All smoking carries health risks
All smoking carries health risks, even if you only smoke occasionally. There is no safe lower limit, and it varies individually how much smoking it takes before you suffer harm.
Smoking damages almost all organs in the body and leads to many diseases. Around 5,000 people die from smoking every year in Norway. Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death.
Smoking is the most important risk factor for death in the population under 70 years of age. Nearly half of heavy smokers die before reaching the age of 70.
Lung disease, COPD and smoking
Everyone who smokes gets damage to their lungs. COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (in Norwegian), is a collective term for a group of lung diseases that cause narrowing of the airways, chronic bronchitis (in Norwegian), and emphysema. In emphysema, the air sacs in the lungs are damaged and reduced in number. This reduces the ability to absorb oxygen.
COPD causes permanent lung damage and reduced lung function. The disease can lead to severe disability and can also be fatal. Two out of three COPD cases are caused by smoking. Many people do not know they have the disease. You cannot recover from COPD, but if you quit smoking, you can prevent the disease from progressing further. There are medications and aids that can make the disease easier to live with.
Being smoke-free is the most important thing you can do to prevent COPD. When you quit smoking:
- coughing will decrease
- breathing will improve after just a few months
- the risk of respiratory infections will be reduced
Smoker’s cough
Smoker’s cough is a long-lasting or chronic cough that develops over time in many people who smoke. The cough is often drier in the beginning and gradually develops into a more mucus-producing cough. The cough is usually worse in the morning.
Coughing (in Norwegian) can be a symptom of lung disease.
If you have such symptoms and are over 40 years old, it is recommended to examine lung function with a spirometry test at your general practitioner.
Cardiovascular disease and smoking
Smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (in Norwegian), partly because smoking causes atherosclerosis and high blood pressure. Atherosclerosis means that fat accumulates in the blood vessels, making them narrower and stiffer so that blood supply is obstructed. This increases the risk of blood clots.
Heart attack
Smoking doubles the risk of blood clots and heart attack (in Norwegian). Studies show that the risk increases even more for women than for men. Smoking just a few cigarettes daily also increases the risk of heart attack.
Even with consumption of only 1 to 4 cigarettes a day, the risk of developing heart disease is twice as high as for a non-smoker. Those who smoke develop heart disease earlier than those who do not smoke.
Stroke
Smoking doubles the risk of blood clots and stroke (in Norwegian). Smoking damages the walls of the arteries and causes fat to accumulate in the blood vessels. Smoking causes arteries to become stiffer and narrower, and this can stop blood supply to the brain and cause stroke.
Quitting smoking will reduce the risk of stroke. If you quit smoking, after 2 to 15 years you will have the same risk of stroke as a non-smoker.
Smoker’s leg
Smoker’s leg, or Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), is caused by atherosclerosis that reduces blood supply to the legs (in Norwegian). The disease is sometimes referred to as smoker’s leg because the condition most often affects people who smoke.
The disease causes pain in the legs, and many experience that the leg is constantly cold. In severe cases, you also have pain at rest. Gangrene may occur, so that the affected area must be amputated.
If you quit smoking, the atherosclerosis will not disappear, but more oxygen in the blood will improve the condition. Regular physical activity (in Norwegian) over time can help small and new blood vessels find new pathways around the affected area.
Tips for quitting smoking, snus use and vaping
Do you want to quit using smoke, snus or vape (e-cigarettes)? Here you'll find good tips and advice on how to succeed. Quit today or take time to prepare for a quit date.
Cancer and smoking
Smoking is the single most important cause of cancer (in Norwegian). There are at least 40 different carcinogenic substances in tobacco smoke, and even small amounts of tobacco smoke can damage your genetic material (DNA). Cancer cells can develop if the genetic material is damaged.
Lung cancer
Lung cancer (in Norwegian) is the form of cancer that claims the most lives in Norway, for both women and men. Smoking is the cause of approximately 8 out of 10 cases of lung cancer. The risk of developing lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes you smoke, the number of years you have smoked, and starting smoking at a young age. Quitting smoking is important to reduce the risk of lung cancer.
Other forms of cancer
Smoking also increases the risk of many other cancers, such as bladder cancer, cervical cancer, and cancer of the mouth and throat.
If you quit smoking, cells that are in a precancerous stage may have the opportunity to heal. You will reduce the risk of many types of cancer.
If you have developed cancer, quitting smoking will increase your chance of good treatment results. Quitting smoking may give you fewer side effects, fewer infections, better breathing and blood circulation, as well as a better quality of life.
If you are exposed to harmful substances at work, such as nickel or asbestos, the cancer risk increases particularly strongly if you also smoke.
Other health damage caused by smoking
Fertility and health damage to the fetus
Smoking reduces fertility in both women and men. If the mother smokes during pregnancy, it increases the risk of, among other things:
- reduced fetal growth
- premature birth
- stillbirth
Negative health effects from the mother’s smoking during pregnancy may affect the child far into adulthood.
Increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome
If the mother smokes during and after pregnancy, the risk of sudden infant death syndrome increases. The risk depends on how much the mother smokes.
Type 2 diabetes
Smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. The risk is higher for those who smoke many cigarettes a day than for those who smoke less or are former smokers. Smoking may also affect diabetes treatment because nicotine causes blood vessels to constrict, thereby reducing both blood circulation in the skin and the absorption of insulin.
Eye disease and impaired vision
Compared with those who do not smoke, smokers have up to four times greater risk of reduced sharp vision. This is caused by accumulation of waste products and cell death in the retina. This is called macular degeneration.
Smoking also doubles the risk of developing cataracts (in Norwegian), eye infections (in Norwegian), and dry eyes (in Norwegian). Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of various vision impairments in the child.
The eye and the sensory cells we use to see require a great deal of nutrients and energy from the blood. Smoking affects blood circulation, and when blood flow is reduced, this can lead to permanent vision loss.
Quitting smoking has major positive effects on vision. Quitting smoking is the most important lifestyle change you can make to preserve your eyesight (in Norwegian).
Water pipes and health risks
Water pipes have been used in large parts of the world for a long time under names such as shisha, hookah, and narghile, but are not very widespread in Norway. Even though the smoke in a water pipe is drawn through water, the harmful substances are not filtered out, as many believe. The smoke still contains toxic substances that can cause the same diseases as regular smoking.
If you use tobacco with nicotine, you can also become addicted to smoking. Since smoking a water pipe usually lasts a long time and involves deep inhalations, it can often correspond to smoking many cigarettes.
Water pipe tobacco is usually flavoured with different fruit flavours or fruit sauces in addition to the tobacco. The sweet fruit smell of the smoke may help create the impression that smoking a water pipe is not dangerous.
“Water pipe tobacco” without tobacco
There are also fruit and herbal mixtures completely without tobacco. Therefore, you may think it is harmless to smoke them. However, smoke from tobacco-free mixtures may still contain toxic substances that can be harmful to health and irritate the airways, in the same way as tobacco smoke.