The Tobacco Cessation Center of Northern New York points to a new report from US Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin on how exposure to tobacco smoke causes immediate damage.

The Tobacco Cessation Center says its mission is to design, develop and implement strategies to decrease the incidence of cardiac disease, stroke and related chronic diseases in St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Lewis Counties, and will be using the information in the new report to further their goals.

The report focuses on how tobacco smoke causes disease and immediate damage to your body that can lead to serious illness or death. The report, “How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease,” finds that cellular damage and tissue inflammation from tobacco smoke are immediate, and that repeated exposure weakens the body’s ability to heal the damage.

The report also explains why it is so difficult to quit smoking. According to the research, cigarettes are designed for addiction. The design and contents of current tobacco products make them more attractive and addictive than ever before.

Smoking causes more than 85% of lung cancers and can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body. One in three cancer deaths in the U.S. is tobacco-related.

Tobacco smoke contains a deadly mixture of more than 7,000 chemicals and hundreds of toxins, at least 70 of which cause cancer.

According to the report, every exposure to these cancer-causing chemicals could damage DNA in a way that leads to cancer and decreases the benefits of chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.

Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause cardiovascular disease and could trigger acute cardiac events, such as heart attack. The evidence shows how smoking causes cardiovascular disease and increases risks for heart attack, stroke, and aortic aneurysm.

Smoking causes many more harmful effects throughout the body, such as making it harder for diabetics to control their blood sugar. Smoking makes it harder for women to get pregnant and may cause miscarriages, preterm deliveries, low birth weight, damage to fetal lungs and brain tissue. Babies who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome.

Fortunately, there are now more ways, and more effective ways, to help smokers quit than ever before.

Health care providers interested in incorporating evidence-based interventions into practice, or institutions interested in adopting a tobacco-free policy can call tobacco educator, counselor and consultant Beth Gero, Ph.D., at 261-5436.

Smokers can call the NYS Smokers’ Quitline at (800) 697-8487) or visit www.nysmokefree.com.