Health Problems Linked to Smoking Tobacco :: Papers

Health Problems Linked to Smoking Tobacco It is a universally accepted fact that smoking cigarettes or tobacco is detrimental to your health. There is an endless list of health problems that are directly caused or affected by smoking, including lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and emphysema. Short-term effects of smoking include a significant increase in heart rate and a drop in skin temperature. Respiration rate is also increased. In novice smokers, diarrhea and vomiting may occur. Although the central nervous system is, in fact, stimulated by smoking, smokers usually feel it relaxes them. Long-term effects are mainly on the bronchiopulmonary and cardiovascular systems. Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer (related to 90% of all lung cancer cases). Other factors, notably industrial carcinogens may be involved, especially among smokers. An average smoker is ten times more likely to get lung cancer than in a nonsmoker. Smoking is estimated to be responsible for 30% of all cancer deaths. It is also associated with cancers of the mouth, throat, colon, pancreas, bladder, kidneys, stomach, and cervix, and related to 75% of chronic bronchitis cases and 80% of emphysema cases. Tobacco also affects the digestive system. Gastric and duodenal (the upper section of the small intestine) ulcers are twice as common and twice as likely to cause death in smokers as in nonsmokers. Skin wounds may heal less quickly in smokers, partly because smoking depletes the body of vitamin C. Smokers may also have less effective immune systems than nonsmokers. Tobacco use is associated with 25% to 30% of all cardiovascular disease. Smokers have a 70% higher rate of coronary heart disease than nonsmokers, nearly twice the risk of heart attack, and five times the risk of stroke. Tobacco use can lead to physical and psychological dependence on nicotine, particularly in cigarette smokers. The United States Surgeon General's 1988 report states that "cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are just as addicting as heroin and cocaine." People who are physically dependent on tobacco suffer a withdrawal reaction when they stop using it. Some signs of withdrawal are: irritability, anxiety, headaches, sleep disturbances (insomnia or drowsiness), difficulty concentrating, decreased heart rate and increased appetite, and a craving for nicotine.