Smoking is the leading preventable cause of premature death in the United States and many other industrialized countries.

Smoking-Caused Cardiovascular Disease

Nearly 160,000 men and women in the United States die from cardiovascular disease attributed to smoking every year, according to the Center for Disease Control.

• Smoking triples the risk of dying from heart disease among middle-aged men and women.
• Both active and passive smoking are associated with an increase in the progression of atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attack and stroke. The risk of ischemic stroke is nearly doubled by smoking.
• Smoking decreases HDL (good) cholesterol.
• Smoking increases blood pressure and the tendency for the blood to clot.
• Smoking increases the risk of recurrent heart disease after bypass surgery.
• Smoking creates a higher risk for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and aortic aneurysm.
• Cigarette smoking increases the risk of heart disease by itself. When it acts with other factors, it greatly increases risk.

Other health harms from smoking include:

• May reduce fertility and lead to impotence among men.
• Increases both the risk and the severity of rheumatoid arthritis.
• Has been linked to hearing loss and vision problems, including cataracts.
• Leads to chronic coughing, increased phlegm, emphysema and bronchitis.
• Increases susceptibility to the flu and can cause more severe symptoms.
• Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke among pregnant women is a major cause of spontaneous abortions, stillbirths and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) after birth.

Special message for women

Many women don't want to quit smoking because they fear weight gain. But research has shown that the average weight of current smokers is only modestly lower than the weight of those who have never smoked or of long-term former smokers. Consider also that smoking is associated with more prominent wrinkling. Women who smoke and use oral contraceptives greatly increase their risk of heart disease and stroke compared with nonsmoking women who use oral contraceptives

It's important to know that women who maintain a desirable body weight, eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, do not smoke and consume a moderate amount of alcohol have an 84 percent reduction in their risk of cardiovascular disease.