Smoking is bad. Smoking is dangerous. These are the things we remember from school years, and also that is what makes tobacco so attractive. Having started in rebellious opposition to elders or, on the contrary, in an attempt to conform to fellow-teenagers, many fall into the nicotine gap for the entire life, or at least before they encounter the first adverse outcomes in the form of health issues.
Even being aware of the side effects of smoking, we hope some divine luck to help to avoid problems. Well, someone called a cigarette a pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool at the other. Might seem rude but, hey – knowing about deadly consequences and sticking to dangerous stuff isn’t that smart either. On the other hand, addiction grows so strong that some people quit smoking only by dying.
The negative effects of smoking go far beyond cancer or lung disorders. They are systemic, meaning they corrupt different functions of a human organism. Moreover, even if not noticed in the short perspective, the nicotine-caused damage can reveal itself in the long run just as a delay-action bomb. Therefore, we have prepared this review to provide a better vision of the negative effects of smoking.
Short Term Effects of Smoking
Yellow fingers, lousy breath, no perfume works when getting the stench off your hair and cloth and of course a bright yellow-tooth smile. These effects will be welcoming you in the charming world of smoking. Then, the smokers cough and a runny nose will follow. If you are lucky enough – you’ll get some of fever, itchiness, and mucus in your lungs.
If these mean nothing special to you, keep in mind, that’s only the beginning, and what comes next is even more exquisite. Smoking will bring about lower lung capacity and physical activity. Pressure disorders and sore throat will show up right after.
Many smokers do admit these issues but concern them a little price to pay in comparison to the devil-may-care image they obtain. In this case, it’s good to remember that you don’t smoke. In fact, a cigarette does all the smoking. All you do is sucking.
Long-Term Effects of Smoking
Let’s continue our chain of side effects of smoking cigarettes, as we have a couple more facts for you to digest.
This habit glamours itself into an attribute of self-confident as if only the men of power will smoke. The reality contradicts: your hands with yellow fingers start shaking, and the state of your teeth worsens. You get obsessed with cravings and can’t see other people using cigarettes without a strong desire to follow their lead. Nothing spectacular, nor even attractive.
The breathing gets ragged because of scar tissue in the lungs and throat. Now you are only a few steps away from profound respiratory issues which cover mouth, throat, and lungs. People are well aware of lung cancer, but this disease can also hit your throat and mouth.
The positive side of this is that a smoker won’t have to suffer long, as cancer has quite a fast mortal outcome. In some cases, the damaged organs get replaced with mechanical ones, which prolongs the duration of the patient’s life, but not its quality.
For more information about respiratory cancer – keep reading.
Smoking and Society
It’s been a well-known fact that the past 40 years the attitude towards smoking has changed drastically. If you ask what the difference between 1960-s and our time is, you’ll get an answer that today a teenager comes into a store and says out loud: “A pack of condoms!” and then whispers “And a pack of cigs, please.”
The fact that smoking got banned in the majority of public places proves the rising level of social consciousness and the readiness to oppose this severe issue collectively.
Now you can only smoke in some bars or lounges in separate sections, yet, even there some point out the damage mentioning that having smoking sections in bars is the same as having a peeing section in the swimming pool – you can’t avoid the adverse effect either, and it’s possible that the scarce remnants of the past-century trend will get diminished soon.
Therefore, a smoker is to face societal issues when trying to consume tobacco in public and there are no signs of loosening the grip on this ban. Even in the open areas, non-smokers won’t tolerate you realizing the harm of passive consumption of tobacco.
Cancer
Even cigarette packs warn us about lung cancer. But it’s not only lungs that get damaged. In general, smoking increases the risk of 13 other types of cancer. The group of risk includes the following organs: esophagus, mouth, upper throat, bladder, bowel, pancreas, kidney, larynx. As for lungs – the 4 of 5 cases of cancer are caused by smoking. Still, in some cases disease can cure tobacco habit, so let’s admit it also has positive effects.
The death from this disease is not rare, yet sad as it took away Frank Sinatra, who suffered the bladder cancer, actors like John Wayne and Nancy Walker (lung cancer), or the singers like Mary Wells (larynx cancer).
Circulatory System
Blood and heart take the second point in the chain of smoke damage. Mother Nature didn’t predict an extra organ to help our heart pump out the poisons from the blood. Perhaps, She didn’t think people will want to push some excess gas into their lungs for entirely unclear reasons.
