Smoking as a risk factor for the health of individuals

Introduction: smoking is considered a dangerous risk factor for illness, complications and mortality from diseases of the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, respiratory, genitourinary and nervous systems. It puts not only the smoking population at risk but also those exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. Objective: to describe the risk factors of smoking for people's health. Method: a descriptive bibliographic review was carried out from July to August 2021 at the University of Medical Sciences Villa Clara. Different search engines and bibliographic resources of national and international prestige, the VHL, Infomed, ClinicalKey and books were used, with respect to the principles of medical ethics. Development: tobacco consumption is a risk factor that predisposes to various diseases. These include respiratory diseases (chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma), cardiovascular diseases (ischemic heart disease, atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension and myocardial infarction) and various types of cancer (lung cancer, gastric cancer, lip cancer, laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer). It is also particularly harmful during pregnancy. It not only harms smokers, but also passive smokers. Conclusions: it was concluded that smoking represents the main risk factor for different chronic non-communicable diseases such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, different types of cancer, and in adult women it affects pregnancy and the baby's location. In addition, it significantly increases the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.