Healthy Living (cont.)
Avoid tobacco use
Tobacco use is the most important preventable cause of death. Tobacco use was estimated to be the cause of 17% of all deaths and 13% of all years of life lost by adults due to death prior to age 65 in the US in 1980.
Adverse consequences of tobacco use:
- Tobacco use causes an estimated 30% of cancers in the
US. Tobacco use causes cancers of the lung, mouth, lip, tongue, esophagus,
kidney, and bladder. It also further increases the risk of bladder cancer in
subjects occupationally exposed to certain organic chemicals found in the
textile, leather, rubber, dye, paint, and other organic chemical industries,
and further increases the risk of lung cancer among subjects exposed to asbestos.
- Tobacco use causes atherosclerotic arterial disease (hardening and narrowing of the arteries) that can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and lack of blood flow to the lower extremities. Tobacco use causes an estimated 20% of coronary heart disease in the US. It also further increases the risk of heart attacks among subjects with elevated cholesterol, uncontrolled hypertension, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle.
- Tobacco use causes an estimated 20% of chronic lung
diseases in the U.S., such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and causes
pneumonia in those with chronic lung disease.
- Pregnant women who smoke are more likely to deliver
babies with low birth weight.
- Second-hand smoke
can cause middle ear infections (otitis media), coughing, wheezing,
bronchitis, and pneumonia in babies, and aggravate asthma in children. Second-hand smoke (sometimes referred to as passive smoking) can
also cause lung cancer. Each year in the US, an estimated 3,000 deaths occur that are attributable to lung cancers caused by passive smoking.
Comments and recommendations:
- Quitting smoking is difficult to accomplish; tobacco contains nicotine, which is
addictive. Some smokers can quit "cold turkey," but for most, quitting smoking requires a serious life-long commitment and an average of six quitting attempts before success.
- Quitting smoking efforts may include behavior
modification, counseling, use of nicotine chewing gum (Nicorette Gum), nicotine skin
patches (Transderm
Nicotine
), or oral medications such as bupropion (Zyban).
Next: Avoid excessive alcohol consumption »
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