Health effects of Cigarettes

Cigarette smoking is the largest preventable cause of death and disease in Australia. There is no safe level of tobacco use, and smoking is highly addictive. Most tobacco today comes from the plant Nicotina tabacum, although 66 other species of plant are known to contain nicotine, including 19 plants that are native to Australia (at least 5 of these are known to have been used by Aboriginals).

Cigarettes contain a cocktail of thousands of different chemicals and over 4000 chemicals are released as tobacco burns (at least 60 of these are known to cause cancer). It is many of these other chemicals, apart from nicotine, that are thought to cause many of the diseases associated with smoking.

Health effects of smoking:

Immediate effects of smoking include:
• Temporary increases in blood pressure and heart rate.
• Constriction of blood vessels (reducing peripheral blood flow)
• Binding of carbon monoxide to hemoglobin, which reduces the transport of oxygen in the bloodstream and its delivery to tissues.
• Nicotine binds to receptors in the brain and causes the release of dopamine from nerve cells. This produces a pleasurable “high”, boosts concentration and improves memory.
• Nicotine reduces appetite and may help to control body weight.

Once in the body, nicotine brakes down quite quickly. Typically those who smoke feel like a cigarette every 40 minutes or so due the rapid breakdown of nicotine. Interestingly, exercise speed up the rate at which nicotine is metabolized – this is the reason people feel like a cigarette after a workout, or after sex.

Some statistics:
• It has been estimated that approximately half of all people that smoke regularly will eventually die from a smoking-relate condition, with many of these deaths occurring during middle age.
• Smokers have a 70% grater risk of death from coronary hearth disease that non-smokers
• Smoking 1-4 cigarettes a day can double or triple the risk of hearth disease.
• The risk of death from hearth disease increases with the number of years smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked.
• The prevalence of smoking is higher in males than females (25% and 20% respectively). However, in 1945 72% of men and 26% of women smoked.
• It is estimated that greater than 75% of current smokers want to give up, and that 40% of those who are currently smoking have tried to give up at least once in the last year.
• Globally there is a 1% increase in cigarette consumption every year.

Quitting smoking:
Nicotine is a highly addictive drug. In terms of chemical dependence some scientists and doctors rate nicotine as more powerful than either heroin or cocaine. So when people try to quit they find it very difficult. Research has shown that for those that try to quit using only willpower only 5% of them will be non-smokers one year later. Even using nicotine replacement therapy (without additional support) 90% will be smoking again within a year.

Benefits of quitting smoking:

As soon as smokers stop smoking they begin to reduce their risk of dying from a smoking related disease, and after 10 to 15 years their risk of dying from a smoking related disease is almost the same as that of someone of the same age who has never smoked.

Risk of death from heart disease and stroke rapidly declines within one year when an individual quits smoking. In fact, within 2-6 years the risk of heart disease is similar to that of someone of the same age who has never smoked.

Even if an individual has had a heart attack giving up smoking can reduce the risk of having another one. The risk of lung cancer gradually decreases. After 10-15 years, risk approaches that of those who have never smoked. The risk of other cancers also decreases.

Cigarettes and nutrition

Smokers may have poor diets and reduced intake of many nutrients, due in part to reduce appetite. Smokers generally have lower intakes of fibre, vitamins and minerals, even when their energy intakes are similar to that of non-smokers. In particular, smokers generally have lower levels of vitamin C because they breakdown this vitamin more rapidly. It has been estimated that smokers may require up to 200mg more vitamin C a day to maintain serum levels that are equal to that of non-smokers. Smokers will have higher needs for all antioxidant nutrients and will benefit from increased intake of antioxidant phytochemicals fro fruits and vegetables. Smokers are also likely to have an increased need for B complex vitamins.

Smoking increase the rate at which the liver breaks down glycogen, leading to an increase in blood glucose. Smokers also metabolize caffeine more rapidly than non-smokers.

Resources and references:
www.alcoholgidelines.gov.au
www.health.gov.au/nhmrc/ (the National Health and Medical Research Council)
ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/ndarc.nsf (The national Drug and alcohol Research Centre)
www.acosh.org (the Australian Council on Smoking and Health)
www.heartfoundation.com.au (The Heart Foundation)