3. The report of the Surgeon Genera

3. The report of the Surgeon General of the US Public Health Service, released on 11 January 1964."SMOKERS DIE EARLY" it says, "Smoking cigarettes is a health hazard that calls for correctiveaction - and is a major cause of lung cancer and other death-dealing diseases, especially in men", ablue-ribbon federal panel reported.In short, the panel indicated, the more you smoke, the greater your risk of an early death. Deeplyinhaled cigarette smoke sends a threat of premature death spreading through the lungs, arteries andthe heart itself.a. Lung tissue was obtained from more than 1000 postmortems, put on microscope slides andcarefully examined by pathologists. The slides were identified only with coded numbers, andpathologists did not know their origin. Later, statisticians matches the pathological findings withthe histories of the dead patients. The results added up to an elaborate description of progressivesmoke damage.b. Deeply inhaled smoke, the researchers found, irritates the cells that line the tiniest chambers ofthe lung (alveoli). The walls of the alveoli thicken, lose their elasticity and much of their ability todo their vital job of exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen. Subjected to sudden stress -- such asa cough or sneeze -- the alveolar walls rupture; a minute part of the lung becomes useless.c. Even while it is attacking the alveoli, smoke also damages the small arteries that carry blood tothe interior lung surfaces for oxygenation. The artery walls become fibrous and thickened. Soon,internal deposits on the thickened walls make the arteries so narrow that little blood can getthrough. Eventually many tiny arteries are blocked completely.