The U.S. Surgeon General released a report with new evidence indicating smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke is likely to cause instantaneous harm to the body.
Tobacco products kill approximately 400,000 Americans each year, due to the fact that it increases the risk of developing serious diseases. The report suggests that inhaling smoke firsthand or secondhand can cause immediate physical changes to the body that may lead to cancer, heart attacks, lung disease and other serious illnesses.
Furthermore, the report highlighted the fact that tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and 70 or more that cause cancer. Exposure to secondhand smoke may damage blood vessels and the cardiovascular system, which increases the risk of blood clots. Also, smoking is now known to damage the reproductive systems of both men and women.
The report cited statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention which indicates that more than half of children between the ages of 3 and 11 are exposed to secondhand smoke.
Tobacco smoke is clearly an extreme detriment to one’s health, as it effects a person financially as well as physically. An individual should try to follow a healthy lifestyle because they may see lower health insurance and life insurance premiums which may encourage them to quit.
For more, go to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet about health risks and smoking.
