Health risks of smoking & benefits of quitting

Smoking harms your health, but how? Take a closer look at the risks associated with smoking – and the benefits of quitting.

Smoking is no harmless habit. By virtue of the toxins contained in cigarette smoke it’s extremely damaging to your health. It can also harm the health of anyone breathing in your smoke. Half of all smokers die from smoking related diseases. Not only that, their quality of life can be badly affected as years of smoking take their toll.

The key health risks

Lung cancer

Smoking is the single biggest risk factor for lung cancer and is a contributory risk factor in a number of other cancers.

Heart disease

Your heart is your body’s engine, pumping blood to all vital organs. Smoking damages that engine by:

• Increasing your heart-rate and therefore, increasing your requirement for oxygen in the blood.
• Introducing carbon monoxide into the blood. This may contribute to the development of coronary heart disease and possible heart attacks.
• Increasing the risk of blood clot.
• Hardening and narrowing of the arteries supplying blood to the heart, which reduces the blood supply to the heart.

Stroke

Smokers are more likely to have a stroke (blockage of blood to the brain or bleed in the brain) than non-smokers. Strokes are a major cause of death and prolonged disability.

Bronchitis and emphysema

Smoking can cause or worsen these debilitating respiratory conditions. Severe emphysema causes breathlessness, which can be made worse by infections.

Fertility levels and birth problems

Smoking can reduce fertility, and smoking during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth and illness in early infancy.

Environmental tobacco smoke/passive smoking

When non-smokers share a space with someone who is smoking they are being exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) or passive smoke.

ETS/passive smoke is made up of:

• Mainstream smoke, which is the smoke inhaled and then exhaled by the smoker into the environment.
• Side-stream smoke, which comes from the burning tip of the cigarette and is far more dangerous than the mainstream smoke inhaled by the smoker as it contains higher concentrations of harmful chemicals.
• ETS increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease in non-smokers. It puts people suffering from breathing disorders and heart disease at particular risk and it makes illnesses such as asthma and chronic bronchitis worse.
• Smoking in the presence of young children can cause them serious illness and may make them more likely to suffer health problems in later life.
• Smoking in the presence of a pregnant woman may also endanger the health of the foetus (unborn baby).
• Passive smoking increases the risk of cot death (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

Benefits of quitting

It’s good for your health

Everyone knows you feel better when you give up smoking. But did you know that the health benefits kick in almost immediately and accumulate over time? Here’s a summary of what happens to your body when you quit (Data source: US Surgeon General’s Office):

• After 20 minutes: your blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal. Circulation improves in hands and feet.
• After 8 hours: oxygen levels in the blood return to normal and your chance of heart attack starts to fall.
• After 24 hours: poisonous carbon monoxide gas is eliminated from the body. The lungs start to clear out mucous and other debris.
• After 48 hours: nicotine is no longer detectable in the body. Taste and smell improve.
• After 72 hours: breathing becomes easier as the bronchial tubes relax and energy levels increase.
• After 2 weeks: circulation improves, making walking and exercise easier.
• After 3 to 9 months: coughing, shortness of breath and wheezing are reduced dramatically.
• After 5 years: risk of heart attack falls to that of a non-smoker.
• After 10 years: risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker.

Remember, quitting smoking may well be the single most important thing you can do to improve your health.

Contact us

For information and support on how to quit smoking:

• call the National Smokers' Quitline on 1850 201 203
• listen to our audioguide on quitting smoking
• visit quit.ie