Smoking is even worse than you thought

These days there are so many ads, campaigns and warnings not to use tobacco. But, in case people need even more convincing, experts have found smoking is causing much more than just lung cancer and heart disease.

This past Friday, the acting U.S. Surgeon General issued a statement that revealed a host of direct links between smoking and a number of new illnesses. On the roster are: diabetes, erectile dysfunction, ectopic pregnancies, colorectal and liver cancers, among others.

The new information caused the estimated annual deaths due to tobacco use to jump by 37,000 in the U.S. alone. The data should not only hit hard on current smokers, but also on their families and friends.

Doctors say that, along with the previously mentioned illnesses, smokers can ready themselves for rheumatoid arthritis, vision loss, tuberculosis, and impaired immune function. They also especially warn pregnant women who smoke, as it puts their babies at risk for being born with birth defects such as cleft palates.

Not only are people who use tobacco products at risk, but so are those inhaling second-hand smoke. Since the first Surgeon General warning against tobacco use was issued in 1964, 2.5 of the 20 million American deaths due to tobacco were nonsmokers who had been exposed to second-hand smoke. Experts say stroke can also be linked to second-hand smoke.

These discoveries are fueling the fire under the efforts for tobacco control in the U.S.  The facts are simple and undebatable. “Tobacco causes disease,” says Dr. Mike Roizen of the Cleveland Clinic in a statement. He warns teens who are tempted to fall into tobacco use that they will be in for a future of pain and disfigurement.

The odds are simply not in the favor of smokers and the proof can be seen in the research. Experts continually ask consumers, “What more evidence do you need?”