Health
Effects of Tobacco
How
important is smoking to the health of Canadians?
Smoking
remains one of the leading causes of preventable illness, disability
and premature death in Canada.
Saskatchewan
has one of the highest cigarette smoking prevalence rates in Canada.
Consistent with national trends, smoking prevalence is highest among
20-24 year olds. Prevalence of smoking among 15-19 year olds are
higher in Saskatchewan than the national average.
How
lethal is smoking to smokers?
Unless
smokers quit, up to half of all smokers will die from their smoking,
most of them before their 70th birthday and only after years of
suffering a reduced quality of life.
Why
does smoking kill?
Tobacco
smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals. Many are known to be
harmful substances, including tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide,
benzene, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
More
than 50 of these chemicals cause cancer.
What
keeps smokers smoking (and chewers chewing)?
Many
smokers want to quit, but find it very difficult. Most former smokers
made at least one unsuccessful quit attempt before finally succeeding
and many had to try repeatedly
Nicotine
is the drug in tobacco that makes smoking a powerful addiction.
Experts rank nicotine ahead of alcohol, cocaine and heroin with
regard to the severity of dependence resulting from its use.
Some
users of smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco and snuff) also find it
very hard to quit.
Who
is at risk from tobacco use?
While
the health risks are highest among heavy smokers and long-term
smokers, no user of tobacco escapes risk, including users of
smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco and snuff).
Young
people who smoke or use smokeless tobacco are at immediate risk of a
range of health problems, including nicotine addiction, increased
cough, phlegm, and wheezing, reduced lung function and a worsening of
problems from asthma.
Those
who start to smoke at an early age are more likely to develop severe
levels of nicotine addiction than those who start later, and they are
at higher risk of health consequences in adult life.
As
well, non-smokers, both children and adults, can be harmed by second
hand tobacco smoke generated by other people's smoking.
What
are the health risks faced by tobacco users?
There
is strong evidence that smoking is related to many diseases and
conditions. Many organs and body systems are adversely affected by
tobacco smoke. Fortunately, most of this starts to reverse after a
smoker quits smoking.
All
smokers are at extra risk for:
Coronary
heart disease (e.g., heart attacks)
Peripheral
vascular disease (circulatory problems)
Aortic
aneurysm
High
cholesterol (LDL)
Lung
cancer
Cancer
of the mouth, throat and voice box
Cancer
of the pancreas
Cancer
of the kidney, and urinary bladder
Chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD
Chronic
bronchitis
Emphysema
Pneumonia
Influenza
(the "flu")
The
common cold
Peptic
ulcers
Chronic
bowel disease (Crohn's disease)
Tooth
decay (cavities)
Gum
disease
Osteoporosis
Sleep
problems (falling asleep inappropriately and/or frequent waking)
Cataracts
Thyroid
disease (Grave's Disease)
Smoking
is known to have an effect on babies before they are born.
Smoking
has a direct effect on the growth of the fetus. The more the mother
smokes during pregnancy, the lower the weight of the newborn infant.
Smoking mothers give birth to infants who can weigh about 150 grams
less than a term than non-smokers. Such babies, called "low
birth weight" babies, are more likely to suffer adverse outcomes,
including stillbirth, the need for special treatment in neonatal
intensive care units and death in infancy.
During
pregnancy, smokers have a greater risk of miscarriages. During the
birth they are more likely to have complications. The chances of a
baby's dying at birth or shortly thereafter are increased if the
mother has smoked during pregnancy.
Nursing
mothers can pass along harmful chemicals from cigarettes to their
babies in breast milk.
Effects
on Teeth and Gums
Tobacco
use is an important factor in oral health, apart from its role in
causing oral cancer. Smoking has also been linked to periodontal
disease in younger people.
Other
Effects
Several
recent reports provide strong evidence of an association between
smoking and osteoporosis (decreased bone density), which, in turn,
predisposes a person to bone fractures. Smoking is independently
associated with decreased bone density of the lumbar spine and hip,
in both younger and older persons.
Smoking
has been linked to sleep disturbance. Smoking is associated with
difficulty in falling asleep and with symptoms suggestive of sleep
fragmentation in both men and women.
Evidence
of a link between cataracts and smoking continues to grow. An
association may also exist between smoking and a type of thyroid
disease (Graves' disease).
Smoking
may be a detriment to physical fitness, even among relatively fit,
young individuals. Smoking reduces the ability of the blood to carry
oxygen and increases the heart rate and basal metabolic rate, thus
counteracting the benefits of physical activity, including
cardiovascular fitness.
Smoking
decreases blood flow in the small vessels of the skin, perhaps
damaging skin components, and leading to skin wrinkling and an
appearance of premature aging in both men and women.
Side
effects of chewing tobacco are stained teeth, bad breath, sores on
the gums and in the mouth that are stubborn to heal and other dental
problems. Some of the effects on dental health are escalated by the
sugar that is added to the tobacco during processing to improve the
taste. The habit can also affect a person's ability to taste and
smell. After prolonged use there is a risk of developing oral cancer, which may become apparent through a sore that does not heal, a white
patch, prolonged sore throat, difficulty chewing, or a feeling there
is a lump in the throat. A person should stop chewing tobacco to
reduce the side effects and health risks associated with it. Chewing
or smokeless tobacco contains nicotine a very addictive substance.
The nicotine gets into the bloodstream through absorption in the
mouth and is slower acting than getting nicotine from smoking a
cigarette. The most serious health risk associated with the smokeless
habit is cancer.
The
habit of snuff or chewing tobacco can be considered by many as a very
unclean habit. The substance is held in the mouth and then spit out.
Most chewers have a spit can that they carry around and spit into
periodically. Some people may choose to engage in this habit because
they believe it is not as harmful as smoking cigarettes. However,
this is not necessarily true. The substance is still absorbed into
the bloodstream and the side effects of chewing tobacco can be
detrimental to health and can even lead to developing a serious
illness such as cancer.
For those who want to quit, there is hope
found in the Word of God. "And Caleb stilled the people before
Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are
well able to overcome it" (Numbers 13:30).
Other
serious health problems associated with the smokeless habit include
an increased heart rate and blood pressure. People who are engaged in
this habit should stop chewing tobacco before they have a heart
attack or suffer from a stroke.
Heart attack and stroke can happen
because the arteries constrict; there is an increased risk of blood clots; both of these effects are caused by the nicotine. Oral or
mouth cancer are not the only types of cancer associated with a
smokeless habit; some of the cancer-causing chemicals can get into
other vital organs such as the stomach, esophagus, bowels, and
bladder.
High doses of nicotine can cause respiratory and digestive
distress. Quitting may be very difficult because of the nicotine
addiction and may take some time, but there is help out there for
anyone who is serious about quitting. There are some good websites on
the Internet that provide some valuable information on quitting.
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