The reasons why smoking is bad for you

Smoking causes damage to nearly every organ in the body and is directly responsible for a number of diseases.

Every year, more than 480,000 people die in the United States (U.S.) due to tobacco-related diseases. That is around 1 in 5 of all deaths in the U.S. annually. It is estimated that 1 in 2 smokers will die from a smoking-related disease.

Smoking causes more deaths in the U.S. each year than the following combined:

• alcohol use
• firearm-related incidents
• HIV
• illegal drug use
• motor vehicle incidents

Smoking shortens the life of a male by about 12 years and the life of a female by around 11 years.

Two poisons in tobacco that affect peoples' health are:

• Carbon monoxide is found in car exhaust fumes and is fatal in large doses. It replaces oxygen in the blood and starves organs of oxygen and stops them being able to function properly.
• Tar is a sticky, brown substance that coats the lungs and affects breathing.

Smoking affects many different areas of the body. Below, we cover each part of the body in turn:

Brain

Smoking can increase the likelihood of having a stroke by 2 to 4 times. Strokes can cause brain damage and death.

One way that stroke can cause brain injury is through a brain aneurysm, which occurs when the wall of the blood vessel weakens and creates a bulge. This bulge can then burst and lead to a serious condition called a subarachnoid hemorrhage.