Smoking Effects and Statistics

Smoking has long been considered an unhealthy habit. The effects of smoking are predominantly negative, with lung cancer being one of the most serious. What’s more, it’s a tough habit to quit. The nicotine from a cigarette has highly addictive qualities, and some people continue smoking for the rest of their lives.

As an all-out ban on cigarettes is next to impossible, the next best step to get people to quit the habit is to educate them on the harmful effects of smoking. The first place to look and see how alarming the case can be is in statistics. You’ve got to get a picture of how many people out of the entire population are smoking to realize the gravity of its effects on the country. The National Center for Health Statistics presents the following smoker facts:

• 25.6 million men, or 25.2 percent of the US male population, are smokers
• 22.6 million women, 20.2 percent of the US female population, are smokers
• One out of every five deaths is caused by health complications from tobacco use
• Roughly 400,000 American die from tobacco use annually
• Smoking during pregnancy leads to about 5 to 6 percent of pre-natal deaths in the country

The statistics show that a large percentage of the country’s population smokes. Consider those numbers when you think of the harmful effects of cigarettes – that’s millions of Americans at increased risk of health problems!

Tobacco use is responsible for a lot of serious lung and heart problems. Lung cancer, emphysema, and throat cancer are just a few of the effects of smoking. Smoking puts you at higher risk for pulmonary diseases like pneumonia, as your lungs are weakened by the habit. As you continue smoking, your lungs will get even weaker, putting you at increasing risk levels for severe pulmonary cases.

The nicotine found in cigarettes can reduce blood pressure, causing the heart to work harder than what’s healthy. This means you can suffer cardiac arrest from a heart worn down just by smoking. The reduced blood pressure can also cause another serious problem for men – impotence.

The heart and lungs aren’t the only parts of your body that fall prey to smoking’s adverse effects. The carcinogens in tobacco and nicotine can also affect your pancreas, kidney, cervix and bladder.

It’s urgently advised that women stay away from smoking as much as possible. The chemicals found in cigarette smoke lead to miscarriages, low birth weights, premature deliveries, and the retardation of fetal growth. However, with the statistics showing that a large chunk of the population smokes, it’s pretty difficult to get away from smokers.

If you know a smoker, and are concerned about his health, tell him the ugly facts about smoking. Research other statistics and effects of smoking and share them with other smokers you know. This education may just be the impetus they need to stop the habit. If you succeed in getting them to quit, you may have helped them live a lot longer.