Why do people begin to smoke?
Peer pressure and curiosity are the major reasons young people try smoking. Also, people with friends and parents who smoke are more likely to begin smoking than those who have nonsmoking parents. Those who begin to smoke at a younger age are more likely than late starters to develop long-term nicotine addiction.
How do people quit smoking?
Quitting smoking is not easy, and some people try several times before succeeding. Many of those who have tried to quit have done so on their own by either stopping "cold turkey," participating in the Great American Smokeout®, or using other methods.
There’s no one right way to quit. Quitting for good may mean using many methods including using step-by-step manuals, self-help classes or counseling, or using a nicotine replacement therapy (see next question). Smokers may also need to make changes in their daily routine to help them not smoke.
What is nicotine replacement therapy?
Nicotine replacement therapies are medications that provide nicotine without the other harmful components of cigarette smoke. NRTs are available as patches, gums, inhalers, nasal sprays, or lozenges to help decrease or stop a smoker's withdrawal symptoms. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved all of these products as smoking cessation aids, although some require a doctor’s prescription. These products should be used with behavior change programs to help smokers break their psychological dependence on cigarettes.
Not everyone can use nicotine replacement therapy. People with certain medical conditions and pregnant women should not use it. When using the patch, it’s very important that users do not smoke cigarettes or use tobacco in any form.
Another medication, bupropion (Zyban) is also FDA approved for helping people quit smoking. This medication, which does not contain nicotine, is available with a doctor’s prescription.
For more information, see our "Guide to Quitting Smoking.”
What is being done to protect people from the hazards of smoking?
Both the public and private sectors have acted to help decrease smoking-related deaths and illnesses in this country. Since 1966, the US Surgeon General's health warnings have been required on all cigarette packages and, since 1987, on all smokeless tobacco products. Congress banned television and radio cigarette advertising on TV and radio in 1971 and smokeless tobacco advertising in 1987.
Laws in 49 states and the District of Columbia restrict or do not allow smoking in public places. Many federal worksites, including the White House, are smoke-free. Also, Congress has banned smoking on all domestic airplane flights.
As of 2001, the 7 major cigar manufacturers in the US began providing 5 health warnings that rotate on cigar labels, similar to those on cigarette packages.
For more information on state tobacco-related laws, see “State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues.”
What are the health risks of smoking pipes or cigars?
Smoking cigars or pipes is not better than smoking cigarettes. Most of the same cancer-causing substances found in cigarettes are found in cigars. Most cigars have as much nicotine as several cigarettes. When cigar smokers inhale, nicotine is absorbed as rapidly as it is with cigarettes. For those who do not inhale, it is absorbed more slowly through the lining of the mouth. Both inhaled and non-inhaled nicotine are highly addictive.
Smoking cigars causes cancers of the lung, oral cavity, larynx, esophagus, and probably cancer of the pancreas. Cigar smokers have a greater risk of dying from cancer of the oral cavity, larynx (voice box), or esophagus compared with nonsmokers. The risk of death from lung cancer is not as high as it is for cigarette smokers, but is still several times higher than the risk for nonsmokers.
Cigar smokers who inhale deeply and smoke several cigars a day are also at increased risk for heart disease and chronic lung disease.
What are the chances that smoking will kill you?
Based on current smoking patterns, smoking will kill about 500 million people alive in the world today. Tobacco-caused deaths worldwide are expected to increase from about 4 million per year today to about 10 million per year by the 2030s. Most of these deaths will occur in developing countries.
In the US, tobacco causes nearly 1 in 5 deaths, killing more than 440,000 Americans each year. Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death in our society.