times higher than the 22,833 deaths from: traffic accidents (3,439); poisoning and overdose (881); alcoholic liver disease (5,121); other accidental deaths (8,579); murder and manslaughter (513); suicide (4,066); and HIV infection (234). Worldwide, nearly 5 million die prematurely each year as a result of smoking.
Smokers also face a higher risk than nonsmokers of developing many medical conditions that may not be fatal but can cause years of debilitating illness or other problems. These conditions include the following:
Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (gum disease)
Angina (20 x risk)
Back pain
Buerger’s disease (severe circulatory disease)
Cataract (2x risk)
Cataract, posterior subcapsular (3 x risk)
colon polyps
Crohn’s disease (chronic inflamed intestine)
Depression
Diabetes (type 2, non-insulin dependent)
duodenal ulcer
Hearing loss
Impotence (2 x risk)
Influenza
ligament injuries
Macular degeneration (eyes, 2 x risk)
muscle injuries
Neck Pain
Nystagmus (abnormal eye movements)
Ocular histoplasmosis (fungal eye infection)
Optic neuropathy (vision loss, 16 x risk)
Osteoarthritis
Osteoporosis (in both sexes)
Penis (Erectile Dysfunction)
Peripheral vascular disease
Pneumonia
Psoriasis (2x risk)
Rheumatoid arthritis (for heavy smokers)
Skin wrinkles (2 x risk)
stomach ulcer
tendon injuries
Tobacco Amblyopia (vision loss)
tooth loss
Tuberculosis
This means that the smoker has circulatory, auditory, visual, joint, muscular, sexual, digestive, pulmonary, skin and other problems; not a pretty picture. This list does not include the various types of cancer smokers are prone to: cancers such as mouth, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, stomach, and leukemia. The list also doesn’t include the fact that circulation problems can lead to gangrene (tissue death) that requires amputations. There are also functions that are affected in smokers. These include:
Cumshot (reduced volume)
Fertility (30% lower in women)
Immune system (odd)
Menopause (onset 1.74 years earlier on average)
Reduced sperm count
Sperm less able to penetrate the egg.
impaired sperm motility
Increased abnormalities in the shape of sperm
The life of a smoker is not easy. The suffering and disease caused by smoking is serious. The only way to make sure you don’t have this pain and suffering is to not smoke. If you currently smoke, then you need to quit. Quitting smoking is not easy; however, you don’t have to go through the quitting process alone; You can receive guidance, support and assistance.
References
Smoking-Attributable Morbidity – United States, 2000. MMWR Weekly Report, September 5. 2003.
Cigarettes: What the Warning Label Doesn’t Tell You. American Council on Science and Health, 1997.
Mortality statistics 2002. Office for National Statistics, 2002; Scottish General Register Office, 2002; Registrar General of Northern Ireland, Annual Report, Statistics and Research Agency, 2002.
Nicotine addiction in Britain. A report of the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians. RCP, 2000 (percentage of deaths related to smoking).
Mortality statistics 2002. Office for National Statistics, 2002; Scottish General Register Office, 2002; Registrar General of Northern Ireland, Annual Report, Statistics and Research Agency, 2002.
Peto R. Mortality in relation to smoking: 40-year observations on male British physicians. BMJ 1994; 309: 901-911.
World Health Report 2003. World Health Organization, 2003.
