11:Tobacco [Risks of Tobacco Use] – Flashcards

Tobacco use can have immediate effects on a person's health. You may have noticed some of these effects, such as stained teeth and bad breath, in tobacco users you know. What you cannot notice, however, is the development of much more serious problems. With every dose of tobacco, users increase their risk of developing respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease, and several different forms of cancer. Did you know that tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States? Cigarette smoking alone is directly responsible for the deaths of over 400,000 Americans each year. Many more people die each year from the cigar, pipe, and smokeless tobacco use. More than 6 million children living today may die early because of a decision they will make during their teen years—the decision to use tobacco.

You may know smokers who suffer from a hacking cough that does not go away. "Smoker's cough" is the result of damage caused by tar. Cells that line the respiratory tract have hair-like extensions called cilia. The cilia move in a sweeping motion and push mucus and particles away from the lungs and toward the throat to be swallowed. Tar sticks to the cilia prevent them from moving and damages them over time. Dust, tobacco smoke toxins, and mucus then accumulate in the airways. Coughing is the body's attempt to clear the airways. Tobacco smoke and other accumulating toxins also irritate the lining of the bronchi. Bronchi are the tubes that carry air between the trachea and the lungs. The bronchi become inflamed, which restricts the amount of air that can enter and leave the lungs. In addition to respiratory diseases, smoking can cause other conditions.

-Increased risk of stomach ulcers -Slower healing of injuries -Increased colds and cases of flu -Increased allergies and asthma -A constant runny nose -Frequent headaches -Dulled sense of taste and smell -Premature wrenkling

If a person continues to smoke over a long period of time, the damage that occurs to the respiratory system becomes permanent. He or she may develop the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease that results in a gradual loss of lung function. COPD develops slowly, but its effects are severe. People with COPD find it difficult to fill their lungs with air. Simple activities, such as climbing stairs, may leave them gasping for breath. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are two types of COPD. Many people with COPD have both chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

In people with chronic bronchitis, the airways are constantly inflamed. Over time, mucus-producing cells increase in size and number, producing more and more mucus. The constricted airways and overproduction of mucus make breathing difficult.

Recall that your lungs contain millions of tiny alveoli or air sacs. Normally, the alveoli expand as you breathe in oxygen and contract as you breathe out carbon dioxide. Tobacco smoke damages alveoli tissue. The damage can lead to emphysema, a disorder in which alveoli in the lungs can no longer function properly. With emphysema, the alveoli lose shape and elasticity. Less oxygen can get into the alveoli and less carbon dioxide can get out. Eventually, the alveoli walls start to break down, which reduces the area in which gas exchange can occur. As a result, people with emphysema are always short of breath.

Cigarette smoking is responsible for about 90 percent of all COPD deaths. Although there is no cure for COPD, quitting smoking will prevent symptoms from getting worse. Treatments focus on relieving symptoms and slowing the progress of the disease. Possible treatments include medications that open airways, breathing exercises, oxygen treatments, and in severe cases, lung transplants.

In decreases, muscle action in the air passages increases mucus production, and paralyzes cilia lining the air passages.

Cardiovascular disease—diseases of the heart and blood vessels—kill about 138,000 smokers in the United States every year. -A smoker is two to three times more likely to have a heart attack than a non-smoker. -Cigarette smoking doubles a person's chances of suffering a stroke. -Smokers are 10 times more likely to develop circulation problems in blood vessels that bring blood to the stomach, kidneys, legs, and feet. These statistics are not surprising when you consider the damage that substances in tobacco products do to the heart and blood vessels. The combined effects of nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide force the cardiovascular system to work harder to deliver oxygen throughout the body. Tobacco use also raises blood pressure, which, over time, weakens blood vessels and places a strain on many organs. Studies also show that the chemicals in tobacco smoke increase blood cholesterol levels and promote atherosclerosis—the thickening and hardening of artery walls. In addition, nicotine increases the blood's tendency to clot. Clots may block blood flow through narrowed arteries, leading to a heart attack or stroke.

