Harmful Effects Of Smoking For You And Others

Smoking Harms Non-Smokers

All tobacco smoke is bad for your health, and there are two types of smoke. The smoke that a smoker inhales is known as mainstream smoke and the smoke that comes from the tip of the cigarette between puffs is known as side stream smoke.

Mainstream and side stream smoke are made up of different chemical compositions and it is side stream smoke that contains higher concentrations of harmful substances. Almost 85 per cent of the smoke in a room comes from this side stream smoke.

Because people who smoke are exposed to both types of smoke, this doesn't mean that passive smoking is more dangerous, but it can be for non-smokers living in a smoky environment. These non-smokers may have the same nicotine content in their blood as high as that of a person who smokes around 10 cigarettes per day.

Smoking Will Determine How Long you Live

Research has shown that smoking reduces life expectancy by up to seven or eight years.

It should also come as no surprise that the number of people aged 70 or under that die from smoking-related diseases is greater than the total figure for deaths caused by AIDS, breast cancer, road traffic accidents and drug addiction.

The good news for ex-smokers is that after some time of stopping smoking and staying stopped, they too can look forward to a healthier old age than those who continue to smoke.

Smoking Causes a Number of Major Diseases

Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death due to smoking. In this disease, the arteries become hardened over time because of cholesterol and other fats that deposit in them and they leave the arteries blocked, narrow or rigid and making blood clots more likely. Smoking accelerates the process of hardening and narrowing in the arteries.

Cardiovascular disease can take many forms depending on which blood vessels are affected, but all of these diseases are more commonly seen in smokers. Common diseases include:

• Coronary thrombosis: this is caused by a blood clot in the arteries that supply the heart and can lead to heart attack. Around 30% are caused by smoking.

• Cerebral thrombosis: vessels to the brain become blocked and can cause collapse, stroke or paralysis.

• Kidney failure: this can occur if kidney arteries are affected and can also result in high blood pressure.

• Gangrene: this occurs when the vascular supply to the legs is blocked and may result in amputation.

Smokers make up around 9 out of 10 heart bypass patients and tend to develop coronary thrombosis on average 10 years earlier than non-smokers.

Cancer and Other Risks