Tobacco Effects

• What makes nicotine addictive?
• Health effects of smoking
• The facts about smoking and pregnancy
• The facts about second-hand smoke
• Children see, children do

What makes nicotine addictive?

• Cigarette smoking and other forms of tobacco use are addictive;
• Nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction; and
• Nicotine addiction is similar to heroin or cocaine addiction.

How nicotine works

• Nicotine causes chemical or biological changes in the brain. This effect is called psychoactive and although it is less dramatic than heroin or cocaine, the strength of the addiction is just as powerful. It is a 'reinforcing' drug, which means that users desire the drug regardless of the damaging effects. For example, in research conducted in 1994, only 50% of smokers who suffered a heart attack managed to quit smoking even though their doctors advised them to. Coincidentally, 50% of all regular smokers die as a result of smoking.
• Nicotine addiction is a physical dependency. Withdrawal symptoms are severe and most smokers cannot quit on their first attempt because of these symptoms.
• The human body builds a tolerance to nicotine and the effect of the drug is reduced over time. As a result, regular smokers can inhale greater amounts of smoke and therefore greater amounts of toxins, without showing immediate effects (such as coughing, nausea).
• Nicotine is extremely poisonous if consumed in large amounts and most people feel sick and dizzy the first time they smoke. These negative affects are quickly overcome. Over time the body builds a tolerance to nicotine, resulting in an increase in the amount of cigarettes smoked.

Nicotine in the body

• Cigarette smoke is acidic and therefore nicotine is absorbed through the lungs. Pipe and cigar smoke is alkaline and the nicotine is absorbed through the mouth. Human lungs are very efficient in absorbing nicotine which then moves through the bloodstream and into the brain and other organs of the body.
• It takes only 10 seconds for nicotine to reach the brain after being inhaled. This causes several physiological reactions:
  • Acute increase in heart rate and blood pressure;
  • Constriction of blood vessels causing a temperature drop in the hands and feet; and
  • Brain waves are altered and muscles relax.

Levels of dependency

• Levels of dependency vary, but 89% of smokers have a cigarette every one to two hours throughout the day.
• A highly addicted smoker smokes more than 25 cigarettes a day, ranks the first cigarette in the day as the most important, and will smoke within 30 minutes of waking up.

Withdrawal symptoms

• The most severe withdrawal symptoms occur within the first week although the craving for cigarettes usually persists for months and even years. The desire to smoke tends to be especially strong when a person is under stress. The typical withdrawal symptoms are:
  • Headaches;
  • Anxiety and irritability;
  • Difficulty concentrating and sleeping;
  • Hunger;
  • Decreased heart rate and blood pressure; and
  • Craving for nicotine.
• Other side-effects, such as tiredness and coughing, are indications that the body is in a state of repair and is cleaning out the poisons associated with smoking.
• Weight gain for men averaged 4.9 kg and 5.2 kg. for women 7 in the first year after quitting.

Quitting smoking

• There are now more former smokers (26%), over the age of 15, than current smokers (25%).
• The most common reason given for quitting smoking is concern about future personal health. Other reasons for quitting were life-style changes, cost of cigarettes, having a baby, and smoke-related illness or death of a friend or family member.
• The most common reason current smokers give for not quitting is lack of will-power.

There are five successive stages to quitting smoking:

• Pre-contemplation - not thinking about quitting;
• Contemplation - thinking about quitting but not yet ready;
• Preparation - getting ready to quit;
• Action - quitting; and
• Maintenance - remaining a non-smoker.

Health effects of smoking

What are the effects on individual smokers?

• Unless they quit, up to half of all smokers will die from their smoking, most of them before their 70th birthday and only after years of suffering a reduced quality of life.
  • The average smoker will die about 8 years earlier than a similar non-smoker. Life expectancy improves after a smoker quits.
• There is strong scientific evidence that smoking is related to more than two dozen diseases and conditions. Fortunately, most of these start to reverse after a smoker quits smoking.
  • Sometimes the benefits of quitting begin in a matter of hours

All smokers are at extra risk for:

• Coronary heart disease (for example, heart attacks);
• Peripheral vascular disease (circulatory problems);
• Aortic aneurysm;
• High blood pressure;
• High cholesterol (LDL);
• Lung cancer;
• Cancer of the mouth, throat and voice box;
• Cancer of the pancreas;
• Cancer of the kidney, and urinary bladder;
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD);
• Chronic bronchitis;
• Emphysema;
• Pneumonia;
• Influenza (the "flu");
• The common cold;
• Peptic ulcers;
• Chronic bowel disease (Crohn's Disease);
• Tooth decay (cavities);
• Gum disease;
• Osteoporosis;
• Sleep problems (falling asleep inappropriately and/or frequent waking);
• Cataracts; and
• Thyroid disease (Grave's Disease).

Female smokers are at an extra risk for:

• Cancer of the cervix (womb);
• Menstrual problems;
• Fertility problems; and
• Spontaneous abortion (miscarriage).

Male smokers have an extra risk of:

• Erectile dysfunction (impotence); and
• Fertility problems (problems with sperm).

There is some scientific evidence that smoking may also be related to cancer of the large intestine and leukemia.

In addition to various diseases, smoking also causes the skin to wrinkle and create the appearance of premature aging. Smoking also reduces the sense of smell and taste.

How harmful are cigars and pipes?

Cigar and pipe smokers experience the same types of health problems as cigarette smokers.

What about other types of tobacco?

