Health Effects of Smoking

How Smoking Can Harm You

While most people know that smoking cigarettes damages their health, you may not realise just how far reaching the damaging effects of smoking are.  There is no safe number of cigarettes to smoke and no safe length of time to smoke.   

Cardiovascular disease (heart and circulatory system)

• Smoking increases your heart rate and your requirement for oxygen in the blood.
• Increased carbon monoxide in the blood may contribute to the development of coronary heart disease (heart attack).
• Smokers are 2–4 times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than non-smokers.
• Smoking causes reduced circulation by narrowing the blood vessels (arteries). Smokers are more than 10 times as likely as non-smokers to develop peripheral arterial disease, which can result in gangrene and amputation.
• Smoking doubles a person’s risk for stroke.

• Smoking is associated with a tenfold increase in the risk of dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  About 90% of all deaths from COPD are attributable to smoking.
• Causes bronchitis and emphysema (destruction of alveoli in the lungs).
• Increases asthma attacks and symptoms.

• Increases the risk of cervical cancer in women
• Can reduce fertility in both men and women
• Smoking during pregnancy can increase your risk of miscarriage, pregnancy complications, and premature delivery. It also increases your baby’s risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Smoking causes 30% of all cancers and is the most important preventable cause of cause. 
Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death [see Smoking Related Cancers for more details]

How Smoking Can Harm You

Get your company involved

Live chat with a cancer nurse by AliveChat

• Message board
• Cancer Information
• Online Shop
• Upcoming Events