Tobacco

Our goal is to help you quit smoking. We hope that by pointing out the many dangers of smoking cigarettes you will be more motivated to quit smoking.

Cigarette smoke includes the following toxic fumes and substances:

• Formaldehyde, ammonia, plus 13 other cancer causing or toxic gases Nicotine – This is the major addictive substance in tobacco smoke. Nicotine is rapidly absorbed into the blood tread and causes high blood pressure, rapid pulse and irregular heart beats.
• Polonium 210 – This is a radioactive cancer causing agent that results from the use of fertilizers contaminated with radium products. The fertilizers are used to grow tobacco leaves. Lungs of smokers become radioactive. Other cancer causing agents include arsenic and tar.
• Carbon Monoxide – This gas prevents the red blood cells from carrying oxygen to the body. The concentration of carbon monoxide in cigarette smoking is 10 – 50,000 parts per million. The outdoor maximal limit for carbon monoxide is 9 parts per million.
• Cyanide Gas – This poison paralyzes the cells lining the bronchial tubes causing smokers to be more likely to develop respiratory infections.



What are the risks of smoking? The tobacco institute would like smokers to believe that a controversy exists regarding the health risks of smoking. The fact is that cigarettes kill. A 25-year-old man who smokes two packs per day lives eight less years than a non-smoker of the same age.

• Cancer – 90% of all long cancer is caused by cigarettes or cigars. A two pack per day smoker has a 25 times higher chance of getting lung cancer than a non-smoker. Cigarette smoking also causes cancer of the throat, cancer of the esophagus and cancer of the urinary bladder.
• Heart Disease – 12,000 excess deaths per year from heart disease are caused by smoking. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of heart attack, and also causes hardening of the arteries which supply blood to the heart and other organs.
• Chronic Lung Disease – smoking is by far the most common cause of emphysema and chronic bronchitis

What are the risks to others from smoking?
Smoking and Pregnancy: There is increased awareness of the rights of the fetus. One such right should include a non-smoking mother. Mothers who smoke while pregnant have increased risk of still birth and abnormally low birth weight babies.

Risks to Children in the Home of Smokers: Infants and children who live in homes where parents smoke have an increased chance of getting pneumonia, bronchitis, or asthma. This risk is highest when both parents smoke.

Risks to Other Healthy Adults: Second hand cigarette smoke often causes eye irritation, headache, nasal congestion or cough in non-smokers exposed to air polluted with cigarette smoke. Passive smoking (inhaling the cigarette smoke of others) has been shown to cause lung cancer. Non-smoking people who live with heavy cigarette smokers have a higher chance of developing lung cancer because they also inhaled the cigarette smoke from the smoker. Non-smoking people working in smoky environments have reduced lung function.

Risks to Other Adults with Chronic Illness: People with heart disease, who have angina (chest pain form poor heart function) get angina more often and with less exercise when exposed to cigarette smoke indoors. Patients with asthma often become worse when exposed to cigarette smoke.

Why Quit?
The above risks from smoking all dramatically decline after stopping smoking. The risk of lung cancer falls to barely above that of a non-smoker within 15 years of quitting. The risk of heart disease falls sharply within one year of quitting.

Women who quit smoking before the 4th month of pregnancy eliminate the risk of still birth and low birth weight.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy: Nicotine gum or patches can decrease withdrawal symptoms. Sustained motivation remains the key, but some studies show twice as many people are successful at quitting with this additional therapy.

Conclusion:
We believe that cigarette smoking is extremely dangerous to your health, and also risky to others. We would be pleased not to have you as a patient 10 – 20 years from now, by having you quit smoking today.

Our goal is to help you quit smoking. We hope that by pointing out the many dangers of smoking cigarettes you will be more motivated to quit smoking.

People who smoke cigarettes are gambling with their lives. The costs are high and there are no winners.

The chart below shows the personalized risks for cigarette smokers. We are able to predict the chance of major health problems from smoking based on a person’s age, blood pressure, cholesterol, amount smoked, and lung capacity.

The example is for a 39-year-old man who has smoked two packs of cigarettes per day since age 16. His blood pressure, cholesterol, and lung function are normal. The table shows his risk of having a heart attack, severe emphysema, or lung cancer. All these risks drop if he cuts down or quits smoking.

At age 39, he has smoked 335,800 cigarettes. He has the following risks of a heart attack by age 59, emphysema by age 54, or lung cancer (lifetime risk):

Amount smoked	Risk of Heart Attack	Risk of Emphysema	Risk of Lung Cancer	Total Risk
40 Cigs	14%	31%	10%	46%
27 Cigs	10%	19%	6%	31%
14 Cigs	8%	10%	3%	20%
1 Cig.	5%	5%	1%	10%
0 Cig	5%	5%	1%	10%

Decline In Lung Function With Smoking