7.3 Smoking and the risk of disease Flashcards
State three components of tobacco smoke.
nicotine
carbon monoxide
tar
State what effect nicotine has on the human body?
nicotine: addictive/produces sense of calm/increases heat rate
It is the addictive but relatively harmless drug in cigarettes
State what effect carbon monoxide has on the human body?
carbon monoxide: poisonous/taken up by blood instead of oxygen
State what effect tar has on the human body?
tar: carcinogenic/damages lung tissue causing COPD
The MORE/ LESS cigarettes smoked, the GREATER/SMALLER the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD)
More
greater
Describe possible causal mechanisms to explain the more cigarettes smoked, the greater the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD)?
Smoking narrows blood vessels, which can increase blood pressure.
Nicotine in cigarette smoke increases heart rate.
Other chemicals in cigarette smoke damage lining of arteries, making atherosclerosis more likely, or increase blood pressure
Summarise the information given that cigarette smoking increases the risk of developing lung cancer and explain how scientists think this effect is caused?
Scientists have several causal mechanisms that work together to explain link between smoking and lung cancer.
Cigarette smoke contains tar and other carcinogens. The higher the concentration of these chemicals in the lungs, the more likely they are to affect cells and turn them malignant.
Cilia that would naturally filter out tar are anaesthetised by chemicals in cigarette smoke so they do not work,
allowing tar and other carcinogenic chemicals to build up in delicate lung tissue
Many woman continue to smoke while pregnant. Explain why smoking during pregnancy is so harmful?
A fetus exposed to smoke has restricted oxygen which can lead to premature birth, low birthweight and even being stillborn
Discuss the human and financial cost of smoking to individuals and to nations around the world?
Tobacco smoking is the cause of many preventable diseases and premature deaths in the UK and around the world.
It poses enormous health- and non-health-related costs to the affected individuals, employers, and the society at large.
Care for cancer, cardiovascular, and pulmonary diseases from smoking costs tens of billions of dollars per year.
Also cost for bereavement, lost productivity, pain and suffering, and health care for debilities from smoking.
The tolls range from cigarette burns, to cigarette ignited fire disasters, to caring for dying smokers and replacing their financial and social contributions to their spouses, children, grandchildren, and the tax base.
