Health Effects of Smoking

Health studies have shown that smoking can affect your heart, lungs and almost every part of your body. Smoking also raises your risk of certain cancers. These are all good reasons to quit.

How smoking affects your body

Smoking has been linked with many serious illnesses. It also has been shown to increase signs of aging. A few of the health effects of smoking are listed below. Smoking can:

• Increase your risk of lung cancer, bladder cancer, and cervical cancer.

• Raise blood pressure, which increases your risk of heart attack or stroke.

• Reduce blood flow, which can slow healing and cause wrinkles.

• In pregnant women, cause bleeding problems, miscarriage, stillbirth, or birth defects.

• In men, cause problems with erections.

Facing facts

When you smoke, your breathing becomes shallow and your lungs fill with smoke. Smoking cigarettes or cigars fill your body with over 7,000 harmful chemicals.

Smoke: Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide. This gas takes the place of oxygen in your blood. Cigars make very high levels of carbon monoxide.

Nicotine: This drug raises your blood pressure and heart rate. It reduces blood flow to your arms and legs, and slows digestion.

Tar: Tar is what’s left after tobacco is smoked. This sticky brown material gums up your lungs, so less oxygen gets into your bloodstream.

Other chemicals: Formaldehyde, arsenic, and lead are just a few of the 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke. Dozens of these chemicals are known to cause cancer.

Get help quitting 

• UK's resources to help you quit: http://www.uky.edu/TobaccoFree/ – Click on "Quit Here!"

• UK Health & Wellness: UK employees, retirees, and their spouses or sponsored dependents can get free nicotine replacement therapy and coaching. Learn more at www.uky.edu/HR/Wellness/consults.html.