How all tobacco use harms men’s health

When it comes to tobacco use (cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and e-cigarettes), men are more likely to use these products at a higher rate than women.  In 2017, 15.9 percent of men smoked cigarettes compared to 12.2 percent of women. Part of this has to do with cultural norms, income levels, and educational achievement. But men have always led the pack in using all types of tobacco products.

All tobacco use is harmful to health and can lead to premature death and disease such as lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, emphysema, COPD, and peripheral vascular disease.  Men engaging in using any kind of tobacco are placing themselves at risk of developing these health conditions. Depending on the type of tobacco use by men, often determines what unique health risks men face when using these products.  Here is a look at various types of tobacco used by men affects their health:

·      Cigarette smoking

Cigarettes contribute to 480,000 American deaths each year. Nicotine is the highly addictive chemical present in the tobacco plant used to manufacture cigarettes. The toxic smoke that comes from cigarettes contains a mix of over 7,000 chemicals harming almost every organ in the human body. Men who smoke cigarettes will be at risk for heart disease, lung cancer and other types of cancer, lower respiratory diseases, stroke, and diabetes – the first, second, fourth, fifth, and sixth leading causes of death among men in the U.S. Anyone who smokes cigarettes is 20 times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers. And men with prostate cancer who smoke may be more likely to die from the disease than nonsmoking men with prostate cancer.

Other ways cigarette smoking affects men:

·      Smoking around pregnant women or children can cause serious health problems with a higher chance of them developing asthma, allergies, ear infections along with lung cancer.

·      Impotence and infertility

·      Osteoporosis – can cause thinning or weakening of the bones

·      Damages skin causing significant wrinkling and aging

·      Cigars

Men overwhelming use cigars more than women do, with 6.8 percent of U.S. adult men who report they use them compared to only 1 percent of women who smoke cigars. Cigars contain the same chemicals as cigarettes.  However, cigar tobacco contains increased levels of some cancer-causing chemical compared to cigarette tobacco.  Men who smoke cigars will have an increased risk for cancers of the mouth and throat, as users of these products may inhale the smoke.  Cigar smokers are also at an increased risk for cardiovascular and respiratory conditions such as coronary heart disease, aortic aneurysms, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

·      Smokeless tobacco  or chewing tobacco

Also known as “dip, snuff, or chew,” smokeless or chewing tobacco does not produce smoke but it still a health hazard for men. Again, men are the vast majority of individuals who use smokeless tobacco – 4 percent of U.S. adult men report using smokeless tobacco compared to only 0.2 percent of women. Use of smokeless tobacco is even higher among male high school students at 8.4 percent who report using these products.

Just because smokeless tobacco does not involve smoke, does not mean it’s not addictive.  Smokeless tobacco does contain nicotine just like cigarettes, making it an addictive substance. The levels of nicotine circulating in the bloodstream are about the same for people who smoke cigarettes as those who use chewing tobacco. Because smokeless tobacco is often used constantly during the day by users, it exposes users to high levels of nicotine throughout the day, resulting in high levels of dependence, which can lead to withdrawal symptoms such as intense cravings, increased appetite, irritability, and depressed mood.

The health-related risks associated with smokeless tobacco are many. One problematic risk of using smokeless tobacco is how it harms the teeth and gums. The sugars and irritants in smokeless tobacco products can cause cavities, abrasion of teeth, teeth staining, bad breath, gum disease, receding gums, bone loss around roots and tooth loss.  Precancerous mouth lesions can also develop inside the mouth in which small white patches call leukoplakia can appear. There is also an increased risk of more serious life-threatening medical conditions of cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and pancreas.

·      E-Cigarettes

For about a decade, e-cigarettes are a relatively new tobacco product that have been sold in the U.S. E-cigarettes or Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) have become a very popular form of tobacco use among men and women. Unlike traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes are generally battery-operated and use a heating element to heat e-liquid from a cartridge releasing a chemical-filled aerosol. The potential health risks, especially long-term, are still mostly unknown. Some of the e-cigarette aerosols may contain some of the same chemicals found in cigarette smoke and also can contain flavorings which have been found to be harmful to the lungs when inhaled. One study found that two primary ingredients in e-cigarettes – propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin – are toxic to cells.  E-cigarettes can produce a number of dangerous chemicals including acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde, all of which can cause lung disease as well as cardiovascular disease.

The healthiest option of men is to abstain from all tobacco products

The best way to protect men’s health from tobacco is to never start using any tobacco products. If a man is already using any form of tobacco product, quitting is his best option. The effects of quitting using a tobacco product can be detected almost immediately. Within just 20 minutes of quitting, a man’s heart rate drops, 12 hours after, carbon monoxide levels – which displace oxygen in the blood and deprive the heart, brain, and other organs of air – in the blood drop to normal. Within two to four years after quitting any tobacco product, a man’s risk of stroke becomes that of a lifetime nonsmoker.

There are various ways to quit tobacco products but the first place to begin is to ask a doctor’s advice on how to go about it. It can take several attempts to quit using a tobacco product but every attempt is a learning experience and if practiced consistently, will eventually result in a good outcome.

David B. Samadi, MD, Urologic Oncology Expert and Robotic Surgeon located at 485 Madison Avenue on the 21st floor, New York, NY – 212-365-5000.  Follow Dr. Samadi at www.samadimd.com,  www.prostatecancer911.com, and www.roboticoncology.com.