Smoking Cigarettes Increases Risk of Developing 56 Kinds of Illnesses

Cigarette smoking has already been previously linked to health complications. However, according to IFL Science, new findings show that cigarette smokers have a heightened risk of developing 56 kinds of illnesses.

Many cancer types got included in this lineup. However, there were also other illnesses that affected other organs and body systems, including the eyes, pancreas, and liver. Oxford University also noted how smoking boosted the risk of becoming sick with conditions that are not life threatening, such as peptic ulcer, diabetes, cataract, asthma, and other types of metabolic illnesses.

Smokers vs. Non-smokers

A recent study was conducted to delve deeper into the effects of smoking. It was a collaborative endeavor conducted by the University of Oxford and many institutions from China. The study was included in the Lancet Public Health.

The researchers compared those who never tried smoking before and those who were regular smokers at a certain point of their lives. They also worked with those who were current smokers and checked their risk of developing or succumbing to particular illnesses in their lifetime.

The study was conducted extensively. Researchers examined 85 various death causes and 480 various illnesses. The team gathered data from China Kadoorie Biobank.

According to Health Europa, more than 512,000 adults participated in the study from 2004 to 2008. These participants were followed up for around a median of 11 years.

Among the participants, around 74.3% of men had regularly smoked at some point. This was a stark difference compared to 3.2% of women.

Senior author and professor Liming Li shared that around two-thirds of Chinese men who were young ended up smoking cigarettes. He also mentioned that most of them started before reaching 20 years old. Li further states that this habit may end up killing them if they do not stop smoking.

Smokers Had a 10% Higher Risk of Getting Sick

In comparison to those who have never smoked before, regular smokers had a 10% higher risk of getting ill. The illness that had the most remarkable higher risk was larynx cancer, with an increased risk of 216%.

Among these men, the ones that held the highest risks were those who smoked regularly and stayed in urbanized locales. The researchers noted that such demographics had an earlier onset of smoking and have higher cigarette consumption compared to those who live in rural places.

Risks Significantly Dropped For Those Who Stopped Smoking Before Their Health Took Any Tolls

The good news was that their findings showed that those who stopped smoking before health complications surfaced had reduced risks. After around ten years, their risk levels reached that of those who have never smoked.

Smokers at Risk of Developing 56 Various Illnesses

As mentioned earlier, smokers were found to be at risk of developing 56 different illnesses. These included bladder, stomach, and lung cancer and other conditions such as heart attack, diabetes, and gastric ulcer.

This study was the first to comprehensively study smoking effects in the long run among Chinese adults.

Dr. Ka Hung Chan, one of the proponents, shares how these results show how serious the consequences and effects of smoking are and how beneficial it is to stop smoking.

Check out more news and information on Medicine and Health in Science Times.