Smoking adversely affects your health. If you smoke, quitting is the one best thing you can do for your health. Tobacco smoke contains tar, which is made up of over 4,000 chemicals, including the 43 known to cause cancer. Some of these substances cause heart and respiratory diseases, all of which are disabling and can cause death. You might be surprised to know some of the chemicals and gases found in tobacco smoke. They include:
* cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol, acetylene (the fuel used in torches) , and ammonia,
* nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide, both poisonous gases, and
* nicotine, an addictive drug.

Cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking increase our risk of cancer. Tobacco use accounts for 30 percent, or one in three, of all cancer deaths in the United States. Smoking is responsible for almost 90 percent of lung cancers among men and more than 70 percent among women. Smoking is a major risk factor for cancer of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, kidney, bladder, pancreas, and uterine cervix.

Tobacco smoking causes several lung diseases that can be just as dangerous as lung cancer. Chronic bronchitis is a common ailment for smokers. Smoking is also the major cause of emphysema. This disease slowly destroys a person's ability to breathe. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) , which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, kills about 81,000 people each year. Smoking is responsible for more than 65,000 of these deaths.

Smoking increases the risk of heart disease, which is America's number one killer. Almost 180,000 Americans die each year from cardiovascular disease caused by smoking. Smoking doubles the risk of heart disease. Also, of those who have had a heart attack, smokers are more likely to have another.

For the pregnant woman, the risk is not just to herself, but to her unborn baby. The woman who smokes has a greater chance of losing her baby during pregnancy. Or, the baby may be born too early. These babies may have a hard time breathing when they are born.

If you need help to quit smoking or would like more information to help someone you care about that smokes, contact the local office of the American Lung Association or call them at(800) LUNG USA.

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