Smoking is one of the absolute worst things you can do to your body.
Whether you’re a life-time non-smoker, a former smoker or even a current smoker, you probably already know this truth – smoking is very bad for you.
The tough reality is that smoking is very difficult to give up once you start. The addictive nature of nicotine keeps people hooked, even when they really want to quit.
November is COPD Awareness Month and Lung Cancer Awareness Month, a good time to remind ourselves of the risk factors for these dangerous diseases. The most common cause for both is smoking cigarettes.
November 19 is also the Great American Smokeout, an initiative of the American Cancer Society that challenges smokers to give up cigarettes for one day – or even better, make it Day One on their journey as a former smoker.
“If lung cancer and COPD aren’t bad enough, smoking is also linked to increased risk of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, cataracts, macular degeneration, gum disease, bone loss and tooth loss,” says Dr. Shital Chavda, a family medicine physician in Colleyville. “Smoking simply wreaks havoc on the human body, which is why it’s best to never do it. But if you do smoke, there’s no time like the present! Let’s help you make a plan to quit, for good.”
Major Progress Against Smoking
Of all the public health advancements of the last 60 years, there may be none more important than the fact smoking rates have plummeted.
In 1965, The Beatles were all the rage – and so was smoking. Some 42% of the American adult population smoked that year. But 1965 also marked an important turning point: Congress required the first health warnings on cigarette packaging: “Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health.”
Of course, those warnings got a lot stronger and more direct over time. Through sustained public awareness campaigns, the smoking rate declined. By the turn of the century, the smoking rate had fallen by nearly half. Continued medical advancements, including therapies and medications that help smokers stop, helped drive smoking rates down further. By 2024, smoking rates fell just below 10%.
“The tremendous decline in smoking proves sustained public awareness campaigns work and most importantly, that it is possible to quit smoking,” says Dr. Chavda. “All of the people who used to smoke and gave it up should serve as an inspiration to current smokers who are struggling to kick the habit for good.”
How Does Smoking Harm the Body?
Smoking cigarettes can cause damage to virtually every organ in the human body.
Cancer
Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. At least 250 of those are known to be harmful to humans and a minimum of 69 are proven to cause cancer.
The carcinogens in cigarettes can lead to multiple types of cancer in addition to lung cancer. These include cancers of the esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, liver, pancreas, stomach, cervix, colon and rectum, as well as a type of leukemia.
Lung Cancer
Smoking is the single biggest risk factor for lung cancer – 80% – 90% of all lung cancer deaths are attributable to smoking. For many years, lung cancer has consistently been the third-most diagnosed cancer (excluding skin cancers), behind female breast and prostate cancers. It is also the deadliest form of cancer, with a rate of 27.9 deaths per 100,000 people in 2024.
Possible symptoms of lung cancer include a cough that doesn’t go away and gets worse over time, constant chest pain, coughing up blood, hoarseness, wheezing, unexplained weight loss and extreme fatigue. Any of these symptoms is reason to make an appointment with your doctor right away.
Lung cancer is diagnosed through imaging of the lungs and – if suspicious nodules are detected – through a biopsy. Depending on the type of cancer identified, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and targeted therapy that stops the growth of cancer cells may be used to treat the disease.
Lung Cancer Screening
Proactive lung cancer screening may be appropriate for some people who have a history of heavy smoking or currently smoke. This screening is conducted using a low-dose CT scan (LDCT).
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends annual screening for those who:
- Have a 20 pack-year or more history of smoking. A 20 pack-year history means someone smoked one pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years or the net equivalent, such as smoking half a pack a day for 40 years, and
- Currently smoke or have quit in the last 15 years and
- Are 50 to 80 years old.
COPD
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive and debilitating lung disease. Smoking is the cause of 80% of all COPD-related deaths. COPD usually involves two main conditions, chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
COPD restricts breathing, causing shortness of breath, wheezing, fatigue, persistent coughing and swelling in the feet, ankles and legs. COPD gets worse over time if left untreated and can prevent many people from enjoying an active lifestyle or even accomplishing basic day-to-day chores. Millions of Americans, mostly middle-aged or older adults, are diagnosed with COPD and there are many more that are unaware they have the disease.
Although there is no cure for COPD, a patient can manage symptoms by eliminating cigarette smoking and following a physician’s instructions.
Cardiovascular Disease
Smoking causes cardiovascular disease – in fact, one-quarter of all cardiovascular disease deaths are due to smoking. Smoking harms the heart and blood vessels in a variety of ways:
- Because smoking constricts the blood vessels, the heart is forced to work harder to pump blood.
- Smoking makes blood more likely to clot inside the blood vessels. A clot that blocks blood flow to the heart can lead to a heart attack. If blood flow to the brain is cut off, a stroke will result.
- Smoking also contributes to unhealthy cholesterol levels by increasing triglycerides in the blood stream and reducing HDL cholesterol, which is beneficial to our heart health.
