Health effects of

cigarette smoking

Source CDC.gov

Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and affects a person’s overall health.

• Smoking can make it harder for a woman to become pregnant and can affect her baby’s health before and after birth. Smoking increases risks for:

• Preterm (early) delivery

• Stillbirth (death of the baby before birth)

• Low birth weight

• Sudden infant death syndrome (known as SIDS or crib death)

• Ectopic pregnancy

• Orofacial clefts in infants

• Smoking can reduce fertility and also increase risks for birth defects and miscarriage (loss of the pregnancy).

• Smoking can affect bone health.

• Women past childbearing years who smoke have lower bone density (weaker bones) than women who never smoked and are at greater risk for broken bones.

• Smoking affects the health of your teeth and gums and can cause tooth loss.

• Smoking can increase your risk for cataracts (clouding of the eye’s lens that makes it hard for you to see) and age-related macular degeneration (damage to a small spot near the center of the retina, the part of the eye needed for central vision).

• Smoking is a cause of type 2 diabetes mellitus and can make it harder to control. The risk of developing diabetes is 30–40 percent higher for active smokers than nonsmokers.

• Smoking causes general adverse effects on the body. It can cause inflammation and adverse effects on immune function.

• Smoking is a cause of rheumatoid arthritis.

Healthy Hometown is working toward a “healthy” Clinton County.