Smokeless tobacco is not lit or inhaled like tobacco in cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Instead, smokeless tobacco is put between the lip and gum and sucked on inside the mouth.
Tobacco contains nicotine say: NIH-kuh-teen , a chemical that causes a tingly or pleasant feeling — but that feeling only lasts for a little while. Nicotine is also addictive say: uh-DIK-tiv. That means that if you start to use nicotine, your body and mind will become so used to it that you'll need to have it just to feel OK.
Anyone who starts smoking could become addicted to it. If you're addicted to something, it's very hard to stop doing it, even if you want to. Some kids get addicted right away. And adults are often addicted, which is why so many of them have a hard time quitting smoking.
Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco kill hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. In fact, each day people die from smoking alone. The nicotine and other poisonous chemicals in tobacco cause lots of diseases, like heart problems and some kinds of cancer.
If you smoke, you hurt your lungs and heart each time you light up. It also can make it more difficult for blood to move around in the body, so smokers may feel tired and cranky. The longer you smoke, the worse the damage becomes. Using tobacco eats up a lot of money, too. That's a lot of computer games and clothes you could buy instead. Usually, people don't like smoking or chewing tobacco at first. Your body is smart, and it knows when it's being poisoned.
Secondhand smoke causes stroke, lung cancer, and coronary heart disease in adults. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, more severe asthma, respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth.
Department of Health and Human Services. Atlanta: U. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Health Effects. Minus Related Pages. Tobacco use increases the risk for many types of cancer, such as Lung cancer. Nicotine causes blood vessels to tighten, which restricts the flow of blood. Over time, the ongoing narrowing, along with damage to the blood vessels, can cause peripheral artery disease.
Smoking also raises blood pressure , weakens blood vessel walls, and increases blood clots. Together, this raises your risk of stroke. Exposure to secondhand smoke carries the same risk to a nonsmoker as someone who does smoke. Risks include stroke, heart attack, and heart disease. The more obvious signs of smoking involve skin changes.
Substances in tobacco smoke actually change the structure of your skin. A recent study has shown that smoking dramatically increases the risk of squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer. Smoking increases the likelihood of fungal nail infections. Hair is also affected by nicotine. An older study found it increases hair loss , balding, and graying. Smoking increases the risk of mouth, throat, larynx, and esophagus cancer.
Smokers also have higher rates of pancreatic cancer. Nicotine affects blood flow to the genital areas of both men and women. For men, this can decrease sexual performance. For women, this can result in sexual dissatisfaction by decreasing lubrication and the ability to reach orgasm. Smoking may also lower sex hormone levels in both men and women. This can possibly lead to decreased sexual desire. Quitting smoking is difficult, but your doctor can help you make a plan.
Ask them for advice. There are a variety of nonprescription and prescription medications that can help you quit. You can also turn to our smoking cessation resource center , which has advice, stories from others, and more. There are both short and long-term benefits to quitting smoking. Since smoking affects every body system, finding a way to quit is the most important step you can take to living a longer and happier life.
But that doesn't make it easy to quit. Our readers sent us their tips on how to quit…. Do you know all the leading causes of death in the United States? The fourth cause in our list may surprise you.
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