The main health
risks in tobacco pertain to diseases of the cardiovascular
system, in particular myocardial infarction (heart attack),
diseases of the respiratory tract such as Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma, emphysema, and cancer,
particularly lung cancer and cancers of the larynx and tongue.
A person's increased risk of contracting disease is directly
proportional to the length of time that a person continues to
smoke as well as the amount smoked. However, if someone stops
smoking, then these chances gradually decrease as the damage to
their body is repaired. A year after quitting, the risk of
contracting heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker.
The health risks of smoking are not uniform across all smokers.
Risks vary according to amount of tobacco smoked, with those who
smoke more at greater risk. Light smoking is still a health
risk. According to the Surgeon General of The United States,
mortality rates for pipe smokers and cigar smokers who smoke
less than five cigars per day are roughly the same as for
non-smokers. The data regarding smoking to date focuses
primarily on cigarette smoking, which even by conservative
estimates increases mortality rates by 40%. Men who smoke 10-19
cigarettes a day have a 70% increase in mortality rates, men who
smoke 20-39 cigarettes a day have an increase in mortality rate
by 90%, for men smoking two packs a day or more, their mortality
rates increased 120%. Some studies suggests that hookah smoking
is considered to be safer than other forms of smoking. However,
water is not effective for removing all relevant toxins, e.g.
the carcinogenic aromatic hydrocarbons are not water-soluble.
Several negative health effects are linked to hookah smoking and
studies indicate that it is likely to be more harmful than
cigarettes, due in part to the volume of smoke inhaled. In
addition to the cancer risk, there is some risk of infectious
disease resulting from pipe sharing, and other risks associated
with the common addition of other psychoactive drugs to the
tobacco. According to the Canadian Lung Association, tobacco
kills between 40,000–45,000 Canadians per year, more than the
total number of deaths from AIDS, traffic accidents, suicide,
murder, fires and accidental poisoning. The United States'
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes tobacco use
as "the single most important preventable risk to human health
in developed countries and an important cause of premature death
worldwide".
Carcinogenicity >>
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Tobacco smoking
Methods of smoking
Health effects
1.
Establishing a link between smoking and health effects
2. Health risks of smoking
2.1 Carcinogenicity
2.2 Effects on the heart
2.3 Smoker's attitudes
3. Passive smoking
4. Somatic and psychological effects
5. Mood and anxiety disorders
6. Health benefits of smoking
Effects of the habit and
industry on society
1. Effect on healthcare costs
2. Tobacco and other drugs
3. Advertising
4. Peer pressure
5. Parental smoking
6. Smoking in movies and television
7. The use of smoking to project an image
Religious views
on smoking Smoking cessation
Legal issues and
regulation
1. Age restrictions
2. Taxation
3. Restrictions on cigarette advertising
4. Package warnings
5. Smoking bans
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