Underneath the tongue or on the lips are common areas for cancer to appear for those who smoke. Within a single cigarette, 400 toxins, multiple forms of cancer, and over 4,000 chemical compounds are present (Brandt). .
Cancer is widely known in smokers; however, cigarettes can cause many other diseases. For example, cardiovascular disease is common in many smokers. In fact, cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death for those who smoke cigarettes. By definition, cardiovascular means on the heart and circulation (U.S. Dept. of Health). The process of the disease is long and drawn out, beginning with the hardening of the arteries; this hardening step usually takes place when cholesterol, along with other fats, block and narrow the arteries. Blood clots then form in the body when the arteries narrow; this process is known as atherosclerosis. Blood clots become two-to-four times more likely, and the process in the arteries begins as soon as a person begins to smoke. Cardiovascular disease takes several forms and is dependent on the blood vessels. This can cause serious chest pains, heart attacks, strokes, or poor circulation, resulting in death (U.S. Dept. of Health).
Another disease brought on by smoking cigarettes is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a serious threat to the human body. COPD refers to conditions that make it hard to breathe and block airflow. The term is connected with emphysema, or damage to the air sacs causing breathlessness, and bronchitis, which is roughly around three months of coughing with mucus. The leading cause of COPD is smoking cigarettes; consequently, smokers are responsible for over 80% of COPD cases. In an autopsy, individuals who smoke more than twenty a day have a 94% chance of receiving emphysema; whereas more than 90% of non-smokers have little to no risk. COPD usually begins around the ages of thirty-five and forty-five when the decline of lung function has already begun.
