Cigarette Smoke on Different Populations by Now,

¶ … Cigarette Smoke on Different Populations

By now, it has become common knowledge that cigarette smoke is harmful to one's health. However, what is not as well understood is how cigarette smoke impacts different populations in different ways. Smokers feel more of an impact from cigarette smoke than other groups. Elderly smokers are disproportionately impacted by cigarette smoke. However, even nonsmokers can feel the impact of cigarette smoke through secondhand smoke. This paper will explore and describe the impact of smoking on each of these three populations.

First, cigarette smoke has a tremendous negative impact on smokers. Nearly one in five deaths in the United States are due to smoking (CDC, 2000). In fact, "more deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined" (CDC, 2000). Smokers have 2 to 4 times the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke than nonsmokers (CDC, 2000). Male smokers are 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers and female smokers are 13 times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers (CDC, 2000). Cigarette smoking causes cardiovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, lung cancer, lung diseases, and a wide variety of cancers (CDC, 2000).

While all smokers are vulnerable to the negative health consequences of smoking, the elderly are disproportionately impacted by the negative health consequences of smoking. First, the elderly are more likely to be experiencing the negative health impacts of smoking, due to the fact that most smoking diseases are cumulative. Older smokers are less likely than younger smokers to try to quit smoking, but they are more likely to be successful when they do try to quit (Burns, 2000). Lung cancer is the largest cause of excess smoking-related mortality in those over 60 years of age (Burns, 2000). Moreover, as people age, the excess death rate from chronic obstructive lung disease equals that of cardiovascular disease (Burns, 2000). The vast majority (70%) of smoking-related deaths occur in people over the age of 60 (Burns, 2000). Finally, elderly smokers benefit less from smoking cessation than younger smokers.

Even non-smokers can suffer from exposure to cigarette smoke. Moreover, sidestream smoke, which is smoke that comes from the lighted end of a cigarette/cigar/pipe actually contains a higher concentration of carcinogens in smaller particles than mainstream smoke (American Cancer Society, 2011). Secondhand smoke can cause heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmokers (American Cancer Society, 2011). It contributes greatly to respiratory illnesses in non-smokers, including worse asthma and asthma-related problems in up to 1 million children with asthma, between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in children under 18 months of age, and lung infections resulting in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations each year (American Cancer Society, 2011). Pregnant women who are exposed to secondhand smoke are likely to miscarry, have a stillborn baby, or have a baby with at low birth weight (American Cancer Society, 2011). Babies and children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (American Cancer Society, 2011).