Smoking Also called: Cigar smoking, Cigarette smoking, Pipe smoking, Tobacco smoking Summary There’s no way around it. Smoking is bad for your health. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. It is also responsible for many other cancers and health problems. These include lung disease, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke and cataracts. Women who smoke have a greater chance of certain pregnancy problems or having a baby die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Your smoke is also bad for other people – they breathe in your smoke secondhand and can get many of the same problems as smokers do. E-cigarettes often look like cigarettes, but they work differently. They are battery-operated smoking devices. Not much is known about the health risks of using them. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of health problems. The earlier you quit, the greater the benefit. NIH: National Cancer Institute National Institute on Drug Abuse Related Issues “Light” Tobacco Products Pose Heavy Health Risks Food and Drug Administration Cigar Smoking and Cancer National Cancer Institute How Does Smoking Affect the Heart and Blood Vessels? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Is It True That Smoking Causes Wrinkles? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Nicotine Dependence Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Smoking and Asthma (For Parents) Nemours Foundation Smoking and Bone Health National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Smoking and Eye Health American Academy of Ophthalmology Smoking and HIV New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center Smoking and Home Fire Safety United States Fire Administration Smoking and Infertility American Society for Reproductive Medicine Smoking and Your Digestive System National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases What’s in a Cigarette? American Lung Association Statistics and Research Adult Cigarette Smoking in the United States: Current Estimates Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Exposure to Cigarette Smoke Reduces Vitamin D3 in the Blood Stream and Respiratory Tract American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Percentage of U.S. Adults Who Smoke Cigarettes Department of Health and Human Services Tobacco Use in Racial and Ethnic Populations American Lung Association Tobacco-Related Mortality Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Find an Expert American Cancer Society American Cancer Society American Lung Association American Lung Association National Institute on Drug Abuse National Institute on Drug Abuse Specifics Bidis and Kreteks Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cigars Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Hookahs Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Low-Yield Cigarettes Centers for Disease Control and Prevention MedlinePlus: E-Cigarettes National Library of Medicine Smoked Tobacco Products Department of Health and Human Services Start Here Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products National Institute on Drug Abuse Effects of Smoking on Your Health Department of Health and Human Services How Does Smoking Affect your Health? American Cancer Society Let’s Make the Next Generation Tobacco-Free: Your Guide to the 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health Department of Health and Human Services Smoking: Do You Really Know the Risks? American Heart Association Tobacco Addiction American Academy of Family Physicians Clinical Trials ClinicalTrials.gov: Smoking National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov: Tobacco Use Disorder National Institutes of Health Reference Desk How Lungs Work American Lung Association Health Check Tools Nicotine Withdrawal; Measure Your Symptoms (Quiz) National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch Smoking Quiz: Do You Need Help to Quit? American Cancer Society Journal Articles Smoking Latest News Recognize Tobacco in its Many Forms Food and Drug Administration Smoking Triggers Big Changes in Mouth Bacteria, Study Finds HealthDay Most Americans Support Rise in Legal Smoking Age HealthDay Many Smokers Have COPD Symptoms, without Diagnosis HealthDay Even Light Hookah Use May Cause Airway Problems HealthDay Why Heavy Drinking Seems to Boost Desire to Smoke More HealthDay Underweight or Obese Women Who Drink and Smoke May Have Higher Asthma Risk HealthDay Study: Smoking Hikes Chances of Early Death for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients HealthDay Besides Your Lungs, Smoking May Harm Your Job Prospects, Paycheck HealthDay Smoking Rates Stall Among Young Blacks HealthDay Black Smokers Less Likely to Get Lung Cancer Screening HealthDay Young LGBT Adults Are Target of FDA Stop-Smoking Campaign HealthDay Smoking Harms Black Americans’ Kidneys, Study Suggests HealthDay Array Risks of tobacco Smoking and asthma Smoking and COPD Videos and Tutorials Smoking and Sleep Harvard Medical School Women Stress and Mood National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch Tobacco Use and Pregnancy Department of Health and Human Services