December 09, 2010
The Surgeon General’s office has released its 30th report on the health effects of tobacco, finding that exposure to tobacco smoke –mainstream or secondhand– causes immediate bodily damage. The report cites tobacco use as the leading preventable cause of premature death in the United States, resulting in approximately 443,000 deaths annually and costing the U.S. health system more than $193 billion.
Since the Surgeon General’s inaugural report on the effects of smoking in 1964, subsequent reports have advanced along with scientific understanding of the risks associated with tobacco use. This newest addition follows the 2006 report’s conclusion that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke, providing the most comprehensive scientific exploration of the mechanisms that bind tobacco smoke exposure to health problems as diverse as cancer, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, and reproductive and developmental issues. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease also explores pathways of nicotine addiction and recovery.
The chemicals in tobacco smoke reach your lungs quickly every time you inhale causing damage immediately, said Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin upon the release of the report. Inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can also cause damage to your DNA, which can lead to cancer.
But not all of the news is bad news. In 2009, the FDA was granted authority to regulate tobacco products as part of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, opening the door to new strategies for reducing tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. The Office of the Surgeon General also stresses that the available resources for those attempting to quit smoking are now more effective than ever.
Visit the Office of the Surgeon General s website to download the full report, press release, fact sheet, and other related materials.
Photo credit: Flickr: lanier67
