Sunday, June 5, 2016
Smoking causes
about 90% of lung cancers. It also causes cancer in many other parts of the body, including the:
mouth
lips
throat
voice box (larynx)
oesophagus (the tube between your mouth and stomach)
bladder
kidney
liver
stomach
pancreas
Smoking damages your heart and your blood circulation, increasing your risk of developing conditions such as:
coronary heart disease
heart attack
stroke
peripheral vascular disease (damaged blood vessels)
cerebrovascular disease (damaged arteries that supply blood to your brain)
Smoking also damages your lungs, leading to conditions such as:
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which incorporates bronchitis and emphysema
pneumonia
Smoking can also worsen or prolong the symptoms of respiratory conditions such as asthma, or respiratory tract infections such as the common cold.
In men, smoking can cause impotence because it limits the blood supply to the penis. It can also reduce the fertility of both men and women.
Health risks of passive smoking
Secondhand smoke comes from the tip of a lit cigarette and the smoke that the smoker breathes out.
Breathing in secondhand smoke – also known as passive smoking – increases your risk of getting the same health conditions as smokers. For example, breathing in secondhand smoke increases a non-smoker's risk of developing lung cancer by about a quarter.
Babies and children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke. A child who is exposed to passive smoke is at increased risk of developing chest infections, meningitis, a persistent cough and, if they have asthma, their symptoms will get worse. They're also at increased risk of cot death and an ear infection called glue ear.
Read more about passive smoking.
Smoking a cigarette raises the blood pressure by 5-10 mm Hg for about 30 minutes. If this is combined with drinking a cup of coffee, the effects are bigger and last longer.
Despite this, numerous epidemiological studies have found that people with hypertension are not more likely to be smokers than those with normal blood pressure, and conversely, that smokers are not more likely to be hypertensive than non-smokers. One possible explanation for this might be that smokers tend to weigh less than non-smokers, and that the effects of obesity and smoking on blood pressure cancel each other out. But even when smokers and non-smokers of the same body weight are compared their blood pressures are the same. This is probably because the blood pressure measurements are usually made when people are not smoking. If you smoke a pack a day, it will raise your average daytime pressure by about 5 mm Hg, even though your doctor may not detect this during an office visit.
The important thing about smoking is not what it does to your blood pressure, but that it greatly increases your risk of heart disease.
about 90% of lung cancers. It also causes cancer in many other parts of the body, including the:
mouth
lips
throat
voice box (larynx)
oesophagus (the tube between your mouth and stomach)
bladder
kidney
liver
stomach
pancreas
Smoking damages your heart and your blood circulation, increasing your risk of developing conditions such as:
coronary heart disease
heart attack
stroke
peripheral vascular disease (damaged blood vessels)
cerebrovascular disease (damaged arteries that supply blood to your brain)
Smoking also damages your lungs, leading to conditions such as:
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which incorporates bronchitis and emphysema
pneumonia
Smoking can also worsen or prolong the symptoms of respiratory conditions such as asthma, or respiratory tract infections such as the common cold.
In men, smoking can cause impotence because it limits the blood supply to the penis. It can also reduce the fertility of both men and women.
Health risks of passive smoking
Secondhand smoke comes from the tip of a lit cigarette and the smoke that the smoker breathes out.
Breathing in secondhand smoke – also known as passive smoking – increases your risk of getting the same health conditions as smokers. For example, breathing in secondhand smoke increases a non-smoker's risk of developing lung cancer by about a quarter.
Babies and children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke. A child who is exposed to passive smoke is at increased risk of developing chest infections, meningitis, a persistent cough and, if they have asthma, their symptoms will get worse. They're also at increased risk of cot death and an ear infection called glue ear.
Read more about passive smoking.
Smoking a cigarette raises the blood pressure by 5-10 mm Hg for about 30 minutes. If this is combined with drinking a cup of coffee, the effects are bigger and last longer.
Despite this, numerous epidemiological studies have found that people with hypertension are not more likely to be smokers than those with normal blood pressure, and conversely, that smokers are not more likely to be hypertensive than non-smokers. One possible explanation for this might be that smokers tend to weigh less than non-smokers, and that the effects of obesity and smoking on blood pressure cancel each other out. But even when smokers and non-smokers of the same body weight are compared their blood pressures are the same. This is probably because the blood pressure measurements are usually made when people are not smoking. If you smoke a pack a day, it will raise your average daytime pressure by about 5 mm Hg, even though your doctor may not detect this during an office visit.
The important thing about smoking is not what it does to your blood pressure, but that it greatly increases your risk of heart disease.
