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Smoking is the most important single preventable cause of illness and premature death in North America. In the United States alone, more than 500,000 deaths are attributed to tobacco use each year. This exceeds the total number of American lives lost in all of the ....

Middle of Essay
.... oral cavity and esophagus; about one third of all cancers of the bladder, kidney, and pancreas are attributed to smoking as well. Lung cancer has become the leading killer among cancers in the United States. More than eight of every ten cases of lung cancer are caused by smoking, and nine out of every ten victims die within five years. Emphysema is a progressive respiratory disease characterized by coughing, shortness of breath, and wheezing, developing into extreme difficulty in breathing, and sometimes resulting in disability and death. In recent years, emphysema has become a serious public health problem. Second hand smoke is also a serious ....