Smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body.<br />Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking also increases risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis.<br />Secondhand smoke exposure contributes to approximately 41,000 deaths among nonsmoking adults and 400 deaths in infants each year. Secondhand smoke causes stroke, lung cancer, and coronary heart disease in adults. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, more severe asthma, respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth.<br /> Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer.1<br />Estimates show smoking increases the risk:<br />For coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times <br />For stroke by 2 to 4 times <br />Of men developing lung cancer by 25 times <br />Of women developing lung cancer by 25.7 times <br />Smoking causes diminished overall health, increased absenteeism from work, and increased health care utilization and cost. <br />Smokers are at greater risk for diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular disease( <br />Smoking causes stroke and coronary heart disease, which are among the leading causes of death in the United States. <br />Even people who smoke fewer than five cigarettes a day can have early signs of cardiovascular disease. <br />Smoking damages blood vessels and can make them thicken and grow narrower. This makes your heart beat faster and your blood pressure go up. Clots can also form. <br />Smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs (alveoli) found in your lungs. <br />Lung diseases caused by smoking include COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. <br />Cigarette smoking causes most cases of lung cancer. <br />If you have asthma, tobacco smoke can trigger an attack or make an attack worse. <br />Smokers are 12 to 13 times more likely to die from COPD than nonsmokers.<br />