Both tobacco smoke and smokeless tobacco contain many ingredients that are known carcinogens. Tobacco use is a major factor in the development of lung cancer, oral cancers, and several other cancers. Many factors influence a tobacco user's risk of developing cancer. Some of these factors include when the person started using tobacco, how much tobacco the person has used, and how often the person is exposed to other people's smoke.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both women and men. Scientists estimate that more than 85 percent of all deaths caused by lung cancer are related to smoking. Unfortunately, by the time most lung cancers are diagnosed successful treatment is unlikely. Only 15 percent of lung cancer patients survive for more than five years.

Smoking and smokeless tobacco are also associated with oral cancers—cancers of the mouth, tongue, and throat. About 90 percent of oral cancers occur in people who use or have used tobacco. The survival rate for oral cancer is higher than for lung cancer. However, surgery to remove cancer may be disfiguring. Tobacco users may develop white patches on their tongues or the lining of their mouths called leukoplakia (loo koh PLAY kee uh). Because the sores sometimes become cancerous, they should be monitored by a doctor.

Tobacco carcinogens affect many organs in the body. As a result, tobacco users also have an increased risk of cancers of the esophagus, larynx, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and blood, among other sites.

Carcinogens in smoke enter the blood through the lungs and travel throughout the body.

Tar sticks to the cilia

Reading

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When a person smokes, smoke enters the air from two sources. Mainstream smoke is exhaled from a smoker's lungs. Both the cigarette filter and the smoker's lungs trap a lot of substances before they can enter the air in mainstream smoke. The other source, sidestream smoke, is smoke that goes into the air directly from the cigarette. Sidestream smoke contains twice as much tar and nicotine as mainstream smoke. The combination of mainstream and sidestream smoke is called secondhand smoke, or environmental tobacco smoke. Secondhand smoke is inhaled by everyone near the smoker.

Long-term exposure to secondhand smoke can cause cardiovascular disease, many respiratory problems, and cancer. In fact, secondhand smoke exposure increases the risk of a sudden heart attack by about 30 percent. Each year, secondhand smoke causes close to 40,000 deaths from heart attacks and lung cancer. Children are especially vulnerable to secondhand smoke. Each year, secondhand smoke contributes to about 300,000 respiratory infections in children younger than eighteen months. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to develop allergies and asthma. Their asthma symptoms are more likely to be worse than those of children who are not exposed. Inhaled secondhand smoke can cause recurring, long-lasting ear infections—a leading cause of hearing loss.

-Chemicals from secondhand smoke soak into hair, clothing, furniture, and other surfaces -Ear infections from secondhand smoke lead to over 1 million doctor visits each year -Millions of schools days are missed each year due to illness caused by secondhand smoke

Although secondhand smoke is still a serious problem, great progress has been made to eliminate it. Federal, state and local laws now prohibit or restrict smoking in many public places and workplaces. As smoking becomes less socially acceptable, smoking in public will become even less common. Breathing clean air is a serious issue for everyone. The government and several health organizations have made great strides to protect you from secondhand smoke. But it is important that you also protect yourself. -Ask smokers not to smoke around you. -Be firm when informing guests that they cannot smoke in your home or car. -In restaurants, always sit in no-smoking areas.

Child of a smoker

Sidestream smoke contains twice as much tar and nicotine

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Many of the harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke pass directly from a pregnant woman to her developing baby. Pregnant women who smoke put their babies at risk for many health problems. Tobacco smoke increases the baby's heart rate, reduces the baby's oxygen supply, and slows cell growth.

Pregnant women who smoke also have higher rates of miscarriages, premature births, and stillbirths than women who do not smoke. Babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are also at much higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is an unexplained disorder in which a seemingly healthy baby dies suddenly, usually while sleeping. In addition, nursing mothers who smoke produce less milk than nonsmoking mothers. The nicotine in their milk can cause vomiting and diarrhea in nursing babies.

SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy. SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result In Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, and Low Birth Weight.

It can cause vomiting and diarrhea

High birth weight babies

A smoker's neurotransmitters are replaced with new chemicals

Alcoholism

Broken bones

*QUIZ*

Tobacco use

Chronic bronchitis

High birth weight babies

It increases the size of arteries and veins

Reading

Using smokeless tobacco

Tar sticks to the cilia

It can cause vomiting and diarrhea

It increases a baby's heart rate

Allow a family member to smoke only one cigarrette an hour

Child of a smoker

She produces milk that contains nicotine

Smoke that goes into the air directly from a cigarette