Ciggyfree Blog

Smokers risk damage to almost all major organs in their bodies, according to the latest report by the surgeon general (Health Consequences of Smoking, Surgeon General’s Report). The list of diseases caused by tobacco now includes cancers of the kidneys, stomach, cervix, and pancreas as well as leukemia, cataracts, pneumonia, and gum disease. These illnesses are in addition to diseases previously known to be caused by smoking— bladder, esophageal, laryngeal, lung, oral, and throat cancers, chronic lung diseases, coronary heart and cardiovascular diseases, and sudden infant death syndrome.

Smoking also reduces overall health, contributing to conditions such as hip fractures, complications from diabetes, increased wound infections following surgery, and various reproductive problems. Smoking cigarettes with lower machine–measured yields of tar and nicotine does not help. “There is no safe cigarette, whether it is called ‘light,’ ‘ultra–light,’ or any other name,” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona commented. “The science is clear: the only way to avoid the health hazards of smoking is to quit completely or to never start smoking” (Health and Human Services, Press Release).