What does a smoker usually die from?

Answer 1

It depends on the smoker. They make smoke their entire life and never die, or could develop lung cancer within a few years. Some individuals who have never smoked in their lives develop lung cancer. There is no simple answer.

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Everyone is going to die, whether they are a smoker or not. You could die within seconds if you fell under a train or you could have a disease that could take years to kill you, whether you smoke or not. Smokers are definitely more at risk of serious health issues than the smokeless population.

Smoking clogs up your blood vessels so many smokers end up having to have amputations to save their lives, as well as many other well known health problems.

I think almost every smoker on the planet knows smoking is bad for them, and there is a lot of help available to enable people to quit if they want to.

Smoking is a complicated addiction. Its not just about nicotine dependancy; its about something in the hand, against the lips, the throat hit, the lungful and the exhaling of smoke. Also, as babies, our first comfort and pleasure come through the mouth, so we find our cigarettes comforting.

Nicotine itself, although its addictive, isn't much worse for you than caffeine in a cup of coffee. In tobacco there are about 500 chemicals and once it is lit, there are about 4000, and of the 4000, 69 are known to cause cancer. Its those chemicals that cause the impact on the health of smokers and those around them.

If someone cannot quit, its sensible to take measures to reduce the harm of smoking. This is not achieved by nagging and nastiness because that creates more anxiety and more craving for oral comfort in the form of a cigarette. It just makes the problem worse.

There is a way of drastically reducing harm that is satisfying to thousands of ex smokers, much cheaper and harmless to people around them. This is where pharmaceutical grade flavoured nicotine is put in a safe fluid such as glycerine and poured into a small battery operated tank. This gives the smoker something in their hands, against their lips, a throat hit, a lungful and they exhale what looks like smoke but is in fact an inert, harmless water vapour. This satisfies the complex addiction but with only a couple of chemicals all of which are fairly safe. Its called vaping (because you exhale water vapour, not smoke) and is a good way of reducing tobacco harm.

It would be much better if someone could quit altogether, but if that isn't going to happen, harm reduction is the next best thing.

Answer 2

Lung damage and/or lung cancer from the cancer causing pathogens in cigarettes.