Effects of Smoking on Lungs

Almost everyone is aware of the fact that smoking is injurious to health, and have a rough idea about the harmful effects of smoking cigarette on various organs of the human body. Brain, stomach, skin, teeth, liver... You name it, and that organ has to bear the brunt of smoking in some or the other way. Among the various human body systems affected by excessive smoking, the respiratory system is by far the most affected. Excessive smoking has the same effect on the lungs, as excessive consumption of alcohol does on liver and kidney.

How Does the Respiratory System Work?

Our respiratory system gets into action as soon as we breathe air through the two vents - nose and mouth. This air travels down all the through the windpipe, i.e. the 'trachea', into the lungs wherein the oxygen in the air is absorbed and sent to the blood stream. The trachea, has tiny hairlike projections known as 'cilia' all along it. These tiny projections act as a filter, and keep all the harmful particles in the air out of our body. The trachea, which guides the air to the lungs, is divided into two bronchial tubes - one towards the left and other towards the right. As the air travels down the throat, these bronchial tubes start getting smaller and smaller and eventually meet the air sacs known as 'alveoli'. The exchange of gases takes place in these very air sacs, wherein oxygen and carbon dioxide are separated and oxygen is absorbed by the blood cells and taken to the different parts of the body.

Smoking Effects on Lungs and Respiratory System

Basically, tobacco smoke contains numerous harmful ingredients including nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide in it. When inhaled, each of these ingredients can result in hazardous effects on our respiratory system, especially the lungs which are the most important among the various organs of the respiratory system. When the smoke of a cigarette starts entering the respiratory system, it tends to disturb cilia in the respiratory tract. As a part of the defense mechanism, mucus is released in the tract in order to avoid any harmful particles from entering the lungs. At the same time, nicotine tends to constrict the blood vessels and restricts the blood flow to the air sacs from where it is supposed to be taken to entire body. The cilia, which are in charge of the defense mechanism of the respiratory system, are rendered useless due to the damage caused to them by nicotine. This damage to the cilia also makes the person vulnerable to various other disorders, as the person's immune system is compromised.

As the individual gets used to smoking, the tar in the smoke gets deposited all along the bronchial tubes and blocks them, thus making the flow of air difficult. We often get to see people who smoke coughing excessively. This coughing is nothing but a defense mechanism of the body wherein the lung tries to get rid of the tar accumulated in the bronchial tubes, and restore the normal respiration process. The damage caused to cilia plays a spoilsport here as well as it makes it difficult for the body to get rid of accumulated tar. This tar has to be cleared off in order to make sure that the air sacs continue to work properly. If the tar is not cleared off, the air sacs can suffer irreversible damage.

Over the period, the walls of the air sacs weaken and collapse, thus resulting in hampering of gas exchange and resulting in emphysema. As these harmful chemicals in cigarette continue to work on the lungs, the normal cells in lungs turn to cancerous cells. Other than lung cancer, smoking can also result in stroke and heart attack, with latter being the most prominent cause of death in people addicted to smoking.

Sometimes the person experiences excessive cough when he decides to quit smoking. Some people feel that this cough is triggered because they have quit smoking, and resume the habit. They fail to understand that it is actually a sign of the cilia in the respiratory tract being repaired. When you stop smoking, you are bound to experience such cough, but if this cough persists for more than 4 weeks, you should ideally consult a doctor and opt for proper diagnosis.