The Effects of Smoking Smoking is one of the leading causes of death among Americans. What you don't hear are many of the effects of smoking. You may have heard that smoking causes cancer, but there are many more effects of smoking than just cancer. One of the main problems of smoking is that people have a limited knowledge of smoking. In fact, in 1983, one-quarter of the smoking population did not believe that smoking caused illness. In 1991 around one in seven smokers attributed no illness to smoking. This is compared to never-smokers and past smokers, of whom only 3% and 5% respectively shared this view. However, it is likely that smokers' stated beliefs reflect at least