Question

causes of tobacco smoking alcohol

Answer 1

Smoking cigarettes kills more Americans than alcohol, car accidents, HIV, guns, and illegal drugs combined.Cigarette smokers die younger than non-smokers.Smoking shortens male smokers’ lives by about 12 years and female smokers’ lives by about 11 years.Smoking not only causes cancer. It can damage nearly every organ in the body, including the lungs, heart, blood vessels, reproductive organs, mouth, skin, eyes, and bones.

How smoking tobacco affects your cancer risk

Smoking accounts for about 30% of all cancer deaths in the United States, including about 80% of all lung cancer deaths. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women, and is one of the hardest cancers to treat.

Not only does smoking increase the risk for lung cancer, it’s also a risk factor for cancers of the:

MouthLarynx (voice box)Pharynx (throat)Esophagus (swallowing tube)KidneyCervixLiverBladderPancreasStomachColon/rectumMyeloid leukemia

Cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and spit and other types of smokeless tobacco all cause cancer. There is no safe way to use tobacco.

Does inhaling affect the risk of cancer?

Yes. Wherever smoke touches living cells, it does harm. Even smokers who don’t inhale are breathing in large amounts of smoke that comes from their mouths and the lit end of the cigarette, cigar, or pipe. They are at risk for lung cancer and other diseases caused by secondhand smoke.

How smoking tobacco damages your lungs

Smoking damages the airways and small air sacs in your lungs. This damage starts early in smokers, and lung function continues to worsen as long as the person smokes. Still, it may take years for the problem to become noticeable enough for lung disease to be diagnosed.

Smoking makes pneumonia and asthma worse. It also causes many other lung diseases that can be nearly as bad as lung cancer.