Smoking isn't the only type of tobacco that causes health problems. Smokeless tobacco, including chewing tobacco and snuff, contain many of the same harmful and addictive substances as cigarettes, pipes and cigars. Smokeless tobacco is a major cause of cancer of the mouth and throat. It can also cause serious dental health problems including recession of the gums, tooth loss and discolouration of the teeth and gums.

The facts about smoking and pregnancy

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy can cause serious health problems to an unborn child. Smoking during pregnancy has been linked to premature labor, breathing problems and fatal illness among infants.

• Smoking during pregnancy is estimated to account for 20 to 30 percent of low-birth weight babies, up to 14 percent of preterm deliveries, and some 10 percent of all infant deaths. The odds of developing asthma are twice as high among children whose mothers smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day. Between 400,000 and 1 million asthmatic children have their condition worsened by exposure to secondhand smoke.
• Maternal smoking during and after pregnancy has been linked to asthma among infants and young children.
• Smokers inhale nicotine and carbon monoxide, which reach the baby through the placenta and prevent the fetus from getting the nutrients and oxygen needed to grow. Secondhand smoke also adds a risk to pregnancy. Breast milk often contains whatever is in the woman's body. If the woman smokes, the baby ingests the nicotine in her breast milk.
• Reducing frequency of smoking may not benefit the baby. A pregnant woman who reduces her smoking pattern or switches to lower tar cigarettes may inhale more deeply or take more puffs to get the same amount of nicotine as before.
• The most effective way to protect the fetus is to quit smoking. If a woman plans to conceive a child in the near future, quitting is essential. A woman who quits within the first three or four months of pregnancy can lower the chances of her baby being born premature or with health problems related to smoking.
• Pregnancy is a great time for a woman to quit. No matter how long she has been smoking, her body benefits from her quitting because it lessens her chances of developing future tobacco-related health problems, such as lung and heart disease, and cancer.

The facts about second-hand smoke

What is second-hand smoke?

More than 1,000 non-smokers will die this year in Canada due to tobacco use - - over 300 lung cancer deaths and at least 700 deaths from coronary heart disease will be caused by second-hand smoke.

• Second-hand smoke is a combination of poisonous gases, liquids, and breathable particles that are harmful to our health.
• Second-hand smoke consists of mainstream smoke, the smoke inhaled and exhaled by the smoker, and sidestream smoke, the smoke released directly from the end of a burning cigarette.
• Second-hand smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds, 50 of which are associated with, or known to cause cancer.
• Two thirds of the smoke from a burning cigarette is not inhaled by the smoker but enters into the surrounding environment. The contaminated air is inhaled by anyone in that area.
• Second-hand smoke is a "class A" cancer-causing substance. Class A is considered the most dangerous of cancer agents and there is no known safe level of exposure.
• Second-hand smoke has twice as much nicotine and tar as the smoke that smokers inhale. It also has five times the carbon monoxide which decreases the amount of oxygen in our blood.
• Second-hand smoke causes disease and death in healthy non-smokers.
• Exposure for as little as 8 to 20 minutes causes physical reactions linked to heart and stroke disease:
  • The heart rate increases;
  • The heart's oxygen supply decreases; and
  • Blood vessels constrict which increases blood pressure and makes the heart work harder.

Facts

• The health effects on children exposed to second-hand smoke include Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and breathing problems in children as young as 18 months of age.
• Children exposed to second-hand smoke in their homes are more likely to suffer breathing problems such as asthma and damage to their lungs. Children are twice as likely to smoke if their parents are smokers.
• If you are a non-smoker, exposure to second-hand smoke increases your chance of lung cancer by 25%, heart disease by 10%, and cancer of the sinuses, brain, breast, uterine cervix, thyroid, as well as leukemia and lymphoma.
• More than three times as many infants die from second-hand smoke- related Sudden Infant Death Syndrome as from child abuse or homicide.

Children see, children do

Since 1981 the number of smokers in Canada has been dropping for almost every age group except for children and adolescents. Among smokers aged 15-17, almost 80% said they had tried smoking by age 14.

Facts

• Parental smoking is a key factor in children accepting smoking as normal.
• Research has found 3 that children of smokers were almost twice as likely to smoke as children with parents who never smoked.
• If someone in the family smokes, there is a greater chance that a younger sibling will start smoking.
• Children who believe that their parents would disapprove of their smoking are less likely to take up smoking than those who see their parents smoking.
• Tobacco use among teen smokers is a predictor of substance and drug abuse.
• The smoking behaviour of a best friend or peer group is a major factor in taking up smoking. If their friends smoke, the child/adolescent will likely smoke as well.
• Research on teenage attitudes has shown that smoking represents a symbol of belonging to a social group, particularly in early secondary school.
• For children and adolescents, smoking signifies maturity, control, defiance, individuality, and a means of coping with stress.
• Experimentation with alcohol generally occurs earlier than with tobacco and adolescents who smoke are also likely to engage in other drug use.
• Children are vulnerable to advertising. It has been shown that advertising is one of the key variables in convincing children to take up smoking.
• Research has shown that children who buy imitation candy cigarettes are almost four times more likely to try real cigarettes.
• Easy access to cigarettes is a predictor of uptake of smoking.
• Among smokers 15-17 years old, 31% report being given cigarettes by a friend or family member.
• Since 1994, there has been an increase from 19% to 39% of teen smokers reporting that their usual sources for cigarettes are friends, relatives or parents.
• Over the same time, there has been a decline from 57% to 45% among teen smokers who buy cigarettes at corner stores.