Factsheet of Smoking and Health

Smoking

Also called: Cigar smoking, Cigarette smoking, Pipe smoking, Tobacco smoking

There's no way around it. Smoking is bad for your health. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. It is also responsible for many other cancers and health problems. These include lung disease, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke and cataracts. Women who smoke have a greater chance of certain pregnancy problems or having a baby die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Your smoke is also bad for other people - they breathe in your smoke secondhand and can get many of the same problems as smokers do.

Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of these problems. The earlier you quit, the greater the health benefit.

Overviews

Smoking & Tobacco Use (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Latest News

Smoking Ups Men's Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk Most (12/24/2009, Reuters Health)

Menthol Cigarettes More Addictive to U.S. Minorities (12/10/2009, HealthDay)

States Slash Funding for Tobacco Prevention Programs (12/09/2009, HealthDay)

Health Headlines: New Smoking Danger, Another Cell Phone Warning, Holiday Safety Tips (12/05/2009, HealthDay)

Smoking and Seizures (12/01/2009, HealthDay)

U.S. Adult Smoking Rates Remain Stalled (11/12/2009, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

More News on Smoking

Specific Conditions

Bidis and Kreteks (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (National Institute on Drug Abuse)

Also available in Spanish

Cigars (American Lung Association)

Hookah Smoking: Is It Safer Than Smoking Cigarettes? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Truth about "Light" Cigarettes: Questions and Answers (National Cancer Institute)

Related Issues

Alcohol Alert: Alcohol and Tobacco (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)

Cigar Smoking and Cancer (National Cancer Institute)

Diabetes and Smoking (American Diabetes Association)

JAMA Patient Page: Smoking and the Heart (American Medical Association) - PDF

Also available in Spanish

Smoking and Asthma (Nemours Foundation)

Also available in Spanish

Smoking and Bone Health(National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Smoking and HIV (New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)

Also available in Spanish

Smoking and Infertility (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) - PDF

Smoking and Musculoskeletal Health (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)

Smoking and Your Digestive System (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Smoking: Does It Cause Wrinkles? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Tobacco Industry Marketing (American Lung Association)

What's in a Cigarette? (American Lung Association)

Health Check Tools

Quiz: Do You Need Help to Quit?: Take the Stop Smoking Quiz (American Cancer Society)

Withdrawal Quiz (National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch)

Tutorials

Smoking - The Facts (Patient Education Institute)

Also available in Spanish

Videos

Smoking and Sleep (Harvard Medical School)

Anatomy/Physiology

How Lungs Work (American Lung Association)

Financial Issues

How Much Will You Save? (National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch)

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Smoking (National Institutes of Health)

ClinicalTrials.gov: Tobacco Use Disorder (National Institutes of Health)

Research

Expert Panel Addresses High Rates of Smoking in People with Psychiatric Disorders (National Institute of Mental Health)

Smoking Compromises Quality-of-Life in Old Age (American Cancer Society)

Smoking Remains Potent Risk Factor for Death from Heart Disease, Cancer (American Heart Association)

Smoking-Related Cancers May Account for Narrowing Gap in Death Rates (American Cancer Society)

Tobacco Addiction (National Institute on Drug Abuse)

Tobacco and Nicotine Research (National Institute on Drug Abuse)

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: A transdermal nicotine patch is not effective for postoperative pain...

Article: Smoking may be considered an established risk factor for sporadic...

Article: Tobacco control in the United States--recent progress and opportunities.

Dictionaries/Glossaries

ABC's of Tobacco (National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids)

Organizations

American Cancer Society

American Lung Association

National Institute on Drug Abuse

Law and Policy

FDA Parental Advisory on Flavored Tobacco Products -- What You Need To Know (Food and Drug Administration)

State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI) (American Lung Association)

Tobacco Control Laws in Your State (American Lung Association)

Statistics

Adult Cigarette Smoking in the United States: Current Estimates (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Cigar Use Among Young Adults Aged 18 to 25 (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)

Cigarette Smoking Among Adults and Trends in Smoking Cessation -- United States, 2008 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Cigarette Use among Adults Employed Full Time, by Occupational Category (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)

Cigars (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

FastStats: Smoking (National Center for Health Statistics)

Key Facts About Smoking Among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (American Lung Association)

Key Facts About Smoking Among Hispanics(American Lung Association)

Smoking (American Lung Association)

Smoking in Your State (National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch)

State Data Highlights 2006 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Tobacco-Related Mortality (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Toll of Tobacco in the United States of America (National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids) - PDF

Use of Menthol Cigarettes (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)

Women

Women and Smoking (American Cancer Society)

Also available in Spanish

Women and Smoking: Questions and Answers (National Cancer Institute)

Women and Tobacco (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Women and Tobacco Use (American Lung Association)

Related Articles:

Smoking Ups Men's Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk Most (12/24/2009, Reuters Health)

Menthol Cigarettes More Addictive to U.S. Minorities (12/10/2009, HealthDay)

Most of World Exposed to Deadly Tobacco Smoke: WHO (12/09/2009, Reuters Health)

States Slash Funding for Tobacco Prevention Programs (12/09/2009, HealthDay)

Asthmatics Who Quit Smoking May Reverse Lung Damage (12/07/2009, HealthDay)

Health Headlines: New Smoking Danger, Another Cell Phone Warning, Holiday Safety Tips (12/05/2009, HealthDay)

Water Pipes No Safer Than Cigarettes (12/04/2009, HealthDay)

Early Morning Smokers May Be More Dependent on Nicotine (12/03/2009, HealthDay)

Smoking Exposure Now Linked to Colon, Breast Cancers (12/03/2009, HealthDay)

Health Gains from Lowered Smoking Rates in Jeopardy (12/02/2009, HealthDay)

Smokers Inhaling Germs with Each Cigarette (12/02/2009, HealthDay)

Smoking and Seizures (12/01/2009, HealthDay)

Women Who Smoke Risk Having Seizures (11/26/2009, Reuters Health)

Smokers Double Their Risk for Heart Disease (11/24/2009, HealthDay)

U.S. Adult Smoking Rates Remain Stalled (11/12/2009, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Smoking Tied to Suicide Risk in Bipolar Disorder (11/11/2009, Reuters Health)

FDA Says Companies Violating Flavored Cigarette Ban (11/06/2009, Reuters Health)

Switch to 'Light' Cigarettes Makes Quitting Tougher (11/03/2009, HealthDay)

Nicotine Patch Plus Lozenge Best for Quitting Smoking (11/02/2009, HealthDay)

Even Light Smoking Affects Young Adults' Arteries (10/28/2009, HealthDay)

Is Smoking Tougher on Women? (10/25/2009, HealthDay)

U.S. Backs Vaccines for Drug, Nicotine Addiction (10/20/2009, Reuters Health)

Smoking Keeps Its Grip on Urban Poor (10/16/2009, HealthDay)

Stop-Smoking Vaccine in the Works (10/12/2009, HealthDay)

Smoking and Youth

Teens Think Smoking More Dangerous Than Drinking, Drugs (12/17/2009, HealthDay)

Teen Survey Shows Drops in Meth Use, Smoking (12/14/2009, Reuters Health)

Movies May Tempt Teens to Smoke (12/03/2009, HealthDay)

FDA Says Companies Violating Flavored Cigarette Ban (11/06/2009, Reuters Health)

Phone Counseling Helps Teens Quit Smoking (10/13/2009, HealthDay)