Despite overwhelming evidence that tobacco (cigarettes) destroys health (lung cancer, heart and blood-vessel disorders, etc.), it's estimated that more than 53 million Americans smoke.
      This is due, in part, to the fact that nicotine is as addictive as heroin, cocaine or amphetamines, and for most people, more addictive than alcohol. Nicotine affects a major nerotransmitter system that is involved in the conduction of nerve signals, memory and other critical functions. It also binds to white blood cells and is carried to most tissues throughout the body.

      Nicotine acts as both a stimulant and sedative. Shallow puffs tend to increase alertness, while deep drags relax the smoker. The reason is that low doses of nicotine facilitate the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine---which makes people feel alert---but high doses of nicotine block the flow of the compound.

      Components present in both active and passive tobacco smoke have been linked to:
      * An increase in frequency of respiratory infections, respiratory symptoms and slightly smaller rates of increase in lung function as the lung matures in children of parents who smoke. Simple separation of smokers and nonsmokers within the same airspace may reduce, but not elimiante, exposure of nonsmokers to environmental tobacco smoke.
[ Public Health Service Report, "The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking"; 332 pages, Dec. 1986 ]
The National Academy of Sciences set, in 1986, at 2400 deaths a year the lung cancer toll inflicted on nonsmokers by their association with persons who smoke. In households where on spouse smokes and the other does not, the nonsmoker's risk of contracting lung cancer is increased by 30 percent.

      * Passive smoke increases the risk of contracting cervical cancer for nonsmoking women as much as it does in women who smoke. Smokers and nonsmokers who were exposed to secondhand smoke for three or more hours a day were 3.4 times as likely to get cervical cancer than nonsmokers who did not breathe secondhand smoke. Uterine cancer kills 6,000 American women a year.
[ Dr. Martha Slattery; Journal of the American Medical Association, 03/17/89

      * Passive smoke also impacts on teen athletes. In a study of 193 New York teens, while the number of respiratory problems was similar in the sample, the frequency of cough was four times greater in the group exposed to passive tobacco smoke.
[ Drs. George Tsimoyianis, Marc Jacobson; Pediatrics, the Amer. Academy of Peds. Journal, July, 1987 ]

      * In a study that involved 51 dogs, it was found that those whose owners smoke are at a 50 percent greater risk of developing lung cancer than dogs whose owners are non-smokers. Since dogs don't smoke and lung cancer is extremely rare in dogs, this is a significant finding.
[ Dr. John S. Reif, Prof. of Environmental Health, Colorado State University, Sept. 1989 ]

      * According to a study of 120,000 nurses, women who smoke as few as one to four cigarettes per day incerase their chances of having a heart attack two to three times.
[Dr. Walter C. Willett, Harvard School of Public Health, November, 1987.

      * Smoking leads to bone loss in women, even those in their 20's and 30's.
[ Dr. Pamela Jensen, Yale University, findings presented at the 12/04/87 annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America; McCormick Place, Chicago, IL ]

      * Women who smoke are less fertile and have a more difficult time getting pregnant than non-smokers. When they do get pregnant, they have a greater risk of spontaneous abortion, premature delivery and still birth. They also have smaller babies with an increased risk of dying in early infancy. The risk of crib death is double among the children of mothers who smoke. smoking may block oxygen to the embryo, breaking down its natural defenses and damaging its central nervous system. Smokers reach menopause earlier than non-smokers, possibly due to chemical damage in the hormone- producing cells in the ovaries.
[Drs. Sven Cnattingius and Bengt Haglund; U. of Stockholm ]

      * Smoking mothers may be the most important risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In a study from Uppsala U. (Sweden), it was shown that smoking doubled the risk and a clear dose-response relation was observed. Other general factors associated with SIDS includes the age of the mother, the number of children she has had, and male infants.

      * Women who smoke are more likely to experience excessive growth of facial hair.
[Dr. Arthur Hartz, Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee; 03/11/87 ]

      * Smoking causes excessive interaction of platelets (a blood clotting agent) with blood vessel walls. Formation of blood clots in arteries serving the heart muscle can lead to heart attack. Platelet activity quickly return to normal after smoking stops.
[Dr. John Oates, Chief of Medicine, Vanderbilt School of Medicine; Nashville, Tenn./ Circulation, the American Heart Assn. Journal, 07/87 ]

      * Quitting smoking may cut in half the risk of prematurely developing nuclear cataracts, cataracts which form in the center of the lens. Cigarette smoke components that are inhaled are carried internally to the eyes and may contribute to the damage.
[ Dr. Sheila K. West, Wilmer Eye Institute, John Hopkins University, Baltimore/ 08/89 issue of Archives of Opthalmology ]