Smoking

Abstract

The UK government, in its White Paper in 1998, declared that ‘smoking is the greatest single cause of preventable illness and premature death in the UK’. Cigarette smoke is inhaled because it contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Nicotine itself has some adverse physiological effects but it is mainly the 4000+ chemicals (including acetone, arsenic, paint stripper, pesticides, and over 60 known carcinogens), added to make the cigarette such an extremely potent nicotine delivery device, that cause so much damage.A smoker dies on average 8–10 years before a non-smoker does. The commonest causes of premature death in smokers are cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and COPD. However, smoking also leads to much morbidity, causing or worsening many illnesses and affecting every system of the body. In addition, it is associated with a number of cancers, including lung cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, oesophageal cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, colonic cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer, and acute myeloid leukaemia. Stopping smoking at any age has been shown to improve health and increase life expectancy. Even with advanced smoking-related diseases, observational studies show clinically meaningful benefits in stopping smoking.