Cancers And Other Risks

Cancer

Smokers are more likely to get cancer than non-smokers, with the main cancers affecting smokers being lung, throat and mouth cancers. These types of cancer rarely affect non-smokers.

The link between smoking and lung cancer is obvious.

• 90% of lung cancer cases are directly linked to smoking.

• If no one smoked, lung cancer would be a very rare illness with only 0.5% of people who have never smoked developing lung cancer.

• Statistics suggest 1 in 10 moderate smokers, and nearly one in five heavy smokers, will die from lung cancer.

The more cigarettes you smoke in a day, the higher your risk of developing lung cancer. This risk also rises with how early in life you started smoking and the deeper you inhale.

For ex-smokers, it takes around 15 years of staying stopped to reduce the risk of developing lung cancer to that of a non-smoker.

If you continue to smoke, your risk of contracting mouth cancer is four times higher than that of a non-smoker. Cancer can start in many areas of the mouth, the most common being on and underneath the tongue or on the lips.

Other types of cancer that are more common in smokers are:

• Cervical cancer (women)
• Bladder cancer
• Cancer of the kidney
• Cancer of the esophagus
• Cancer of the pancreas

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD

This is the collective term used to describe a group of conditions that block the body’s airflow and make breathing more difficult. The 2 main conditions being:

• Emphysema
• Chronic bronchitis
  

Smoking is the most common cause of COPD and is responsible for about 80% of cases.

It has been estimated that 94% of those who smoke 20 cigarettes a day have some form of emphysema when their lungs are examined after death. In contrast, most non-smokers have little or none.

COPD’s usually start to affect people between the ages of 35 and 45 because lung function begins to decline around this time. In smokers, the rate of lung function decline may be up to three times the average normal rate. As lung function starts to decline, breathlessness can begin.

As COPD’s progress, severe breathing problems can result in hospital care with the final stage being death from slow and progressive breathlessness.

Other risks smoking causes

• Smoking raises your blood pressure, which can cause hypertension - A known risk factor for heart attacks and stroke.

• Smoking makes conditions such as asthma worse and affects asthma medication by aggravating the inflammation of the airways that the medicine tries to relieve.

• Blood vessels in the eye can be easily damaged by smoke because of their sensitivity. Smokers often experience bloodshot and itchy eyes.

• Heavy smokers are twice as likely to get macular degeneration, which results in the gradual loss of eyesight.

• Smokers are at higher risk of developing cataracts.

• Smokers take 25% more sick days per year than those who don’t smoke.

• Smoking increases your risk of periodontal disease which can cause swollen gums, bad breath and loss of teeth.

• Smoking causes an acid taste in the mouth and can contribute to the development of mouth ulcers.

• Smoking stains the teeth and gums

• Couples that smoke are more likely to have problems conceiving and with their overall fertility levels than non-smokers