Smoking is when you inhale smoke from burning plant material. It can cause serious heart and lung diseases, cancer and other health issues. Cigarette smoking is a major public health concern, with over 16 million Americans living with a smoking-related disease.

Understanding the Context

Smoking and secondhand smoke exposure cause over 480,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and causes many diseases. Today, smoking is mostly practiced by rolling the dried leaves of the tobacco plant into a cigarette.

Key Insights

Other forms of tobacco smoking include the use of a smoking tobacco with a pipe or cigar, or using a bong. Cigarette smokers almost always inhale the smoke; most pipe and cigar smokers do not inhale. [1] Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide. Other tobacco products include waterpipe tobacco, cigars, cigarillos, heated tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, pipe tobacco, bidis and kreteks, and smokeless tobacco products. There's no way around it.

Final Thoughts

Smoking is bad for your health. Learn the effects of smoking (how smoking harms nearly every organ) and how to quit. Smoking harms nearly every organ in the body, and is a main cause of lung cancer and COPD. It also is a cause of coronary heart disease, stroke and a host of other cancers and diseases. Smoking can cause long-term negative effects on the body, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Smoking is dangerous to your health.

It can harm nearly every organ in your body and... Discover how smoking impacts your health, mood, finances, and loved ones. Learn how quitting can bring immediate and lasting benefits to every part of your life.