Tobacco use can harm nearly every organ system in your body. It is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States (U.S.). It causes more than 480,000 deaths each year. This means that about one in five deaths each year are from smoking-related diseases.

Long-term tobacco use can lead to disease and disability. It can cause many conditions. Many of these can be deadly, such as:

• Heart disease and stroke.

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Female smokers are more likely to die from COPD than male smokers are.

• Type 2 diabetes. Smoking raises your chance of getting Type 2 diabetes by 30 to 40 percent.

• Many types of cancer.

• Gum disease and tooth loss.

• Vision loss and even blindness.

• Buerger’s disease. This can cause blood clots.

• Complications if you have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

If you already have a smoking-related condition, it will get worse if you keep smoking.

Many of the top causes of death in the U.S. are linked to smoking.

• Heart disease is the top cause of death.

• Lung cancer is the top cause of cancer-related deaths.

• Diabetes is the seventh top cause of death.

Smoking can make you:

• Two to four times more likely to get coronary heart disease.

• Two to four times more likely to have a stroke.

• 25 times more likely to get lung cancer if you’re male. More than 25 times more likely if you’re female.

Using tobacco while you’re pregnant is harmful to both you and your baby. It can cause your baby to be born too early or have a birth defect. It can also cause your baby to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). It can even cause an ectopic pregnancy. This is an unsafe condition for you and your baby.

Tobacco use also affects the people around you. Secondhand smoke can cause stroke, lung cancer, and heart disease, even if you don’t smoke. It can raise the risk of things like asthma attacks and impaired lung strength in children.

Quitting tobacco is good for your health. It’s also good for the health of the people around you. It can lower your risk of having a stroke or getting lung cancer and heart disease.

Quit now to add years to your life. It can help you live healthier. When you quit tobacco, your body starts to fix itself almost right away. Here are some health benefits that can come in the minutes, hours, days, and months after you quit.