Fact Sheet

1.Smoking Causes Death

• 90% of all lung cancer deaths in men

• 80% of all lung cancer deaths in women

• 90% of deaths from chronic obstructive lung disease

2. Smoking increases health risk

• Compared with nonsmokers smoking increases the risk of—

• Coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times

• Stroke by 2 to 4 times

• Men developing lung cancer by 23 times

• Women developing lung cancer by 13 times

• Dying from chronic obstructive lung diseases (such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema) by 12 to 13 times

3. Smoking causes cardiovascular disease

• Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

• Cigarette smoking causes reduced circulation by narrowing the blood vessels (arteries) and puts smokers at risk for developing peripheral vascular disease (i.e., obstruction of the large arteries in the arms and legs that can cause a range of problems from pain to tissue loss or gangrene).

• Smoking causes abdominal aortic aneurysm (i.e., a swelling or weakening of the main artery of the body-the aort-where it runs through the abdomen).

4. Smoking causes respiratory diseases

• Smoking causes lung cancer.

• Smoking causes the following lung diseases by damaging the airways and alveoli (i.e., small air sacs) of the lungs:

• Emphysema
• Bronchitis
• Chronic Airway Obstruction

5. Smoking causes Cancer

• Smoking causes the following cancers:
• Acute myeloid leukemia
• Kidney cancer
• Cancer of the pancreas
• Bladder cancer
• Cancer of the larynx (voice box)
• Cancer of the pharynx (throat)
• Cancer of the cervix
• Lung cancer
• Stomach cancer
• Cancer of the esophagus
• Cancer of the oral cavity (mouth)
• Cancer of the uterus

6. Smoking causes other health problems

• Cigarette smoking has many adverse reproductive and early childhood effects, including increased risk for-

• Infertility
• Preterm delivery
• Stillbirth
• Low birth weight
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

• Postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone density than women who never smoked.
• Women who smoke have an increased risk for hip fracture than women who never smoked.

Smoking causes many diseases and reduces the health of smokers in general. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and
7. Personal financial impact
The cost of a pack of cigarettes averages around xxx , a pack-a-day smoker burns through about xxx per week, or xxxx per year.

8.  Financial impact on the government
Smokers are 15 percent more likely than nonsmokers to visit doctors or clinics and 10 percent more likely to be hospitalized. In addition, smokers incur more health care cost in lifetime medical expenses than nonsmokers. This puts a financial strain, again in our pockets and also on the national health insurance and the nation as a whole.
9. Punishing the innocent
Non-smokers (including children) who breathe in secondhand smoke are at risk of the same diseases as smokers, including heart disease and cancer.
10. Smokers reap immediate benefits by quitting
Quitting after years of smoking not only prevents further damage but also actually may reverse some of the effects smoking has already caused.

• Within 20 minutes after quitting, blood pressure and pulse rate decrease.

• After eight hours, carbon monoxide levels in the blood drop while oxygen levels rise.

• After 24 hours, the chance of a heart attack decreases.

• After 48 hours, nerve endings start regenerating, and the ability to smell and taste is enhanced.

• After three months, circulation improves, walking becomes easier and lung function increases.

• After nine months, coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease.

The greatest potential health gains are made after one year or more of being
smoke-free. While it takes longer to accrue these health benefits, they offer the most substantial advantages.

• After one year, the added risk of coronary heart disease is decreased to half that of a current smoker.
• After five years, risk of cancers of the mouth, throat and esophagus is reduced by 50 percent.
• After 10 years, the risk of lung cancer drops to half that of smokers.
• After 15 years, the added risk of coronary heart disease is the same as nonsmokers.75

Even smokers who already have been diagnosed with lung cancer and are facing lung surgery can benefit from quitting.

11. A must read for smokers: Do we really enjoy being smokers? We kid ourselves that we do enjoy it. But it’s as if one part of us watches that smoker part of us, in disgust, whenever we go off to light up. Most non-smokers, who don’t know what it’s like being hooked, secretly think we’re weak. Truth is, we’re ruled by our cravings and often don’t really believe that we can ever really escape the trap.

Be honest with yourself – Do you really want to carry on doing this or does everyone around you around you smoke so you think you have to smoke too? Or maybe it feels impossible to stop because of all those other people, friends and family, smoking around you?  Sometimes it takes one brave person to leave smoking behind for the others to do the same.
Many of us really need some help to stop smoking. If you want help to stop, contact us for free support.