Stop Smoking

Tobacco smoke causes instant damage to DNA

No Risk-Free Level Of Exposure,Warn Experts

Washington: Cigarette smoke causes immediate damage to a person's lungs and their DNA even in small amounts,including from second-hand smoke,US federal officials said in a new report.
Taxes,bans and treatment must all be pursued to bring smoking rates down,US surgeon-general Regina Benjamin said.The chemicals in tobacco smoke reach your lungs quickly every time you inhale causing damage immediately, she said in a statement.Inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can also damage your DNA,which can lead to cancer, she said.
The report said tobacco companies deliberately designed cigarettes and other tobacco products to be addictive.
Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and compounds,including hundreds that are toxic and at least 70 that cause cancer,the report said.That means there is no risk-free level of exposure to tobacco smoke.Even a whiff of tobacco smoke can adversely impact the body,the report says.The lining of the lungs becomes inflamed as soon as it is exposed to cigarette smoke,and,over time,the smoke can cause chronic lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis,according to the report.AGENCIES