Humber Alliance on Tobacco
Making non-smoking the norm
HALT is a multi agency partnership with a holistic approach to tackling the public health issues of tobacco
Health Information
In the UK each year around 106,000 people die as a result of their smoking habit
This figure is greater than all the deaths from accidents, suicide, murder, overdose, HIV, alcohol and war put together.
Smoking also makes even minor ailments much worse; a smoker will suffer more with a cold or the flu than a non-smoker, and healing from accidents or operations takes much longer.
There are 360,000 smoking related hospital admissions every week in the UK.
The three major causes of death from smoking are: Cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Heart Disease (CHD)
Cancer
Smokers are more susceptible to certain cancers and these deaths account for one third of all deaths from cancer in the UK.
Lung cancer is the UK's biggest cancer killer (34,000 deaths per year) and 90% of cases are attributable to smoking.
A person's likelihood of contracting lung cancer is greater the younger they started smoking and the more cigarettes they smoke.
Smoking also increases your risk on contracting many other cancers
How many cigarettes does it take?
There's a direct link between the number of cigarettes smoked, how long the person has been a smoker and their chances of developing cancer. But of course the maths also works the other way around. If you stop smoking, your risk of contracting one of these cancers drops dramatically, even if you've smoked for a number of years.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
COPD accounts for 24,000 deaths annually which is more than a fifth of all deaths caused by smoking. The term COPD refers to chronic diseases that interfere with normal breathing. The two main types are bronchitis and emphysema.
Women are particularly at risk of COPD if they start smoking before the age of 16.
Please refer to the Ash website for additional information
Coronary heart disease
Tobacco smoking accounts for more than 30,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease in the UK each year (approximately 25% of all smoking related deaths in the UK).
To work effectively, heart muscles need a steady supply of oxygenated blood. A body affected by coronary heart disease (CHD) will not have a heart that is working as it should.
CHD is indicated by; angina, heart attack, thrombosis (blood clot), blocked arteries.
Smoking is the most significant of the non-hereditary risk factors in CHD. High blood pressure and cholesterol are also factors. Even light smokers have a higher risk of CHD.
But, there is hope. It's never too late to quit. The extra risks smokers take with their heart reduces significantly after they've stopped smoking for five years.
Smoking can also lead to.
Stroke
Smokers are much more likely to suffer a stroke (cerebral thrombosis) than non-smokers. Heavy smokers (more than 20 a day) are up to four times more likely to have a stroke.
Please refer to the Ash website for additional information
Peripheral vascular disease
Blood vessels in a person's leg or foot become blocked (probably with fatty deposits). This can lead to gangrene and the limb having to be amputated. The risk to smokers of this happening is 16 times higher than for non-smokers.
Infertility
Cigarette smoking can affect fertility in both men and women.
Woman who smoke reduce their chances of conceiving by between 10% – 40% per ovulation cycle. Even second-hand smoke can have an adverse effect on conception.
Men who smoke can have fewer and poorer quality sperm.
Smoking can cause male sexual impotence also known as penile erectile dysfunction where a man cannot have or maintain an erection. Male smokers aged between 30 and 50 have around a 50% chance of being impotent.
ASH and the British Medical Association estimate that 120,000 men in this age group are impotent as a result of smoking.
Poor Infant health and development
Babies born to smoking mothers are on average 200g or 8oz lighter than babies born to non-smoking mothers. Even second-hand smoke can have an impact on baby weight. Breast feeding mothers who smoke, reduce their milk output by a quarter of a litre a day compared to non-smoking mothers.
Smoking, both during and after pregnancy, increases the newborn baby's risk of cot death, asthma and other serious respiratory infections.
Woman who smoke have an increased chance of complications during pregnancy and labour and a have a higher incidence of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.
One of the reasons why smokers find it hard to give up cigarettes is because nicotine triggers a chain of events in the body that makes smokers feel that they 'need' the cigarette to feel relaxed and happy.
However, it's all just an elaborate scam on the part of nicotine and the more you smoke, the more you need and that's how you get hooked.
Within 10 seconds of inhaling tobacco smoke, nicotine reaches the brain and latches onto receptors which are carried by neurons. (The brain's working cells)
This starts the brain transmitting messages to the body to release noradrenalin and dopamine (Stimulants).
Dopamine is associated with pleasure and to keep feeling good, smokers often develop regular smoking patterns.
When the nicotine levels drop, the person starts to 'crave' nicotine which makes the smoker feel stressed. When the craving is satisfied the smoker mistakes this for the cigarette making them 'relax'.
Please refer to the Ash website
The ageing effects of smoking
Smoking doesn't just harm bodily functions; it also leaves its mark on the outside.
Collagen is the main structural protein our skin needs to retain its elasticity. Research suggests that people who smoke produce more of an enzyme that breaks collagen down.
Smoke also has a drying effect and because smoking restricts blood vessels, it restricts the flow of blood and in turn the delivery of oxygen and essential nutrients to the skin's surface. A smoker's skin can be prematurely aged by between 10 and 20 years with the most vulnerable areas being around the mouth and eyes. Skin damage is irreversible.