A majority of people who are smokers suffer serious health problems due to exposure to side effects of smoking like the following

• Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease, death, and disability in the United States.

• Cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure cause more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. This is nearly one in five deaths.

• Cigarette smoking is a major public health concern, with over 16 million Americans living with a smoking-related disease.
• Smoking and secondhand smoke exposure cause over 480,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.
• Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and causes many diseases.
• Quitting smoking lowers the risk for early death and of developing smoking-related diseases.

Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body.

Cigarette smoking causes many diseases and reduces the health of people who smoke. Smoking also increases health care utilization, health care costs, and absenteeism from work.

Cigarette smoking causes:

At a glance

• Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. At least 69 of these chemicals can cause cancer.
• Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body.
• Quitting smoking lowers the risk for 12 different cancers and also benefits people diagnosed with cancer.

Cancer overview

Cancer refers to diseases in which cells divide out of control. These cells can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells are spread through the blood and lymph systems, which help the body get rid of toxins.

There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Most cancers are named after the organ or type of cell in which they start. For example, lung cancer begins in the lung and laryngeal cancer begins in the larynx (voice box).

Smoking and cancer

Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. At least 69 of these chemicals can cause cancer. Other chemicals can interfere with the body’s ability to fight cancer. ³

Smoking can also:

• Weaken the body’s immune system. This makes it harder for your body to kill cancer cells. When this happens, cancer cells can grow and spread.
• Damage or change a cell’s DNA. When DNA is damaged, a cell can begin growing out of control and create a cancer tumor.

Cigarette smoking causes about one out of every three cancer deaths in the United States. ⁴⁵ Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body including in the: ⁵

• Bladder
• Blood (acute myeloid leukemia)
• Cervix
• Colon and rectum
• Esophagus
• Kidney and renal pelvis
• Larynx (voice box)
• Liver
• Lung, bronchus, and trachea
• Mouth and throat
• Pancreas
• Stomach

Research also suggests that men with prostate cancer who smoke may be more likely to die from prostate cancer than men who do not smoke.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. Cigarette smoking or secondhand smoke exposure cause nearly 9 out of 10 lung cancer deaths.People who smoke increase their risk of developing lung cancer by about 25 times that of people who don’t smoke. People who smoke have a greater risk for lung cancer today than they did in 1964, even though they smoke fewer cigarettes. One reason for this may be changes in how cigarettes are made. Another reason may be changes in the chemicals cigarettes contain.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends lung cancer screening for some adults with a history of heavy smoking (see “Cancer Screenings” section below for more information).

• Heart disease and stroke
• Lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Harmful reproductive health effects
• Other diseases, including certain eye diseases and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis.

Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body.

Secondhand smoke is harmful.

• Secondhand smoke exposure contributes to over 40,000 deaths among nonsmoking adults and 400 deaths in infants each year.
• In adults, secondhand smoke can cause coronary heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer.
• Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for respiratory infections, ear infections, asthma attacks, and sudden infant death syndrome.

Quitting smoking benefits health

• Quitting smoking is one of the most important actions people can take to improve their health.
• Quitting smoking improves health and reduces the risk of premature death. Quitting also reduces the risk for smoking-related diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and COPD.
• Treatments—including counseling and medication—can help people quit smoking. Free resources are available to help people quit.

Benefits of Quitting Smoking

Quitting smoking has health benefits at any age, no matter how long or how much you have smoked.