SMOKING AND EFFECTS ON LUNGS

Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the WORLD.

Every year around 100,000 people in the UK die from smoking, with many more living with debilitating smoking-related illnesses.

Smoking increases your risk of developing more than 50 serious health conditions. Some may be fatal and others can cause irreversible long-term damage to your health.

Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable deaths in England, accounting for more than 80,000 deaths each year. One in two smokers will die from a smoking-related disease.

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.

Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. This is nearly one in five deaths.1,2,3

Smoking causes more deaths each year than the following causes combined:4

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Illegal drug use

Alcohol use

Motor vehicle injuries

Firearm-related incidents

More than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the United States during its history.1

Smoking causes about 90% (or 9 out of 10) of all lung cancer deaths in men and women.1,2 More women die from lung cancer each year than from breast cancer.5

About 80% (or 8 out of 10) of all deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are caused by smoking.1

Cigarette smoking increases risk for death from all causes in men and women.1

The risk of dying from cigarette smoking has increased over the last 50 years in men and women in the United States.