Illnesses Caused By Smoking
According to the American Lung Association, cigarette smoke contains over forty-eight thousand chemicals, and sixty-nine of those are known to cause cancer. Smoking causes a variety of illnesses, and the Centers for Disease Control states that it harms almost every organ in the body. Many of the diseases caused by smoking affect the lungs and heart.
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Lung Cancer
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Lungcancer.org defines lung cancer as the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both lungs. Smoking can cause mutations in the cells inside the lungs. Tumors form from groupings of these abnormal cells. Symptoms of lung cancer include coughing, chest pain, wheezing and coughing out blood. Treatment may consist of surgery to remove the affected portion of the lung, chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Doctors may also use a combination of these treatments.
Coronary Heart Disease
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According to the Centers for Disease Control, smoking causes coronary heart disease. Smoking increases a person's blood pressure, lowers tolerance for exercise and increases the tendency for blood clots. Smoking also causes narrowing of the arteries. High blood pressure and blood clots formed in the arteries can lead to a heart attack or stroke. The CDC states that smokers are two to four times more likely to develop coronary heart disease and at double the risk for stroke.
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COPD
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The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute defines chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. In this illness, air sacs inside the lungs lose elasticity, the airways swell and more mucus is made. According to the CDC, smoking increases the risk of dying from COPD tenfold. Emphysema and chronic obstructive bronchitis are included under COPD. Treatments include medications, oxygen therapy, surgery and pulmonary rehabilitation.
Throat Cancer
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The Mayo Clinic attributes an increased risk for throat cancer to smoking. Throat cancer includes cancer of the pharynx and larynx. Symptoms of throat cancer are coughing, voice changes, trouble swallowing, a lump that will not heal and a sore throat. Diagnosis may require using scopes to examine the throat, obtaining a tissue sample for tests and imagining procedures such as x-rays or CT scans. Treatment may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery and medications.
Other Illnesses
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The American Lung Association attributes many illnesses to smoking, including abdominal aortic aneurysm, pneumonia, and bladder, cervical and kidney cancers. Narrowing of the arteries and a decrease of air exchange in the lungs lowers the flow of blood of oxygen to the organs of the body. These effects can lead to disease over time. According to the Centers for Disease Control, postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone density than nonsmoking women.
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