Does Tobacco Use Cause Other (non-malignant) Disease?

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This page was last updated on March 6, 2000 by F.W. Grannis Jr. MD.

Tobacco use causes many other diseases. A partial list follows. These tobacco-caused, non-cancerous diseases actually cause more premature deaths in the U.S.A. and worldwide than do tobacco-caused cancers.

Coronary artery disease is the most important cause of tobacco-related premature mortality, and kills more than two hundred thousand people each years.

Other vascular disease is also a major cause of death and disability. These problems include carotid vascular disease which is responsible for "stroke" or cerebrovascular accidents in which a portion of the brain dies because of the loss of it's blood supply. In similar manner damage to the blood vessels of the extremities causes decrease in blood flow that can lead to disabling pain (claudication) and gangrene requiring amputation. Aortic aneurysms can result in rupture and cause fatal hemmorrhage.

Cardiovascular disease (heart disease, hypertension and stroke),causes one half of the deaths in the United States. Nearly one-fifth of all deaths from cardiovascular disease are attributable to smoking.

Damage to the lining cells of the lung causes chronic bronchitis which is manifested by chronic cough productive of increased amounts of sputum. Other damage to the supporting structure of the lung causes emphysema. This results in progressive shortness of breath, disability and finally death from respiratory failure.

Tobacco is also responsible for the death of many people from cigarette related fires each year.

Cigarettes are responsible for the loss of many pregnancies via miscarriage or stillbirth.

Environmental tobacco smoke is also a prominent cause of SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome.

Tobacco use is the single most important preventable cause of human disease and death. When all of the deaths caused by tobacco products both in smokers and in people exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS or second-hand smoke), the total is more than 480,000 Americans who die prematurely each year. The estimated number worldwide is between 8 and 10 million deaths.

If there is no effective tobacco control in the near future, we can expect approximately one billion tobacco-related premature deaths during the coming century.