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 In this section:

        Public Health Education

Health Effects of Tobacco Use

                        
                Nicotine Is Why Tobacco Products Are Addictive
          How Smoking Affects Heart Health
          Keep Your Air Clear: How Tobacco Can Harm Your Lungs
          How Smoking Can Increase Risk for and Affect Diabetes
          Chemicals in Tobacco Products and Your Health
          What It’s Like to Quit Smoking
          How Smoking Affects Reproductive Health
          How Smoking Can Contribute to Vision Loss and Blindness
          Health Fraud
          Quitting Smoking and Other Tobacco Public Health Resources Home
          Tobacco Products
          Public Health Education
          Health Effects of Tobacco UsePublic Health Education Health Effects of Tobacco Use
  	
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Tobacco use has serious effects on the health of users. In fact, tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States,1 leading to more than 480,000 deaths each year.
Different tobacco products, however, pose varying levels of health risk to users. Combustible products that burn tobacco, like a cigarette, are the most harmful to a user’s health, while noncombustible products, such as e-cigarettes, may be less harmful. However, no tobacco product is considered safe.
Health Effects of Smoking
Cigarettes are responsible for the vast majority of all tobacco-related disease and death in the U.S. Smokers are exposed to a toxic mix of over 7,000 chemicals when they inhale cigarette smoke,2 the consequences of which can threaten their health in many ways.
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If you or a loved one are among the 34 million U.S. adults who smoke cigarettes in this country9 and want to quit, there are resources to help you on your journey to living a smoke-free life.
COVID-19 and Smoking
**Am I at risk for serious complications from COVID-19 if I smoke cigarettes?**
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Yes. Data show that when compared to never smokers, cigarette smoking increases the risk of more severe illness from COVID-19, which could result in hospitalization, the need for intensive care, or even death. Smoking cigarettes can cause inflammation and cell damage throughout the body, and can weaken your immune system, making it less able to fight off disease.
There’s never been a better time to quit smoking. If you need resources to help you quit smoking, the FDA has supportive tips and tools to help you get closer to quitting for good.
**If I vape tobacco or nicotine am I at risk for complications from COVID-19?**
E-cigarette use can expose the lungs to toxic chemicals, but whether those exposures increase the risk of COVID-19 or the severity of COVID-19 outcomes is not known. However, many e-cigarette users are current or former smokers, and cigarette smoking increases the risk of respiratory infections, including pneumonia.
In the Health Effects of Tobacco Use Section
**Nicotine Is Why Tobacco
        
        Products Are Addictive**
    **Keep Your Air Clear: How Tobacco
        
        Can Harm Your Lungs**
  
  **How Smoking Affects Heart Health**
    **What It’s Like to Quit Smoking**
Quitting Smoking and Other Tobacco Public Health Resources

References
	U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: US Dept of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014.
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: What It Means to You (Consumer Booklet). Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2010.
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease (Fact Sheet). Atlanta, GA: US Dept of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014.
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Smoking and Cancer (Fact Sheet). Atlanta, GA: US Dept of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014.
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Diabetes Statistics Report. Atlanta, GA: US Dept of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2020.
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Smoking and Diabetes (Fact Sheet). Atlanta, GA: US Dept of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014.
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Smoking and Respiratory Diseases (Fact Sheet). Atlanta, GA: US Dept of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014.
  Smoking during pregnancy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/health_effects/pregnancy/. Updated January 8, 2014. Accessed April 17, 2015.
  Cornelius ME, Wang TW, Jamal A, Loretan CG, Neff LJ. Tobacco Product Use Among Adults — United States, 2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:1736–1742.

                                                                                  Content current as of:
      03/23/2022
                  
                   
Regulated Product(s)
		 TobaccoHealth Effects of Tobacco Use                
                          

                        Nicotine Is Why Tobacco Products Are Addictive
          How Smoking Affects Heart Health
          Keep Your Air Clear: How Tobacco Can Harm Your Lungs
          How Smoking Can Increase Risk for and Affect Diabetes
          Chemicals in Tobacco Products and Your Health
          What It’s Like to Quit Smoking
          How Smoking Affects Reproductive Health
          How Smoking Can Contribute to Vision Loss and Blindness
          Health Fraud
          Quitting Smoking and Other Tobacco Public Health Resources
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