Smoking is accountable for at least 30% of deaths related to cancer.  The most common forms of cancer associated with smoking are cancers of the larynx (voice box), lungs, pharynx (throat), oral cavity, and esophagus.  In addition, smoking has been linked to the development of cancer in the pancreas, bladder, uterine cervix, liver, stomach, kidney, rectum, and colon.  It has also been connected to some forms of leukemia.  Cancer is responsible for about half of cigarette related deaths.

Smoking is a risk factor for stroke, which often results in mild or severe disabilities, or even death.  In fact, 11% of deaths caused by stroke are from smoking cigarettes.  Those who quit smoking reduce their risk of strength significantly. 

After 5 years of smoking cessation, the risks are the same as those of a nonsmoker.  Women who take oral contraceptives and smoke are at a particular high risk of having a stroke.  A study at Bringham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston also found that male smokers who smoke less than 20 cigarettes per day are 1.7 times more likely to have a stroke than a nonsmoker.  Those who have more than 20 cigarettes a day are 2.4 times more likely to have a stroke. Yet another great reason to quit smoking...

Smoking also causes damage to the skin, which is more serious than just the way it looks.  In fact, smoking constricts blood vessels, which cuts off the blood supply to the top layer of the skin.  Researchers believe smoking also damages genetic material in skin cells and accelerates the aging process.  In addition, it causes skin to thin – perhaps by as much as 40% - and to become less porous.

Smoking causes the skin to wrinkle, appear gaunt, and develop an odd colored complexion.  Basically, the skin is much weaker and, therefore, less resilient.  When this is seen in the face, it is often referred to as “smoker’s face.”  In fact, smokers in their 40’s and 50’s often have wrinkles in their faces equivalent to those found in nonsmokers 20 years older. 

These effects are sometimes reversible if the smoker quits early enough, but decades of smoking will mean it’s too late to reverse the effects.  The effects do not, however, always reverse themselves.  In fact, some studies have shown 40 and 50 year olds who only smoked in their teenage years and while in their 20’s had excessive wrinkling for their age.  Many of them regained the pink hue to their skin, but never lost the wrinkles.