Hazards Of Smoking
Smoking is the process in which vapor of tobacco is inhaled after burning it. Smoking is the most general process of consuming tobacco, and tobacco is the most common substance that is smoked.
The effects of smoking vary, depending on the preference of the smoker if he/she prefers cigarettes or cigars.
Effects of Smoking Cigarettes
The effects of smoking cigarettes are the most known effects of smoking, firstly because cigarettes are the most famous type of tobacco, and secondly because of the threatening ailments that can result.
Effects of Smoking on the Lungs
Effect to the lungs is caused basically by cigarette smoke. Cigar smoke is not inhaled so it did not reach the lungs. Cigarette smoke comprised of tar. The tar enters the lungs and clogs the alveoli, the small chambers in the lungs that take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. This is what causes the problem in breathing and coughing. Over time, the tar can also cause further effect to the lung tissue, leading to cancer, emphysema, or other fatal diseases.
Effects on the Heart and Circulatory System
Secondary effect of smoke is damage to the heart. In other words smoking does not effect the heart directly, but indirectly; specifically, the damage to the lungs. When the alveoli are hindered by tar, and oxygen can't move around the blood easily, the heart needs to work harder to get sufficient oxygen to supply into the body. It is quite similar to the damage caused by high cholesterol, the only difference is high cholesterol creates a physical barrier in the blood vessels, where the tar blocks the very supply of oxygen. Additionally, because of the heart under lot of pressure to pump sufficient blood, the body's blood pressure increases.
Risks of Smoking
The health risks of smoking are several. Smoking can result in cardiovascular illness, lung disease, cancer, digestive problems, and so forth. And to make the things worse smoking also affects non-smoker lives.
Apart from the apparent, some of the more serious health risks of smoking involve risks for pregnant women: miscarriages, placenta abruption, ectopic pregnancy, an early rupturing of membranes, premature birth, birth defects and stillborns.
The serious health risks from smoking are wide and avoidable entirely for pregnant women, only if they would quit smoking. If a pregnant smoker stops smoking before or during the pregnancy, the health risks of smoking can be decreased and the complications might be avoided altogether. The same works for any smoker.
Still some other health risks of smoking involve strokes, eye problems, stress, and thyroid disease. The list of health risks caused by smoking is endless but they can all be kept at bay only if smokers would stop smoking.
Dangers of Smoking
The danger of smoking tobacco is considerable and it becomes tough to name every single damages. All cigarette packs come with statutory warnings. The most important dangers pertaining to smoking tobacco are:
Cancer
Cancer is a fatal ailment and tobacco is a prominent cause for cancers of various types i.e. lung, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, and others. Tobacco contains many carcinogenic substances which are responsible for such cancers.
Heart Ailments
Tobacco contains nicotine which causes shrinking of blood vessels resulting in blockages. The heart does not pump sufficient blood. This results in heart attack. Smokers are highly prone to heart attacks compared to nonsmokers. Cardiovascular ailment is developed due to assimilation of plaque in inner lining of blood vessels.
Major Diseases
Tobacco addiction causes various other life threatening diseases like peripheral vascular disease, strokes, atherosclerosis, and ailments of the lung and kidney. Your overall body resistance levels fall and you are unable to fight away infections and diseases before they set in. Bronchitis infections are prominent in smokers as lung is damaged by tobacco. Your body is did not get sufficient supply of oxygen.
Other Effects
Inhaling tobacco for a long time has long term effects. You get stains on your teeth and fingers. These are permanent stains and are not removable. Your clothes also develop stains and you live in smells of cigarette smoke. You cause second hand smoking effect to the people around you. Passive smoking is harmful to the health of children and specifically pregnant women. The danger of smoking displays itself in several various ways. You can fight these dangers of smoking only by quitting smoking.
Second Hand Smoking
Do you stay with a smoker? Results of second hand smoke is much life threatening. You are not protected from every threatening outcome. It may be unfair this is the way it is. What exactly is second hand smoking? It is the smoke coming from the smoker's mouth whenever he puffs on the cigarette and exhales. It is also the side stream smoke that comes from the tip of the burning cigarette. So what sort of threats second hand smoke causes?
Your heart suffers if you inhale cigarette smoke.
· Your heart's arteries age faster.
· Your heart takes the pressure to pump more blood due to lack of oxygen and the presence of carbon monoxide.
· Your blood pressure increases. It put pressure on your heart and blood vessels and increases your chance of receiving a heart attack or a stroke.
Your lungs are prone to diseases as they inhale carbon monoxide in place of fresh oxygen.
· Your lungs are now more vulnerable to a several lung diseases such as the common cough, the life-threatening asthma, and the complexed chronic obstructive pulmonary ailments. Lung diseases are adverse effects of second hand smoke.
· The airways of your lungs narrows down resulting to production of mucus. Excess of mucus is dangerous as it works as breeding ground for several kinds of bacterial and viruses.
· These bacteria and viruses can develop lung infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and bronchitis.
· Cigarette smoke causes damage to you lung tissues.
Your Immune system is damaged by consistently inhaling cigarette smoke
· Your immune cells become sick and your resistance power produces weak antibodies. These poor quality immune cells and antibodies are not able to able to effectively check the attack of viruses and bacteria.
· The cigarette smoke you inhale provoke your immune cells to target the tissues of your lungs scarred by cigarette smoke, with a notion they are fighting foreign bodies.
· Second hand smoke kills healthy lymphocytes resulting in weakening of immune system.
· It leads to chronic inflammation in your body, which is the key to all diseases.
Your digestive system also receives adverse effect
· Cigarette smoke blocks your pancreas from producing sodium bicarbonate which neutralizes the acids in your stomach. Then it enhances the quantity of acid that your stomach secretes, which strengthens H. Pylori bacteria.. All these can result in peptic ulcers.
· What's worsens this situation is when you still smoke when seeking treatment for your ulcer, this slows the healing process.
· You are also prone to Crohn's disease -- inflammation in your intestine lining -- which may lead to colon cancer.
Preventive Measures for Smoking
You should adopt following practices to quit smoking as preventing majors:
- Make a note of why and when you smoke. What instigate you to smoke or what are the conditions under which you smoke instantly! You can make a conscious effort not to smoke then.
- Remember not to smoke in side the house. If you have to walk out each time you urge for a cigarette, you'll definitely smoke fewer cigarettes.
- Following the same logic, don't store cigarettes at home. If you have to go to the store to buy a cigarette, it may help you smoke less.
- Make a genuine effort not to give in when the urge hits you. Take a bath, meditate for a while or go for a walk. A little determination will server your purpose.
- More exercise will enable you fight the urge. You cannot smoke when you're working out!
- Think of how much better you will be if you don't smoke. You chances of getting cancer, asthma, emphysema, heart problems and a host of other ailments will be reduces immensely.
- Passive smoking affects the people who stay or live around you. Do you want your loved ones to pay the price for your habits?
- Put aside the money that you had listed for cigarettes. Think about the way you can utilize that money if you don't buy cigarettes.
- If you do give in to your urge, still don't give up. Just start afresh and carry on. You may slip up quite a few times before you quit it for good.
