Respiratory diseases - Smoking

SMOKING

Smoking severely damages your health and contributes to thousands of deaths every year.  Cigarettes contain lots of harmful chemicals and these cause a lot of damage to the lungs and the heart.

Passive smoking

Smoking is not only harmful to the smoker but can also have a very bad effect on those around them. Inhaling other peoples' smoke from cigarettes is called passive smoking. Passive smoking can affect any age.

Passive smoking  has been linked with the following health problems in:

Children and babies

Children and babies are more likely to get asthma, ear, nose and chest infections. Will suffer from wheezing and chronic coughs. They have an increased risk of dying from cot death. Are more likely than average to become smokers themselves when older. They're at an increased risk of developing cancer as adults.

Adults

Adults have an increased risk of lung cancer and increased risk of heart disease. Passive smoking can make asthma worse. It causes irritation to the eyes, nose and throat

Smoking and pregnancy

Smoking is extremely harmful during pregnancy and can lead to:

Miscarriage
Bleeding during pregnancy
Premature birth
Low birth weight (Premature and low birth weight babies are more prone to illness and infections.)
Congenital defects in the baby
Stillbirth or death within the first week of life.
Asthma