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. | Smoking
Smoking is the most important cause of preventable illness, disability and premature death in Canada. Each year, at least 40,000 deaths are caused by smoking - more than 20% of all deaths among Canadians.
Smoking is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke and diseases of the blood vessels. Each year, more than 16,000 cardiovascular deaths result from smoking. And many of these are premature (before age 70). It is also responsible for 16,000 deaths from cancer each year.
Non-smokers are affected, too. Second-hand smoke from a burning cigarette has twice as much tar and nicotine than the smoke inhaled by the smoker!
Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals. Any one can produce symptoms in others such as sore throats, burning eyes, and coughing spells. Some people may have difficulty concentrating.
Second-hand or "side-stream smoke" also has 30 times as much of a compound known to cause cancer. Side-stream smoke has 5 times as much carbon monoxide, which robs our blood of oxygen. And there is 40-170 times as much ammonia. One study shows that after only 30 minutes in a smoke-filled room, a non-smoker's heart rate, blood pressure, and carbon monoxide levels increase.
No cigarettes are safe. Lower tar and lower nicotine cigarettes are not a safe alternative. Many smokers inhale more deeply or smoke more. Smokers may increase their exposure to more of the other toxic substances in the tobacco smoke and be at even higher risk of disease or premature death. Cigars are equally dangerous; the amount of carbon monoxide from one cigar is twice as high as from three cigarettes smoked at once.
What happens when you quit? Quitting smoking is the single most effective thing a smoker can do to enhance the quality and length of his or her life. The risk of death from smoking-related diseases is normally reduced by half after one year of not smoking. About 15 years after quitting smoking, the risk of death is close to that of a non-smoker. Smokers who have already developed heart disease will reduce the chance of heart attack by quitting.
To reduce risks to health, the sooner a smoker quits, the better. It's never too late to quit.
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