Why is Smoking Bad for You
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 443,000 deaths each year in the United States are attributable to smoking. More than 8.6 million people in the United States suffer from smoking-related illnesses, according to the CDC. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease and chronic lung disease.
Smoking is the biggest avoidable risk factor for cancer. It causes nine out of ten cases of lung cancer. Smoking is also a risk factor for cancer of the bladder, kidney, cervix, throat, mouth, esophagus, pancreas and stomach and for some types of leukemia (cancer of the blood). Cigarette smoke contains roughly 4000 compounds, many of which are toxic and can cause damage to cells. Some are carcinogenic (cancer-causing). The three main ingredients of cigarette smoke are: Nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide.
Nicotine has no safe level of use. It is the only consumer product that kills a high proportion of those who use it if used in the way intended by the manufacturers. Overall, one in two smokers (smoking 20 per day from age 18) will die from their habit, half them in their middle ages.
Smoking also harms the health of those around you. Family members around you may develop health problems, since they’ll be more likely to start using tobacco based on your example. They also can suffer health effects from the smoke from your cigarettes (secondhand smoke). If you smoke around your child or your brother or sister, they could develop asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, or ear infections. Secondhand smoke also increases the risk that infants will die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).