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	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Most people know that smoking is bad for your lungs and can cause cancer. However, fewer may be aware of the effects of smoking on the heart and the circulatory system—the arteries and veins that carry the blood throughout the body. The May 7, 2008, issue of JAMA includes an article reporting that quitting greatly reduces the excess death rates due to smoking in women. This Patient Page is based on one published in the July 2, 2003, issue of JAMA.

SMOKING, BLOOD VESSELS, AND DEATH

Cigarette smoking is the main preventable cause of premature death in the developed world. It accounts for nearly 440 000 deaths every year in the United States.

When you smoke, toxic chemicals from tobacco enter your bloodstream. Some of these chemicals send signals to your heart to beat harder and faster. Smoking also causes blood vessels to constrict (become more narrow), forcing blood to travel through a . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Sharon Parmet, MS, Writer; Cassio Lynm, MA, Illustrator; Richard M. Glass, MD, Editor

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