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You are here : AllRefer.com > Health > Special Topic > Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco: Health risks

Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco

Provided by A.D.A.M.

Description

The effects of nicotine

Health risks

Time to quit

The benefits of quitting

When to contact a medical professional

Pictures & Images

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Alternate Names : Cigar Smoking, Cigarette Smoking, Pipe Smoking, Second-Hand Smoke, Smokeless Snuff, Tobacco Use

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Health risks

There are many, many reasons to quit using tobacco. Knowing these serious health risks can sometimes help motivate you to quit. When used over a long period, tobacco and its various chemical components (like tar, nicotine, and thousands of others) can increase your risk of:

  • Coronary artery disease including angina, and heart attacks
  • High blood pressure, blood clots, aneurysms, and strokes
  • Cancer (especially in the lung, mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, and cervix)
  • Chronic lung disease -- emphysema, chronic bronchitis
  • Pregnancy related problems including miscarriage, premature labor, low birth weight, and risk for SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)
  • Delayed wound healing
  • Tooth and gum diseases; decreased senses of taste and smell

If you use smokeless tobacco, you have many of these same risks, including a 50 times greater risk for oral cancer with long-term use.

Even if you don't smoke yourself, but you are exposed regularly to secondhand smoke, you have a higher risk of:

  • Lung cancer
  • In infants and children, more respiratory infections (such as bronchitis and pneumonia), asthma, and poor lung function as the lungs mature
  • Sudden and severe reactions, including eye, nose, throat, and lower respiratory tract symptoms

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Description
The effects of nicotine
Health risks
Time to quit
The benefits of quitting
When to contact a medical professional
Pictures & Images

Review Date : 11/7/2003
Reviewed By : Jacqueline A. Hart, M.D., Department of Internal Medicine, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Boston, Ma., and Senior Medical Editor, A.D.A.M., Inc. Previously reviewed by David Webner, M.D., Department of Family Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 2003 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

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