Smoking and Cancer

Smoking and Cancer

Other Forms of Tobacco Use

Many smokers have switched from cigarettes to other forms of tobacco, such as cigars, pipes, clove cigarettes, and spit (smokeless) tobacco. However, these alternatives are far from safe.

Nicotine stimulates brain to release chemicals that alter mood

Tars and toxins irritate mucous membranes, dull taste buds

Nicotine constricts blood vessels, especially in skin

Irritation increases mucus production and damages cilia in bronchial tubes, allowing particles to reach delicate lung tissue

Nicotine accelerates heart rate, elevates blood pressure

Nicotine stimulates adrenal glands to release adrenaline, causing changes in functioning of heart and other organs

Nicotine depresses hunger contractions

Nicotine inhibits production of urine in kidneys

Nicotine causes liver to release glycogen, raising blood sugar level

Cigars and Pipes Cigar and pipe smokers are at increased risk for many health problems, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and many types of cancer. Cigars contain more tobacco than cigarettes and so contain more nicotine and produce more tar when smoked. Cigar smokers who don’t inhale have a six-times greater risk of throat cancer than nonsmokers; their risk of heart and lung disease approaches that of cigarette smokers. The risks are even higher for cigar smokers who inhale.

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Clove Cigarettes and Bidis Clove cigarettes, imported from Indonesia and Pakistan, are made of tobacco mixed with chopped cloves. Also known as kreteks, they contain almost twice as much tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide as conventional cigarettes. Some chemical constituents of cloves can be dangerous, and there have been a number of severe respiratory injuries and deaths from smoking clove cigarettes.

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) Smoke TERMS that enters the atmosphere from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, as well as smoke that is exhaled by smokers; also called secondhand smoke.

Mainstream smoke Smoke that is inhaled by a smoker and then exhaled into the atmosphere.

Sidestream smoke Smoke that enters the atmosphere from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe.

Bidis, or “beadies,” are small cigarettes imported from India that contain a type of tobacco different from that used in U.S. cigarettes; they are rolled in ebony leaves and often flavored. Bidis contain up to four times more nicotine and twice as much tar as U.S. cigarettes.

Spit (Smokeless) Tobacco Spit tobacco comes in two main forms: snuff and chewing tobacco. Both forms have high levels of nicotine, and use can lead to nicotine addiction. Snuff is tobacco in the form of a coarse, moist powder, mixed with flavorings. The user places a pinch of tobacco between the lower lip or cheek and gum and sucks it. Longterm snuff use may increase the risk of cancer of the cheek and gums by as much as 50 times.

Chewing tobacco comes in the form of shredded leaves, pressed into bricks or cakes or twisted into ropelike strands. The user places a wad of tobacco in the mouth and chews or sucks it, spitting out or swallowing the tobacco juice. Spit tobacco causes bad breath, tooth decay, and gum disease. One of the most serious effects of chewing tobacco is the increased risk of oral cancer cancers of the lip, tongue, cheek, throat, gums, roof and floor of the mouth, and larynx.

E-Cigarettes The latest trend in smoking is the electronic cigarette, or )-cig. The e-cig is a battery-powered device that resembles a real cigarette. Instead of containing tobacco, the device uses a changeable filter that contains one or more chemicals, such as nicotine, flavorings, and other

American men are currently more likely than women to smoke, but the rate of smoking among women is approaching that of men, as are rates of tobacco-related illness and death. Lung cancer, emphysema, and cardiovascular diseases sicken and kill both men and women who smoke, and more American women now die each year from lung cancer than from breast cancer.

Although overall risks for tobacco-related illness are similar for women and men, sex appears to make a difference in some diseases. Women, for example, are more at risk for smoking-related blood clots and strokes than are men, and the risk is even greater for women using oral contraceptives. Among men and women with the same smoking history, the odds of developing three major types of cancer, including lung cancer, are 1.2-1.7 times higher for women than men. Women may also have a greater biological vulnerability to lung cancer.

Tobacco use also is associated with sex-specific health problems. Men who smoke increase their risk of erectile dysfunction and infertility. Women who smoke have higher rates of osteoporosis (a bone-thinning disease that can lead to fractures), thyroid-related diseases, and depression.

Women who smoke also have risks associated with reproduction and the reproductive organs. Smoking is associated with greater menstrual bleeding, greater duration of painful menstrual cramps, and more variability in menstrual cycle length. Smokers have a more difficult time becoming pregnant, and they reach menopause on average a year or two earlier than nonsmokers. When women smokers become pregnant, they face increased chances of miscarriage, placental disorders, premature delivery, ectopic pregnancy, preeclampsia, and stillbirth. Smoking is a risk factor for cervical cancer, too.

Women are less successful than men in quitting. Women report more severe withdrawal symptoms when they stop smoking and are more likely than men to report cravings in response to social and behavioral cues associated with smoking. For men, relapse to smoking is often associated with work or social pressure; women are more likely to relapse when sad or depressed or concerned about weight gain. Women and men also respond differently to medications: Nicotine replacement therapy appears to work better for men, whereas the non-nicotine medication bupropion appears to work better for women. compounds. The user “smokes” an e-cig by sucking the filtered end; the device’s battery heats the chemicals to create an inhalable vapor. During use, the device’s tip even glows like the burning end of a real cigarette.

Marketers of e-cigs have claimed that the devices deliver only nicotine, making them a safe cigarette that does not cause cancer and that can serve as an alternative to other nicotine replacement products such as gum and patches. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), however, not all e-cigs actually contain nicotine. Further, the FDA has warned consumers not to purchase or use e-cigs, after analysis of nearly 20 e-cig cartridges revealed they contained carcinogens, including at least one of the same carcinogens found in real cigarettes. Several samples contained a toxic chemical used in antifreeze.

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