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How do cigarettes damage health? Major diseases caused by smoking What you need to stop smoking is... What help is available? What is Nicotine Replacement Therapy? What about the new Smokefree law? Interactive tools Links

Major diseases caused by smoking

Cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death due to smoking. Hardening of the arteries is a process that develops over years, when cholesterol and other fats deposit in the arteries, leaving them narrow, blocked or rigid. When the arteries narrow (atherosclerosis), blood clots are likely to form.

Smoking accelerates the hardening and narrowing process in your arteries and blood clots are two to four times more likely.



The link between smoking and lung cancer is clear.



If you smoke, the risk of contracting mouth cancer is also four times higher than for a non-smoker. Cancer can start in many areas of the mouth, with the most common being on or underneath the tongue, or on the lips.

Lung disease


Smoking is the most common cause of COPD and is responsible for 80% of cases.

It's estimated that 94% of 20-a-day smokers have some emphysema when the lungs are examined after death, while more than 90% of non-smokers have little or none.

COPD typically starts between the ages of 35 and 45 when lung function starts to decline anyway. In smokers, the rate of decline in lung function can be three times the usual rate. As lung function declines, breathlessness begins.

Other risks caused by smoking

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