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TOBACCO

Smoking has been found to harm nearly every bodily organ and organ system in the body and diminishes a person’s overall health.

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Tobacco smoke contains a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals; hundreds are harmful, and about 70 can cause cancer.

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Smoking is a leading cause of cancer and death from cancer. It causes cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, liver, pancreas, stomach, cervix, colon, and rectum, as well as acute myeloid leukemia.

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Smoking causes:

  • heart disease

  • stroke

  • aortic aneurysm

  • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

  • diabetes

  • osteoporosis

  • rheumatoid arthritis

  • age-related macular degeneration

  • cataracts

  • worsens asthma symptoms in adults.

 

Smokers are at higher risk of developing pneumonia, tuberculosis, and other airway infections. In addition, smoking causes inflammation and impairs immune function.

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Quitting tobacco use is hard and it can take many attempts to quit. People who stop smoking greatly reduce their risk for disease and early death.

Cigarettes

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death and disease. 151,000 kids under 18 alive today in Indiana will ultimately die prematurely from smoking – if we don’t do more.

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According to the Surgeon General’s report, tobacco use by youth and young adults causes both immediate and long-term damage. One of the most serious health effects is nicotine addiction, which prolongs tobacco use and can lead to severe health consequences. The younger youth are when they start using tobacco, the more likely they’ll be addicted.

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  • Early cardiovascular damage is seen in most young smokers; those most sensitive die very young.

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  • Smoking reduces lung function and retards lung growth. Teens who smoke are not only short of breath today, they may end up as adults with lungs that will never grow to full capacity. Such damage is permanent and increases the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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  • Youth are sensitive to nicotine and can feel dependent earlier than adults. Because of nicotine addiction, about three out of four teen smokers end up smoking into adulthood, even if they intend to quit after a few years.

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  • Among youth who persist in smoking, one out of three will die prematurely from smoking.

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Tobacco companies spend more than a million dollars an hour in this country alone to market their products. Many tobacco products on the market contain candy and fruit flavoring which appeal to youth. The more young people are exposed to cigarette advertising and promotional activities, the more likely they are to smoke.

E-CIGARETTES

WHAT ARE E-CIGARETTES?

  • E-cigarettes are known by many different names.

    • Some examples: e-cigs, e-hookahs, mods, vape pens, vapes, tank systems, electronic nicotine delivery systems, etc.​

  • Some e-cigarettes are made to look like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Some resemble pens, USB sticks, and other everyday items.

  • E-cigarettes produce an aerosol by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine—the addictive drug in regular cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products—flavorings, and other chemicals that help to make the aerosol. Users inhale this aerosol into their lungs. Bystanders can also breathe in this aerosol when the user exhales into the air.

  •  E-cigarettes can be used to deliver marijuana and other drugs.

Man Vaping

WHAT IS IN E-CIGARETTE AEROSOL?

  • The e-cigarette aerosol that users breathe from the device and exhale can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances such as:

    • volatile organic compounds​

    • nicotine

    • ultrafine particles

    • cancer-causing chemicals

    • heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead

    • flavoring such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease

  • It is difficult for consumers to know what e-cigarette products contain. For example, some e-cigarettes marketed as containing zero percent nicotine have been found to contain nicotine.

CAN E-CIGARETTES HELP ADULTS QUIT SMOKING CIGARETTES?

  • E-cigarettes are not currently approved by the FDA as a quit smoking aid.

  • The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a group of health experts that makes recommendations about preventive health care, concluded that the evidence is insufficient to recommend e-cigarettes for smoking cessation in adults, including pregnant women.

  • To date, the few studies on the issue are mixed.

  • Evidence from two randomized controlled trials found that e-cigarettes with nicotine can help smokers stop smoking in the long term compared with placebo (non-nicotine) e-cigarettes.

ARE E-CIGARETTES LESS HARMFUL THAN REGULAR CIGARETTES?

  • Yes, but that doesn't mean that e-cigarettes are safe.

  • E-cigarette aerosol generally contains fewer toxic chemicals than the deadly mix of 7,000 chemicals in smoke from regular cigarettes. However, e-cigarette aerosol is not harmless. It can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including nicotine, heavy metals like lead, volatile organic compounds, and cancer-causing agents.

WHAT ARE THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF USING E-CIGARETTES?

  • Scientists are still learning about the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes. Here is what we know now:

  • Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which has known health effects.​​

  • Besides nicotine, e-cigarette aerosol can contain substances that harm the body.

  • E-cigarettes can cause unintended injuries.

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