Tobacco smoking

Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and inhaling its smoke through cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or other devices. It exposes users and bystanders to nicotine and toxic combustion products.

Nicotine: Nicotine is an addictive alkaloid found in tobacco that acts on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Inhaled nicotine rapidly reaches the brain and reinforces repeated smoking.
Lung cancer: Lung cancer is a malignant growth arising in lung tissue or airways. Tobacco smoking is a major cause of lung cancer.
Cigarette: A cigarette is a narrow cylinder of tobacco wrapped in paper, usually fitted with a filter. It is the most widely used manufactured form of smoked tobacco.
Tobacco in the Americas: Tobacco in the Americas describes the plant’s cultivation and use by Indigenous peoples before European colonization. Smoking tobacco existed in the Americas long before its global spread.
Tobacco smoke: Tobacco smoke is the aerosol of gases and particles produced by burning tobacco. It carries nicotine, fine particles, and toxic compounds into the lungs.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a group of progressive lung conditions that obstruct airflow. Long-term smoking is a leading cause of this persistent respiratory impairment.
Cigar: A cigar is a roll of tobacco wrapped in leaf tobacco or a tobacco-containing wrapper. It delivers tobacco smoke through a product distinct from cigarettes.
Columbian exchange: The Columbian exchange was the movement of species, people, goods, and diseases between the Americas and the Old World after 1492. European contact carried tobacco cultivation and use across the Atlantic.
Combustion: Combustion is a chemical reaction in which a fuel reacts with an oxidant, releasing heat and often light. Burning tobacco creates the smoke and many harmful products of smoking.
Cardiovascular disease: Cardiovascular disease comprises disorders of the heart and blood vessels. Smoking raises the risk of heart attack, stroke, and vascular disease.

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