 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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