Mesothelioma - CIGARETTES AND ASBESTOS

CIGARETTES AND ASBESTOS

Smoking cigarettes is one of the most dangerous habits that people can have, and smoking can lead to a number of detrimental conditions including emphysema, COPD, lung cancer and heart disease. One deadly cancer that smoking does not cause, however, is mesothelioma.
Nevertheless, there is a complicated relationship between smoking and asbestos exposure, which is the only known cause of mesothelioma.

Tobacco smoking, while it does not directly lead to mesothelioma, does make a person more susceptible to it if that person has also been exposed to asbestos. In order to understand this susceptibility, it's important to also understand asbestos, the risks of asbestos exposure, and the nature of the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.busch stadium tickets

Asbestos -Who Is at Risk?

Who Is at Risk?

Since the early 1940s, millions of Americans have been exposed to asbestos in the course of their jobs in the construction trades and in military service. Although it is known that the risk to workers increases with heavier exposure and longer exposure times, asbestos-related illnesses have been found in individuals with only brief exposures. Because of the long latency period, no signs of illness may be apparent for 20 to 50 or more years.

Family members of workers heavily exposed to asbestos also face an increased risk of developing mesothelioma. This is most often the result of asbestos dust being brought into the home on the shoes, clothing, skin, and hair of workers. This type of exposure is referred to as paraoccupational or household exposure. There is also a risk of exposure from asbestos in nature.

It is important to remember that not everyone exposed to asbestos will develop diseases related to their exposure. In fact, many will experience no ill effects whatsoever. Asbestos that is bonded into finished products such as walls, tiles, and pipes poses no risk to health as long as these products are not damaged or disturbed in such a way that fibers are released into the air. It is when asbestos fibers are released and inhaled or digested that individuals are at risk for developing asbestos disease. Once these fibers work their way into body tissues, they may stay there indefinitely.

Introduction to Asbestos.

ASBESTOS

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is the name for a group of six different fibrous minerals which occur naturally in the environment. These fibers are impervious to heat, fire, chemicals, and biological degradation; they do not dissolve in water or evaporate, and they have no detectable odor or taste. Because of these properties, asbestos has been widely used by industry in manufactured products such as building materials, friction products, and heat resistant fabrics.

Asbestos- On tree.

Chrysotile, or white asbestos, belongs to the serpentine family of minerals, and accounts for 95 per cent of all asbestos used in the United States. The other five, amosite, crocidolite, and the fibrous varieties of tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite, belong to amphibole family. While all forms of asbestos are dangerous and may cause cancer, the amphiboles are considered to be the most dangerous. More on the different types of asbestos.

Chrysotile asbestos fibers are flexible and curved, while amphibole fibers are most often brittle and have a rod or needle-like shape. Asbestos fiber masses break apart easily, and become tiny airbourne particles that may easily be inhaled or swallowed and cause serious health problems many years later.