Side Effects of Smoking Cigarettes
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Every year hundreds of thousands of people around the world die from diseases caused by smoking - Smoking KILLS.
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One in two lifetime smokers will die from their habit. Half of these deaths will occur in middle age.
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Tobacco smoke also contributes to a number of cancers.
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The mixture of nicotine and carbon monoxide in each cigarette you smoke temporarily increases your heart rate and blood pressure, straining your heart and blood vessels.
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This can cause heart attacks and stroke. It slows your blood flow, cutting off oxygen to your feet and hands. Some smokers end up having their limbs
amputated.
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Tar coats your lungs like soot in a chimney and causes cancer. A 20-a-day smoker breathes in up to a full cup (210 g) of tar in a year.
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Changing to low-tar cigarettes does not help because smokers usually take deeper puffs and hold the smoke in for longer, dragging the tar deeper into their lungs.
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Carbon monoxide robs your muscles, brain and body tissue of oxygen, making your whole body and especially your heart work harder. Over time, your airways swell up and let less air into your lungs.
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Smoking causes disease and is a slow way to die. The strain of smoking effects on the body often causes years of suffering. Emphysema is an illness that slowly rots your lungs. People with emphysema often get bronchitis again and again, and suffer lung and heart failure.
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Lung cancer from smoking is caused by the tar in tobacco smoke. Men who smoke are ten times more likely to die from lung cancer than non-smokers.
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Heart disease and strokes are also more common among smokers than non-smokers.
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Smoking causes fat deposits to narrow and block blood vessels which leads to heart attack.
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Smoking causes around one in five deaths from heart disease.
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In younger people, three out of four deaths from heart disease are due to smoking.
* Cigarette smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of low birth weight, prematurity, spontaneous abortion, and perinatal mortality in humans, which has been referred to as the fetal tobacco syndrome.
Smoking Effects
Smoking is a serious danger to your health and those around you. Smoking causes long-term problems, not just for vital organs, but for your whole body too. Further information below goes in to more detail on smoking effects.
Hair
Smoking effects can be seen on your hair. It becomes smelly and stained due to the smoking effects. Slow hair growth, thinning and greying of hair are all believed to be just some of the physical smoking effects that can happen. Your hair will look and feel lifeless and dull.
Brain
Smoking affects the brain which is highly dangerous later in life. Blockage of the carotid artery may cut off the blood supply to the brain cells, which can lead to a stroke. Blood thickening and clotting are also serious smoking effects and smokers are 1.5 times more likely to have a stroke compared to non-smokers.
Eyes
Dangerous smoking effects on eyes include common eye diseases such as age- related macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts. The worst smoking effect on eyes can be permanent blindness.
Nose
Smoking effects on your nose can take away your sense of smell completely.
Teeth and Gums
If you ever wonder why your teeth are stained and your gums bleed every morning when you wake up, it is mainly due to smoking. Because of the direct smoking effects on your teeth and mouth, all kinds of unnecessary health problems can occur. Loose teeth, gum disease and gingivitis are a direct result.
Mouth and Throat
All cancers associated with the larynx, oral cavity and oesophagus are fatal smoking effects. The less dangerous smoking effects include a reduced sense of taste, sore throat and bad breath.
Hands
Poor blood circulation which leads to cold fingers, tar stained fingers, peripheral vascular disease and gangrene - just some of the heart-wrenching smoking effects your body may have to bear if you continue to smoke.
Lungs and Respiratory System
Lung cancer, colds and flu, pneumonia, asthma, cough and sputum, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis and emphysema are all harmful smoking effects. These problems can seriously affect your health later in life.
Heart
An increased heartbeat rate and a sharp rise in blood pressure are two immediate smoking effects that your heart would not have to bear, if it were not for your smoking habit.
Long term smoking effects include an increase in the blood cholesterol and fibrinogen levels and increase in chances of having a heart attack. Smoking effects on your heart lead to coronary heart disease, aneurysm, peripheral vascular disease, and in some cases, strokes.effects of smoking
Digestive System
Smoking effects on the body include heartburn, peptic ulcers, Crohn's disease, gallstones and stomach cancer.
Skin
Wrinkles, capillaries and premature ageing and scarring are just a few smoking effects which show up on your skin.
Legs and Feet
Beurger's disease, leg pain and gangrene are painful smoking effects.
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The effects of smoking include a range of adverse health conditions including lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses such as shortness of breath. Smoking also affects daily lives and relationships in subtle ways. Some include the bad smell, tainted breath, and nicotine stained teeth distance friends and family (my wife refused to kiss me).
Are the health effects of smoking irreversible? While some of the consequences from smoking may be permanent, a smoker’s health greatly improves upon quitting. Within 20 minutes of a smoker’s refusing another cigarette, the damage to his body begins to repair. After giving up smoking, I could run up stairs without getting short of breath. Also, I found that I could walk 100 yards without having to slow down.
Some of the effects of smoking are:
* respiratory and non-respiratory problems
* lower level of lung function
* reduced rate of lung growth
* greater risk of heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer
* lower physical fitness
Second-hand smoke, known as passive smoking, can also harm bystanders. The effects range from eye irritation, headaches, and nausea to increased risk of cancer and heart disease. The effects of passive smoking on children include an elevated risk of respiratory infections. A pregnant woman who smokes affects the mental and physical development of her unborn child. The infant of a parent who smokes is at greater risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.