Health Effects of Smoking
Risk Factors Associated, and Nursing Interventions
Cancers Associated with Smoking
Smoking can cause cancer in almost any part of your body.
- Bladder
- Blood
- Cervix
- Colon and Rectal
- Esophogaus
- Kidney and Ureter
- Larynx
- Liver
- Oropharynx (throat, tongue, soft palate, tonsils)
- Pancreatic
- Stomach
- Trachea, Bronchus, Lung
General Risk Factors Associated with Smoking
- More than 480.000 deaths each year in United States are caused by smoking. (Nearly 1 in five deaths)
- Smoking causes 1 out of 3 cancer related deaths per year.
- About 80% of deaths from COPD are caused by cancer
- Smoking generally increases risk from dying from any cause in men and women.
- Smokers are more likely to develop heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke than nonsmokers.
- Smoking increases the risk of developing cataracts, and patients who smoke have a higher chance of developing diabetes type 2 mellitus. (30-40% higher than nonsmoker's risk)
- Can cause gum disease and tooth loss.
- In the United States, the mortality rate of smokers is three times higher than nonsmokers.
- Smoking changes the structure of the skin (discoloration, wrinkles, premature aging).
- yellow staining of fingernails, teeth and fingers
- Bad breath caused by smoking.
- May increase risk of early menopause in women
- Can cause Erectile Dysfunction in men who smoke
- There is an increased risk of infertility in men and women who smoke.
- Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death.
Benefits of Quitting
- 1 year after quitting smoking, risk for heart attack drops sharply
- 2-5 years of not smoking, your risk for having a stroke drops almost to same level as a nonsmoker's risk.
- Risk for cancers of mouth/throat/esophogaus drop by half after five years of not smoking.
Nurses Role in Patient Smoking Cessation
- Studies done have shown that nursing interventions in patient smoking cessation have been effective.
- There is a need to incorporate smoking behavior monitoring and smoking cessation interventions into standard practice.
- Reinforcement and follow up is needed for interventions to be the most effective.
- Effects of nursing interventions are decreased when interactions are brief.