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Health Effects of Cigarette
Smoking
Fact sheet
February 2004
The adverse health effects from cigarette smoking
account for 440,000 deaths, or nearly 1 of every 5 deaths, each year
in the United States.1,2
More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths
from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol
use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.1,3
Cancer
- The risk of dying from lung cancer is more than
22 times higher among men who smoke cigarettes, and about 12 times
higher among women who smoke cigarettes compared with never smokers.4
- Cigarette smoking increases the risk for many
types of cancer, including cancers of the lip, oral cavity, and
pharynx; esophagus; pancreas; larynx (voice box); lung; uterine
cervix; urinary bladder; and kidney.5
- Rates of cancers related to cigarette smoking
vary widely among members of racial/ethnic groups, but are generally
highest in African-American men.6
Cardiovascular Disease (Heart and Circulatory
System)
- Cigarette smokers are 2–4 times more likely
to develop coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.5
- Cigarette smoking approximately doubles a person’s
risk for stroke.4,7
- Cigarette smoking causes reduced circulation
by narrowing the blood vessels (arteries). Smokers are more than
10 times as likely as nonsmokers to develop peripheral vascular
disease.8
Respiratory Disease and Other Effects
- Cigarette smoking is associated with a ten-fold
increase in the risk of dying from chronic obstructive lung disease.4
About 90% of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung diseases
are attributable to cigarette smoking.4,9
- Cigarette smoking has many adverse reproductive
and early childhood effects, including an increased risk for infertility,
preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, and sudden infant
death syndrome (SIDS).9
- Postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone
density than women who never smoked. Women who smoke have an increased
risk for hip fracture than never smokers.9
References
- CDC. Annual
smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost,
and economic costs—United States, 1995–1999. (
 PDF
- 225k) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2002;51(14):300–303.
Accessed: February 2004.
- CDC. Health
United States, 2003, With Chartbook on Trends in the Health of
Americans. (PDF
- 119k) Hyattsville, MD: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics;
2003. Accessed: February 2004.
- McGinnis J, Foege WH. Actual causes of death
in the United States. Journal of
the American Medical Association 1993;270:2207–2212.
- Novotny TE, Giovino GA. Tobacco use. In: Brownson
RC, Remington PL, Davis JR (eds). Chronic
Disease Epidemiology and Control. Washington, DC: American
Public Health Association; 1998. p.117–148.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Reducing
the Health Consequences of Smoking — 25 Years of Progress:
A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, CDC; 1989. DHHS Pub. No. (CDC) 89-8411.
Accessed: February 2004.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Tobacco
Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups—African Americans,
American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders, and Hispanics: A Report of the Surgeon General.
Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC;
1998. Accessed: February 2004.
- Ockene IS, Miller NH. Cigarette smoking, cardiovascular
disease, and stroke: a statement for healthcare professionals
from the American Heart Association. Journal
of American Health Association 1997;96(9):3243–3247.
- Fielding JE, Husten CG, Eriksen MP. Tobacco:
health effects and control. In: Maxcy KF, Rosenau MJ, Last JM,
Wallace RB, Doebbling BN (eds.). Public
Health and Preventive Medicine. New York: McGraw-Hill;1998.
p.817–845.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Women
and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2001. Accessed:
February 2004.
Note: The next update of this fact sheet
is scheduled for February 2005. More recent information may be available
at the CDC'S Office on Smoking and Health Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco.
For Further Information
Office on Smoking and Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Mailstop K-50
4770 Buford Hwy., N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30341-3717
770-488-5705
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco
Media Inquiries: Contact the CDC's Office on Smoking
and Health press line at 770-488-5493.
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