Smoking Among Adults: Other Health Effects

Smokers are more likely to be absent from work than nonsmokers, and their
illnesses last longer. (p. 627)

Smokers tend to incur more medical costs, to see physicians more often in
the outpatient setting, and to be admitted to the hospital more often and
for longer periods than nonsmokers. (p. 652–653)

Smokers have a lower survival rate after surgery compared to that of
nonsmokers because of damage to the body’s host defenses, delayed wound
healing, and reduced immune response. Smokers are at greater risk for
complications following surgery, including wound infections, postoperative
pneumonia, and other respiratory complications. (p. 653)

Periodontitis is a serious gum disease that can result in the loss of teeth
and bone loss. Smoking is causally related to periodontitis. This may be
because smoking affects the body’s ability to fight infection and repair
tissue. (p. 733,736)

Peptic ulcers, which are located in the digestive tract (stomach and
duodenum), usually occur in people with an infection caused by the
Helicobacter pylori bacterium. Among persons with this infection, smokers
are more likely to develop peptic ulcers than nonsmokers. In severe cases,
peptic ulcers can lead to death. (p. 805)

Although only a small number of studies have looked at the relationship
between smoking and erectile dysfunction, their findings suggest that
smoking may be associated with an increased risk for this condition. More
studies are needed, however, before researchers can conclude that smoking is
causally related to erectile dysfunction. (p. 776)

Citation

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of
Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center
for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and
Health, 2004.


Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and has negative
health impacts on people at all stages of life. It harms unborn babies,
infants, children, adolescents, adults, and seniors.