Every cigarette puff causes damage

Even brief exposure to tobacco smoke — from, say, an occasional puff or secondhand smoke — can damage DNA in ways that lead to cancer, according to the U.S. Surgeon General’s first new report on tobacco in four years.

“Tobacco smoke damages almost every organ in your body,” surgeon general Regina Benjamin said in the report released Thursday. In someone with underlying heart disease, Benjamin said, “One cigarette can cause a heart attack.”

One in five deaths nationwide is attributed to cigarettes, according to the report — about the same percentage of adults and older teens who smoke.

The 700-page report also sheds lights on why cigarettes are so addictive: Cigarettes today are designed to deliver nicotine more quickly and efficiently than they did decades ago, making them more likely to hook first-time users and to keep older smokers coming back. For instance, adding ammonia converts nicotine into a form that gets to the brain faster, and sugar and “moisture enhancers” reduce the burning sensation, making smoking more pleasant, especially for new smokers.

“The timing of this report is important for Illinois, where some members of the General Assembly are trying to create exemptions to the Smoke-Free Illinois law for casinos, racetracks and off-track betting venues,” said Joel Africk, head of the Respiratory Health