health problems caused by smoking

There are four main health problems caused by smoking. The first health problem caused by smoking is lung disease. Did you know that non-smokers rarely get lung cancer and emphysema? Male smokers are 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer than male non-smokers! Lung cancer and emphysema are terrible ways to die. The second health problem caused by smoking is heart disease. 30 percent of heart disease deaths are caused by smoking. Women who smoke are 60 percent more likely to die of heart disease than women who don't. Men who smoke are 30 percent more likely to die of heart disease than men who don't. Smoking is very hard on the heart, It: • Lowers Good Cholesterol (LDL) • Raises Bad Cholesterol (HDL) • Constricts the arteries • Raises insulin resistance • Increases blood pressure All of these things are bad for your heart. When the blood stops going to your heart, you have a heart attack. When it stops going to your brain, you have a stroke. A stroke is the next item on our list. Smokers with high blood pressure are especially prone to strokes. There are two kinds of strokes: hemorrhagic and ischemic. The hemorrhagic stroke is the more dangerous of the two. Smoking damages the blood vessels of the brain which may already be weakened by high blood pressure. Weakened blood vessels can rupture and bleed, which increases the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Finally, on our list of health problems caused by smoking, we need to consider all of the other cancers that smoking exacerbates. For instance, smokers have increased cancers of: • bladder • larynx • mouth • stomach • pancreas • cervix Carcinogens in cigarettes hurt the body's ability to control the growth of cells. If your body is trying to fight cancer, this is bad news as cancer cells grow out of control. If you are a smoker and want to stop,