Facts That Smoking Is Bad for Your Health
- Smoking cigarettes increases your risk of developing lung cancer by 23 times if you are male and 13 times if you are female. Smoking increases your chance of developing emphysema and other obstructive lung conditions by approximately 13 times. Although it is possible to develop lung cancer if you do not smoke, 9 out of 10 cases of lung cancer are individuals who smoke.
- If you are pregnant, smoking can severely affect your unborn child. Smoking while pregnant causes a higher rate of miscarriage, premature delivery and low birth weight. Even if the infant is born healthy, smoking during pregnancy may still affect the child. Children with a mother who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome. These children may also be more likely to develop learning and physical disabilities later in life.
- Smoking doesn't only have long-term effects -- it may also cause immediate changes in your appearance. Even after a short time, smoking may cause yellow teeth, wrinkles, dingy skin, yellow eyes and yellow nails. The longer you smoke, the more apparent these physical symptoms will become. Even after only one cigarette, smoking may cause bad breath and a foul smell on your clothing and hands. Although quitting smoking will stop your breath from smelling bad, the wrinkles will probably not go away.
- In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death. If you are a smoker, you are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease than nonsmokers. Even if you are not a three-pack-a-day smoker, you are still putting yourself at risk -- smoking only four cigarettes a day puts you at risk for heart attack and stroke. Smoking reduces your circulation, making your heart have to work harder to pump blood through your body.
