How does Smoking Hurt Your Lungs and Body

Smoking involves the inhalation of different substances including opium, cannabis and tobacco. Tobacco is however, the commonly used substance for smoking. Smoking affects the body in many ways and leads to fatal problems in extreme cases. It is responsible for health problems such as heart attacks, lung cancer and birth defects.

How does Smoking Hurt Your Lungs and Body

A wide range of harmful chemicals are inhaled by a person who indulges in smoking. These chemicals are the cause of different health problems in smokers. The common lung problems caused by smoking are bronchial infections, colds and pneumonia. Smoking not only hurts the lungs, but also the other parts of body.

Effects on Lungs

The commonly observed problem among smokers is the excessive production of mucous. The cells producing mucous grow to large number due to the inhalation of smoke. The cells also grow thicker over time due to the effect of smoke. The cilia (tiny hair) present in the lung perform the task of cleaning. Smoke also slows down the functioning of cilia. Thus, the process of mucous removal from the lungs gets affected. If the problem aggravates, it might culminate into chronic cough. The airs sacks present in the lungs get damaged due to smoking. Although new air sacks are regularly produced in the body, their effectiveness in cleaning the body reduces due to smoking. The lungs also start aging prematurely, which thereby reduces their oxygen carrying capacity. A smoker might suffer from different ailments and in some cases, even lung cancer. Some other problems caused by smoking are wheezing, shortness of breath and emphysema. The problem of emphysema doesn't have any cure. Patients suffering from emphysema are treated with oxygen therapy, which however, is just a temporary relief.

Effects on the Rest of the Body

Other than the lungs, many parts of the body are affected by smoking. The mouth is the first to be affected by the ill effects of smoking. Common mouth problems that smokers suffer from, are tooth decay, yellowing of teeth, gum diseases, and bad breath. Besides the above problems, smokers also face the risk of mouth cancer. Headaches and strokes are also results of excessive smoking. The lack of oxygen supply results from the weakening of lungs which causes the narrowing of blood vessels. This problem can lead to the patient suffering from strokes.

Tobacco smoking raises the nicotine level in the blood and further increases the blood pressure. Clotting of blood also increases considerably due to nicotine. Carbon monoxide present in the smoke of the cigarette causes cholesterol to be deposited on the walls of the artery. The overall effect of the above mentioned problems might increase the possibility of the smoker facing a heart attack.

The smoke produced from cigarettes contains a substance called tar. Tar causes the cancer of the esophagus and the throat. Acid secretion in the stomach is also increased due to smoking. The problems resulting from excessive acid secretion are ulcers and heartburn. The risk of smokers contracting pancreatic cancer is high as compared to non-smokers. Bladder cancer is also a big risk smokers face, as the carcinogens emitted by cigarettes are passed through the urinary bladder. The rise in blood pressure due to smoking can damage the kidneys.

According to the general trends observed by doctors and scientists, around 40% of smokers die before reaching the age of retirement. Women who smoke regularly, are prone to cervical cancer. Pregnant women should not smoke, even if they are habitual to smoking as it might have harmful effects on the health of the unborn baby.

As we have seen how smoking can hurt your lungs and body, one should seriously think about quitting this habit. If one chooses to quit smoking in the early stages, chances are that the body recovers from the bad effects of smoking.