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Smoking

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Cigarette smoke

Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including approximately 69 known cancer causing chemicals as well as over 400 other poisons.

Cigarette smoke contains the following:

Chemicals in a cigarette
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Effects of smoking

Smoking is very harmful to health. In Northern Ireland, around 2,300 people die from smoking related illnesses each year. That鈥檚 about 15% of all deaths.

Smoking causes or can lead to:

  • many types of cancer including 鈥 lung, mouth, throat, voice box, bladder, bowel, cervix, kidney, liver, stomach鈥
  • leukaemia
  • heart disease
  • blood pressure problems
  • stroke
  • fertility problems
  • serious breathing conditions
  • weak bones

It also has unpleasant side-effects such as wrinkles, smelly clothes and hair and bad breath. And it can be very hard to stop.

The harmful substances in cigarette smoke include:

Harmful substanceAssociated Risk
TarCauses cancer of the lungs, mouth and throat. Coats the inside of the lungs, including the alveoli, causing coughing. Damages the alveoli, making it more difficult for gas exchange to happen.
SmokeCells with tiny hair-like parts, called cilia move mucus, that traps dirt and microbes, out of the lungs towards the trachea. Hot smoke and tar damage the cilia. As a result, smokers cough to move the mucus. More likely to get bronchitis
NicotineNicotine is addictive it causes a smoker to want more cigarettes. Can increases the heart rate and blood pressure. Makes blood vessels narrower than normal which can lead to heart disease
Carbon monoxideTakes the place of oxygen in red blood cells. This reduces the amount of oxygen that the blood can carry. Circulatory system has to work harder, causing heart disease.
A section through a normal lung
A section through a normal lung
A section through a smoker鈥檚 lungs, blackened by tar
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Passive smoking

No smoking sign

To combat the harmful effects of passive smoking, it is now illegal to smoke:

  • Inside public buildings
  • In the workplace
  • On public transport such as buses, trains and planes
  • In a car while carrying somebody aged 18 or under
No smoking sign
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Electronic cigarettes

An electronic, or E-cigarette is a battery-operated device that emits a vapour to inhale, which usually contains nicotine. The aim is to provide the sensation of inhaling tobacco smoke, without the smoke.

When the user inhales, a small amount of liquid is heated until it becomes a vapour.People who use E-cigarettes are therefore not smoking but 鈥淰aping鈥

e-cigarette
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Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

  • They don鈥檛 produce tar and carbon monoxide
  • There is greatly reduced, or no, fire risk
  • There is no smoky smell

Disadvantages:

  • They usually contain nicotine
  • They contain other poisons
  • They can cause passive vaping
  • They may not help quitting smoking
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