Cigarette Smoking

• Cigarette Smoking Overview
• Cigarette Smoking Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Exams and Tests
• Cigarette Smoking Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medical Treatment
• Next Steps
• Prevention
• Outlook
• For More Information
• Web Links
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors
• Related articles on how to quit smoking:
  Quit smoking - on WebMD
  Quitting smoking - on MedicineNet

Cigarette Smoking Overview

Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of death and illness among Americans. Every year, roughly 430,000 Americans die from illnesses caused by tobacco use, accounting for one fifth of all deaths. Tobacco use costs the nation about $100 billion each year in direct medical expense and lost productivity.

About 25% of all American adults (46.3 million people) smoke. This number has remained constant for several years despite government efforts through Healthy People 2000 and Healthy People 2010 to lower those percentages. Slightly more men (28.1%) smoke than women (23.5%). Hispanics (20.4%) smoke less than whites (25.3%) or African Americans (26.7%).

Nevertheless, significant progress has been made since 1964, when the Surgeon General issued the first report outlining the health dangers of smoking. Since that time, the prevalence of smoking has dropped from 42.4% among adults to 25%.

Both lung cancer and emphysema would become quite rare if people would stop smoking. Compared to a nonsmoker, a smoker faces these risks:

• 14 times greater risk of dying from cancer of the lung, throat, or mouth



• 4 times greater risk of dying from cancer of the esophagus



• 2 times greater risk of dying from a heart attack



• 2 times greater risk of dying from cancer of the bladder

Use of other tobacco products such as pipes, cigars, and snuff is less common, comprising less than 10% of use of all tobacco products; however, the health effects of these products are similar to those of tobacco—particularly their association with cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus.

Increasing attention has been devoted to publicizing the dangers of second-hand (environmental) smoke, the association between tobacco marketing and initiation of smoking among youth, and the development of strategies and medications to help smokers quit. Cigarette smoking has been linked strongly to the following illnesses:

• Heart disease

• Stroke

• Other diseases of blood vessels (such as poor circulation in the legs)

• Respiratory illness, including the following:
  
  
  • Lung cancer
  
  
  
  • Emphysema
  
  
  
  • Bronchitis
  
  
  
  • Pneumonia

• Cancers, including:
  
  
  • Lip or mouth
  
  
  
  • Pharynx or larynx (voice box)
  
  
  
  • Esophagus (food pipe)
  
  
  
  • Pancreas
  
  
  
  • Kidney
  
  
  
  • Urinary bladder
  
  
  
  • Cervix

• Peptic ulcer disease



• Burns

Next: Cigarette Smoking Symptoms »

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