11 Things That Will Happen To Your Body If You Smoke A Cigarette

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1. You put yourself at risk for premature death.

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Smokers on average lose a decade (or more) from their total life span.

2. You expose your body to various carcinogens.

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Cigarettes contain at least 70 known cancer-causing chemicals. Smoking is responsible for 87% of lung cancer deaths in America.

3. And thus greatly increase your chances of developing cancer.

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One out of three deaths from cancer is attributed to smoking. Smoking is known to cause cancer of the lungs, liver, colon, stomach, bladder, pancreas, and many other bodily organs.

4. You decrease your chances of recovering from a cancer diagnosis.

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Smoking raises the failure rate for treatment of all known cancers.

5. You put yourself at high risk to develop a number of respiratory diseases and complications.

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In addition to lung cancer, smoking is known to be the culprit behind chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Smoking is also known to increase one's chances of developing asthma and tuberculosis.

6. You increase your chances of stroke and developing cardiovascular disease.

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Additionally, smoking is linked with atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and peripheral arterial disease, just to name a few.

7. You’re likely to experience reduced fertility.

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For women, smoking is known to negatively affect hormone production, making it more difficult to become pregnant. In men, smoking damages DNA in sperm, which can reduce fertility.

8. If you’re a woman, you expose yourself to extreme pregnancy complications that put you and your unborn child at risk.

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Smoking can cause ectopic pregnancy, a condition that almost always results in the loss of the fetus and sometimes the mother. Smoking while pregnant can also cause premature births and babies delivered with low birth weight, which is a leading cause of infant disability and death.

9. You increase your chances of developing adult-onset diabetes.

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Smoking damages cells in the body, causing inflammation and oxidative stress, which are both linked to developing type-2 diabetes.

10. Even if you don’t smoke, inhaling secondhand smoke is known to cause problems for nonsmokers.

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Unfortunately for nonsmokers, being exposed to secondhand smoke increases your chances of developing heart disease and experiencing strokes or heart attacks.

11. According to the Surgeon General, smoking is the "single largest cause of preventable disease and death in the United States."

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Visit THE FACTS NOW to learn more about how tobacco affects you.