- Cigarettes are addicting because they contain the drug nicotine. Studies have shown that smokers become physically and psychologically dependent on nicotine, according to the American Cancer Society. Nicotine has an effect on many parts of the body, including the heart and blood vessels, hormones, metabolism and brain. The withdrawal effects of nicotine are often reasons for smokers to give up trying to quit. Some symptoms include headaches, anxiety, dizziness and depression.
- Cigarette smoking is considered the most preventable cause of premature death in the United States, according to the American Heart Association, killing 440,000 people per year. Cigarette smokers are not only at increased risks of developing lung cancer. Cigarette smoking also can lead to other chronic health conditions, including fatty buildup in the arteries (atherosclerosis) and lung conditions (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
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Smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular disease even when there aren't other contributing factors such as obesity, inactivity or high blood pressure. On its own, smoking increases blood pressure, decreases exercise tolerance and increases the risk for blood clots, according to the American Heart Association. Smoking also decreases the good HDL cholesterol. According to the American Cancer Society, smokers are twice as likely to die from a heart attack than non-smokers.
Women who take hormonal birth control and who smoke are at a significantly increased risk of heart attacks and stroke.
Someone with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and clogged arteries is at serious risk for cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and even strokes. (Strokes are essentially heart attacks to the brain; blood flow is blocked).
Once you quit smoking, improvements to your heart health are immediate:
Twenty minutes after quitting, your heart rate and blood pressure drop, according to the article, "Effect of Smoking on Arterial Stiffness and Pulse Pressure Amplification."
Two to three months after quitting, your circulation improves, according to the U.S. Surgeon General's Report.
One year after quitting, your excess risk of coronary heart disease is half of a smoker's, and 15 years after quitting, your risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker's, the report says.