- Smoking can increase blood pressure.
- Smoking can cause arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat. This condition also makes blood clots more likely, further increasing risk of heart attack and stroke.
Pregnancy & Smoking
Smoking makes it harder for women to become pregnant. For women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, it is imperative to stop smoking immediately for the health of the baby. The carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke can prevent the baby from getting enough oxygen in the womb, while nicotine can harm fetal brain development.
Women who smoke during pregnancy are much more likely to deliver the baby prematurely, increasing the risk of a variety of health complications for the newborn. In 20% of cases in which the mother smokes during pregnancy, babies are born with a low birth weight.
Why Is It So Hard to Quit?
Nicotine is what makes smoking so addictive. When someone puffs on a cigarette, nicotine is carried deep into the lungs, dispersed into the bloodstream and then delivered to the brain, where it produces a temporary feeling of pleasure. This process occurs in a matter of seconds.
When a smoker goes a while without smoking, the nicotine level in the bloodstream diminishes, leading to intense cravings. As the cravings intensify, the smoker can become anxious and irritable. Nicotine withdrawal can also make it difficult to concentrate.
How to Beat the Nicotine Addiction
“To successfully quit, a smoker must first decide it’s something he or she really wants to do,” says Dr. Jason Ledbetter, an internal medicine physician in Fort Worth. “Acknowledge the reality it will take hard work, willpower and perseverance — but know that the effort will be well worth it!”
Start by identifying your motivations for quitting and write them down. You will probably find multiple reasons to quit. What are yours?
- Your health?
- The health of those around you?
- You want to set a good example for your kids?
- The social stigma associated with smoking?
- You don’t want your clothes, hair, car and home to smell like smoke?
- You want to improve your physical appearance?
- You want to save money?
- It’s not worth the hassle to continually sneak away for a smoke?
All of these are great reasons to quit!
Stop Smoking Aids
After you have made the commitment to yourself to stop smoking, you must come up with a strategy to be successful. Because the nicotine addiction is so powerful, it’s a good idea to work with your health care provider on a plan that gives you the greatest chance to be successful.
Your physician may write a prescription for medicine that reduces cravings and blunts nicotine withdrawal effects.
Another option is nicotine replacement therapy products, which are available over the counter. These include patches, which release a steady amount of nicotine into your system through the skin, as well as nicotine gum and lozenges. These therapies are designed to reduce cravings and wean the smoker from the addiction with a step-down approach, gradually decreasing the amount of nicotine in the body over a period of a few months.
Whether using prescription medication or nicotine replacement therapy, experts agree that smokers should take advantage of various online stop-smoking support services, as well. Breaking the mental habit of smoking, continually reminding yourself why you want to be a non-smoker, as well as extinguishing the physical addiction to nicotine, are all crucial to success. Some prescription medications offer their own support services, as do the CDC, SmokeFree.gov and 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
What about Vaping?
The CDC reports that while e-cigarettes generally contain fewer chemicals than are found in tobacco cigarettes, they still contain “harmful and potentially harmful substances.”
Some smokers believe that using e-cigarettes will help them quit smoking altogether and take up vaping as a smoking cessation technique. However, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has not approved vapes as a smoking-cessation aid and the USPSTF has said there is insufficient evidence to know if the benefits outweigh the harms.
There is no question that vaping is harmful to children and adolescents: nicotine interferes with the brain development of young people. Children remain at serious risk of getting hooked on nicotine, but the good news is that fewer are using e-cigarettes. The FDA’s 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey shows 5.2% of students reported e-cigarette use, which represents a significant decrease from 2022.
Quitting Improves Your Health – Immediately
The human body has an amazing ability to repair itself. For people who stop smoking, the health benefits begin almost immediately.
Within…
- 20 minutes: heart rate drops
- 24 hours: nicotine level in the blood drops to zero
- Several days: carbon monoxide levels fall to normal
- 1-12 months: Coughing & shortness of breath decrease
- 1-2 years: risk of heart attack drops significantly
- 5 -10 years: added risk of cancer of the throat, mouth, esophagus and bladder is reduced by half. Stroke risk also decreases.
- 10 years: risk of lung cancer drops by half after 10-15 years; risk of several cancers, including bladder, esophagus and kidney decreases.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are or how long and how much you have smoked, you will begin to realize these health benefits when you kick the habit,” says Dr. Ledbetter. “You may also find that you are more motivated to get physically active.”
Are You Ready?
If you smoke, you already know the many good reasons to quit – you just have to answer one question: are you finally ready?
If the answer is yes, congratulations! You have just taken the first step into a healthier life. Now it’s time to start making your plan to quit.
Privia Medical Group North Texas physicians are committed to doing all they can to help their patients kick the deadly smoking addiction once and for all. If you’re ready to start life as a non-smoker, make an appointment with your physician to create your stop-smoking plan together.
This article has been reviewed and approved by a panel of Privia Medical Group North Texas physicians.
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