Fire worship fire of the hearth and fire of the forge. Hearth worship was maintained in Rome by the Vestal Virgins, who served the goddess Vesta, protector of the home, who had a sacred flame as the symbol of her presence in the city ("cf." Sacred fire of Vesta). The Greek equivalent of the goddess was Hestia, whose worship is less well attested. The fire of the forge was associated with the Greek god Hephaestus and the Roman equivalent Vulcan. These two seem to have served both as craft-guild patrons and as protectors against accidental fires in cities. Also associated with fire
Tobacco smoking factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), emphysema, and cancer (particularly lung cancer, cancers of the larynx and mouth, esophageal cancer and pancreatic cancer). Cigarette smoking increases the risk of Crohn's disease as well as the severity of the course of the disease. It is also the number one cause of bladder cancer. The smoke from tobacco elicits carcinogenic effects on the tissues of the body that are exposed to the smoke. Tobacco smoke is a complex mixture of over 5,000 identified chemicals, of which 98 are known to have specific toxicological properties.