Links between smoking and lung cancer have been well established, but what about other types of cancer? In particular, female smokers have shown high rates of colon cancer.

The health community has been striving to lower smoking rates for decades. The good news is that prevention programs have worked, some better than others.

After surgery, the body needs to focus on healing. Smoking may interfere with this healing process. People who smoke after surgery could be putting their bodies at serious risk for complications.

Hookah smoking may seem like a less harmful alternative to cigarettes. But the charcoal brick heating the hookah’s tobacco can expose a person to high levels of harmful chemicals.

Some women find it cool just to hold a cigarette. But smoking them could be tied to pain in those hands and in other joints later on.

A good time to promote oral hygiene may pop up when a person is ready to quit smoking. Tobacco counselors can prompt their patients: out with the smoking, in with the flossing and brushing.

Most people start smoking before they turn 18. Researchers have been trying to pin down when, why and how teens start smoking so they can create ways to stop it from happening.

Quitting smoking, may at the very least, ease chronic pain conditions. Even occasional smoking may still contribute to long-term pain in seniors.

Asbestos is a known cancer-causing agent. It was banned in the United States in the 1970s, but can still be found in old insulation and other building materials. People who have been exposed to asbestos are at higher risk of respiratory diseases, including lung cancer.

Osteoporosis is often regarded as a disease of old age. But the path to osteoporosis may start much earlier in life, especially for girls who smoke or show signs of depression.