Long-term effects of tobacco use

Long-term use of tobacco can lead to a wide range of health problems including cataracts of the eye (see Study Session 5) and greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases including lung cancer (see Study Session 3). Smoking during pregnancy is especially harmful as it may result in delivery of a low birth weight baby, which in turn is a risk factor for later mental and physical problems in the child. Passive smoking (when somebody is exposed to smoke through the smoking of someone else) can also cause lung cancer in adults and increases the risk of respiratory illnesses in children and sudden death in infants.