What are the health risks of smoking? Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK.Every year around 100,000 people die from smoking, with many more deaths caused bysmoking-related illnesses.Smoking increases your risk of developing more than 50 serious health conditions. Some may be fatal and others can cause irreversible long-term damage to your health.You can become ill: if you smoke yourself through other people's smoke (passive smoking, or secondhand smoke) Health risksSmoking causes about 90% of lung cancers. It also causescancer in many other parts of the body, includingthe: mouth lips throat voice box (larynx) oesophagus (the tube between your mouth and stomach) bladder kidney liver stomach pancreas Smoking damages your heart and your blood circulation, increasingyour risk of developing conditions such as: coronary heart disease heart attack stroke peripheral vascular disease(damaged blood vessels) cerebrovascular disease(damaged arteries that supply blood to your brain) Smoking also damages your lungs, leading to conditions such as: chronicbronchitis (infection of the main airways in the lungs) emphysema(damage to the small airways in the lungs) pneumonia(inflammation in the lungs) Smoking can also worsen or prolong the symptoms of respiratory conditions such as asthma, or respiratory tract infections such as the common cold. In men, smoking can causeimpotencebecause it limits the blood supply to the penis. It can also affect thefertility of both men and women, making it difficult for you to have children.Secondhand smokeSecondhand smoke comes from the tip of a lit cigarette and the smoke that the smoker breathes out.People who breathe in secondhand smoke are at risk of gettingthe same health conditions as smokers, particularly lung cancer and heart disease. For example, breathing in secondhand smoke increases a non-smoker's risk of developing lung cancer or heart disease by about 25%.Babies and children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke. A child who is exposed to smoke is at increased risk of developing respiratory infections, a chroniccough and, if they have asthma, their symptoms will get worse. They're also at increased risk ofsudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and glue ear.Smoking during pregnancyIf you smoke when you're pregnant, you put your unborn baby's health at risk, as well as your own. Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of complications such as: miscarriage premature (early) birth a low birth weight baby stillbirth Read more aboutWhy should I stopsmokingif I'm pregnant?Getting helpYour GP will be able to give you information and advice about quitting smoking. You can also call: the NHSSmokefree helpline on 0300 123 1044 the NHS Pregnancy Smoking Helpline on 0800 169 9 169 Read the answers to more questions about stopping smoking.Further information: Is passive smoking harmful? Why is smoking addictive? Quitting smoking Smoking and pregnancy Smoking costs calculator NHS Smokefree Subjects Health Grade K-2 3-5 6-8 9-12[facebookbadge]Brief DescriptionDemonstrate the potential harmful effects of smoking with this simple experiment. ObjectivesStudents observe the harmful effects of smoking by observing the accumulation of tar and/or nicotine on cotton balls placed inside a demonstration device. Keywords smoking, cancer, cigarette, tobacco, lungs, environmental, substance abuse Materials Needed[shopmaterials] a clear plastic bottle with a narrow neck (e.g., a small soft drink, juice, or spring water bottle) cotton balls modeling clay a pencil a cigarette matches writing paper pencils or pens Lesson Plan Perform this demonstration for students to observe because it involves matches and a cigarette. Start the demonstration by offering a handful of students an opportunity to drop a cotton ball into the plastic bottle. Then create a ball of modeling clay and block the mouth of the bottle with it. Use a pencil to poke a hole through the modeling clay until you see the pencil tip inside the bottle; then remove the pencil. Stick one end (the filtered end, if you are using a filtered cigarette) into the hole created in the modeling clay. Light the cigarette. Now gently squeeze the plastic bottle to simulate breathing. Squeezing the bottle draws cigarette smoke inside the bottle the way lungs draw smoke into the body. You might let students take turns squeezing the bottle. After pumping the bottle a dozen times or so, extinguish the cigarette. Then remove the clay plug. Ask students to observe the cotton balls in the bottom of the container. Lead a discussion with the following questions: What happened? How do the cotton balls look? Why do they look that way? How does this demonstration show the potential effects of smoking on the body? Ask students to write a brief summary of the demonstration and what they learned from it. - See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/00-2/lp2192.shtml#sthash.Rqq1TseE.dpuf