Thank you for smoking

Bulletin Board By Sophia Brancazio

Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH

Thank youfor smoking

Smoking Harms Every Organ in the Body.

• The adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 443,000 deaths, or nearly one of every five deaths, each year in the United States.

• More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.

• Smoking causes an estimated 90% of all lung cancer deaths in men and 80% of all lung cancer deaths in women.

• An estimated 90% of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung disease are caused by smoking.

Compared with nonsmokers, smoking is estimated to increase the risk of—

• coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times• stroke by 2 to 4 times• men developing lung cancer by 23 times• women developing lung cancer by 13 times,

and• dying from chronic obstructive lung

diseases (such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema) by 12 to 13 times.

SMOKING has been related to Cancer…

• Acute myeloid leukemia• Bladder cancer• Cancer of the cervix• Cancer of the esophagus• Kidney cancer• Cancer of the larynx

(voice box)

• Lung cancer• Cancer of the oral cavity

(mouth)• Cancer of the pharynx

(throat)• Stomach cancer• Cancer of the uterus

Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease

• Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

• Cigarette smoking causes reduced circulation by narrowing the blood vessels (arteries) and puts smokers at risk of developing peripheral vascular disease (i.e., obstruction of the large arteries in the arms and legs that can cause a range of problems from pain to tissue loss or gangrene).

• Smoking causes abdominal aortic aneurysm (i.e., a swelling or weakening of the main artery of the body—the aorta—where it runs through the abdomen).

Smoking and Respiratory Disease

• Smoking causes lung cancer.• Smoking causes lung diseases (e.g.,

emphysema, bronchitis, chronic airway obstruction) by damaging the airways and alveoli (i.e., small air sacs) of the lungs.

Second Hand SmokeSecondhand smoke causes other kinds of diseases and deaths, each year in the US it causes:• An estimated 46,000 deaths from heart

disease in people who are currently non-smokers

• About 3,400 lung cancer deaths as a result of breathing secondhand smoke

• Other breathing problems in non-smokers, including coughing, mucus, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function

• 50,000 to 300,000 lung infections • Increases in the number and severity of

asthma attacks• More than 750,000 middle ear infections

Smoking: The Financial Burden

• Although cigarette prices range per state and community, the average price of a pack of cigarettes is $5. If a person smokes a pack each day, this translates into nearly $2,000 each year.

• Insurance premiums for a smoker tend to be 25 to 35 percent higher than the non-smoker's insurance premium.

Tips for quitting:• There are several methods you can use to quit

smoking. You can gradually reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke, or use a quitting aid like a patch or nicotine gum, for example. Here are some tips that can help you in the process too:

• Set a quit date.• Tell your friends and family that you are quitting.• Find other things to do when you get the urge to

smoke.• Carry things to put in your mouth like gum or mints.• Keep healthy snacks to munch on, like apple slices

and carrot sticks.

Think before you smoke. Not just about you, but about your community.