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Smoking: what are the effects?

Effects of tobacco smoke

Tar in cigarettes coats the lungs and can cause lung and throat cancer in smokers. It is also responsible for the yellow–brown staining on smokers' fingers and teeth.

Carbon monoxide in cigarettes robs the muscles, brain and blood of oxygen, making the whole body — especially the heart — work harder. Over time this causes airways to narrow and blood pressure to rise, and can lead to heart attack and stroke. High levels of CO, together with nicotine, increase the risk of heart disease, hardening of the arteries and other circulatory problems. A first-time smoker will often feel dizzy and sick.


 

myDr, 2002. Reproduced with kind permission from the Australian Drug Foundation.
©Copyright: myDr, UBM Medica Australia, 2000-2012. All rights reserved.


Last Reviewed: 20 September 2006

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