Tobacco

What is tobacco? Tobacco is a green, leafy plant that is grown in warm climates. After it is picked, it is dried, ground up, and used in different ways. It can be smoked in a cigarette, pipe, or cigar. It can be chewed (called smokeless tobacco or chewing tobacco) or sniffed through the nose (called snuff).

Nicotine is a chemical compound that is present in tobacco. It is the chemical that makes tobacco addictive or habit forming. Once we smoke, chew, or sniff tobacco, nicotine goes into our bloodstream, and our body wants more. The nicotine in tobacco makes it a drug. This means that when we use tobacco, it changes our body in some way. Because nicotine is a stimulant, it speeds up the nervous system, so we feel like we have more energy. It also makes the heart beat faster and raises blood pressure.



Smoking and Increased Health Risks

Smoking is estimated to increase the risk—
 * For coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times
 * For stroke by 2 to 4 times
 * Of men developing lung cancer by 25 times
 * Of women developing lung cancer by 25.7 times

Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body Smoking also increases the risk of dying from cancer and other diseases in cancer patients and survivors. If nobody smoked, one of every three cancer deaths in the United States would not happen
 * Bladder
 * Blood (acute myeloid leukemia)
 * Cervix
 * Colon and rectum (colorectal)
 * Esophagus
 * Kidney and ureter
 * Larynx
 * Liver
 * Oropharynx (includes parts of the throat, tongue, soft palate, and the tonsils)
 * Pancreas
 * Stomach
 * Trachea, bronchus, and lung

Interesting fact More women die from **lung cancer ** each year than from breast **cancer **. About 80% (or 8 out of 10) of all deaths from **chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ** ( **COPD **) are caused by smoking.

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