Instead of dying 3-6 months after the diagnosis, you can now live up to 18 months. Again, these figures do not reflect the quality of life. The chemotherapy alone causes extreme nausea and vomiting. Smoking increases the risk of developing chronic lung disease by 30 times. Smoking during pregnancy results in smaller infants and there is an increase in early fetal and neonatal deaths.
Smoking is a type of immune deficiency.
The body has difficulty fighting off diseases. This is why smokers seem to get more infections than nonsmokers. After you quit smoking it takes about 10-15 years before your chance of getting cancer is about the same as nonsmokers. Nicorette chewing gum helps improve the quitting rate by about 50 percent. The nicotine containing patches are helpful also.