Many people understand that cigarettes cause untold harm to the lungs and can connect cigarettes with lung cancer somewhat easily. But is this the only major disease caused by cigarette smoking?
Far from it. The poisons we’ve just mentioned in cigarettes spread quickly through the body and are absorbed into the bloodstream, traveling to virtually every pore, every cell.
Because these poisons settle in the bloodstream, they affect the cardiovascular system a great deal, and smoking is thought to be a leading cause of heart attacks.
Incidence of impotence is approximately 85% higher in male smokers compared to non-smokers, and it is a key cause of erectile dysfunction (ED). Smoking causes impotence because it promotes arterial narrowing.
Other diseases linked to smoking tobacco cigarettes include:
- Cancer of the kidneys
- Cancer of the larynx
- Cancer of the head and neck
- Breast cancer
- Liver cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Strokes
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Bronchitis
- Cataracts
- Cognitive dysfunction
There is also some evidence to suggest a connection between smoking and leukemia, early onset of Alzheimer’s, and birth defects to children born to women who smoke while pregnant. The constant presence of carbon monoxide in the blood of the mother and the child can lead to an underdeveloped brain in the child due to lack of oxygen.
Of course, cigarettes are destructive and full of chemical compounds and are not ideal for your body in any way and you shouldn’t smoke, but my question is this:
Do cigarettes that are created now do significantly more harm than cigarettes from the past?