 When you smoke a cigarette the body reacts in a number of different ways:
- breathing is made more difficult through the restriction of airways
- heart rate increases
- blood pressure increases
Every year in Australia 18,000 people die through smoking related diseases. There are three main smoking related diseases:
- coronary heart disease
- cancer of the lungs
- respiratory diseases
However, smokers also suffer more frequently than non smokers from a range of other diseases including:
- cancers of the mouth, throat, pancreas and bladder
- increased respiratory problems such as colds, flu and asthma
- peptic ulcer
- angina
- heart disease
- blood circulation problems
Women who smoke during pregnancy place their unborn babies at risk of being born smaller than babies of non smokers. Passive smoking is when non smokers are affected by the smoke of others. Passive smoking is dangerous as the toxins described above are still present in the airborne smoke. People, especially children, who are often affected by passive smoking have higher rates of respiratory illness such as bronchitis and asthma.
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