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Summary
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.
E-cigarettes often look like cigarettes, but they work differently. They are battery-operated smoking devices. Not much is known about the health risks of using them.
Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of health problems. The earlier you quit, the greater the benefit.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
Related Issues
- Cancer and Tobacco Use (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
-
Cigar Smoking and Cancer
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Is It True That Smoking Causes Wrinkles? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Nicotine Dependence (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Smoking and Asthma (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
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Smoking and Bone Health
(National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
- Smoking and Eye Disease (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
- Smoking and Home Fire Safety (United States Fire Administration)
- Smoking and Infertility (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) Also in Spanish
-
Smoking and Your Digestive System
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- What's in a Cigarette? (American Lung Association)
Specifics
- Bidis and Kreteks (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Cigars (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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E-Cigarettes: MedlinePlus Health Topic
(National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
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E-Cigs, Menthol & Dip
(National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch) Also in Spanish
- Hookahs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Light, Low, Mild or Similar Descriptors (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF
- Low-Yield Cigarettes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Tobacco Products (Department of Health and Human Services)
Health Check Tools
- Smoking Habits Quiz (American Cancer Society)
-
What Are Your Withdrawal Symptoms? (Quiz)
(National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch)
Statistics and Research
- Adult Cigarette Smoking in the United States: Current Estimates (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Exposure to Cigarette Smoke Reduces Vitamin D3 in the Blood Stream and Respiratory Tract (American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology)
- Tobacco Use in Racial and Ethnic Populations (American Lung Association)
- Tobacco-Related Mortality (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Cigarette Smoking
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Tobacco Smoking
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Tobacco Use Disorder
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Water Pipe Smoking
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Reference Desk
- How Lungs Work (American Lung Association)
Find an Expert
Women
- Smoking during Pregnancy (March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation)
-
Stress and Mood
(National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch)
- Tobacco Use and Pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Women and Tobacco Use (American Lung Association)
Patient Handouts
- Risks of tobacco (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Smoking and asthma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Smoking and COPD (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish