In addition to the three main diseases mentioned above, there is evidence that cigarette smoking can cause other pulmonary disorders (see Pulmonary disorders, pp 1846 — 49), delays the healing of gastric ulcers, plays a part in the cause of some cancers of the mouth, voice-box, gullet and bladder, and leads to a degree of skin wrinkling appropriate to non-smokers who are 20 years older. There are other factors about smoking that are worth knowing. For nonsmokers, only about one in five will not reach retirement age; for smokers of over 25 cigarettes a day, two in five will not reach this age. In other words the risk is doubled and it isn’t only that smokers are more likely to die of certain diseases; they are more likely to be disabled by them. Read the rest of this entry »