Anyways the circulatory system is not designed for work with smoke in blood, and the breaks are lethal. They include the aneurysms (weakened areas with frangible vessels that rupture and cause a stroke), atherosclerosis (blocking arteries with buildup consisting of nicotine and other mud remnants), coronary heart disease (weakening of the major artery), blood pressure jumps (the main reason for strokes).
Smoking-caused heart disorders took too many people that could do much too early. The heavy-smoking actor and the icon pirate of the 20th century Clark Gable died of a heart attack at the age of 50.
Immune System
Smoking is not the thing you get for immunity, but did you know it actually destroys it? Smokers are more susceptible to pneumonia, TB, and different kinds of flu. They are prone to Crohn’s disease, that is the inflammation of the digestive tract, accompanied by pain and diarrhea and rheumatoid arthritis, which includes joint pain and swelling.
Respiratory System
Smoking’s been called a suicide for cowards and cig companies are famous for killing their most loyal customers. When referring to this, people think of respiratory system harm first. A possible outcome is a chronic pulmonary disease, that is a group of pulmonary disorders that include shortness of breath and coughing. The first illnesses under the collective name of COPD are emphysema (damage to the linings in the lungs, pneumonia (wet cough, fever and blocked breathing), tuberculosis (coughing, weight loss, and fever).
One of the brightest examples of massive health effects of smoking is no one else that Princess Margaret. She suffered significant respiratory issues all her life, up until her first stroke. Moreover, the Princess’s father, George VI died from the illness caused by smoking as well.
Muscles
Nicotine contains the carbon monoxide that ruins the strength of muscles and stops their growth. It also destroys the bone structure, causing the osteoporosis, a disease that makes the bones easy to break.
Vision
The smokers who like what they see in the mirror may soon lose the taste to this because smoking has a tremendous potential to damage the sight. According to statistics, the risks of blindness in the old age in smokers are four times higher compared to the norm.
The most spread diseases include cataracts (clouding on the eye length), macular degeneration (seeing straight lines curved), uveitis (inflammation in the middle of an eye). All these disorders share the bunch of symptoms like blurred vision, sensitivity to light, seeing spots, redness and overall loss of sight.
Sex Life
For some reason, smoking and sex life go hand-in-hand in pop-culture. But in real life, these two are more foes than friends. Smoking increases the risk of damaged sperm and impotence. Women suffer from infertility, menstrual cycle irregularities, and earlier menopause.
Diabetes
One of the negative effects of smoking is the increased risk of diabetes. Smokers are predisposed to both two types of diabetes with a 30-40% higher possibility. And the percentage rises with the growing number of cigarettes a day. Plus, nicotine makes it difficult to control diabetes symptoms, like troubles with the doses of insulin.
The Effects of Smoking While Pregnant
Among the others, pregnancy should be the reason number one to kick the harmful habit. It’s not just nicotine that’s contained in tobacco. Cigarettes also come with different toxic chemical additions that are transmitted directly to a baby’s blood.
Among the smoking caused conditions are the increased heart rate of a baby, miscarriage and stillbirth, premature birth and low weight, lung problems, congenital disabilities, the increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Whether smoking is intense or moderate, the adverse effect will be present nonetheless. There is no safe mode of tobacco consumption, and secondhand smoking is not an exception.
Secondhand or passive smoking is a combination of smoke exhaled by a smoker and the one from a burning cigarette. In addition to nicotine cigarettes contain other poisons like tar, carbon monoxide, nicotine, etc.). The secondhand smoking brings about all the dangers to a newly born as regular smoking does.
Other Side Effects of Smoking Cigarettes
Let’s have a closer look at the secondhand smoking. It’s the danger non-smokers can’t avoid, as they can’t be saved from the nicotine clouds hitting in their faces. The effects are fairly similar to the ones of regular smokers. Smokers often cough. It may come from the lungs merely trying to clear from tar or signalize something more serious.
The long-term use of nicotine causes a wide range of lung disorders under the collective name smoker’s lungs.
There are cooler ways to die than smoking, but people stick to this one giving a source to grim stats.
– Over 480K Americans die of different tobacco-caused disorders. It’s every one of five deaths.
– Around the world, more than six mln people die yearly, and the 30% cancer bearers got sick because of smoking.
– Tobacco kills more people than wars.
– And moreover, more people die from tobacco than from drugs, alcohol, HIV, accidents, and gunshots.
To sum up, smoking is like paying to someone for killing you. After a time, people are dead, and they are rich. The Guardian reports that only the six most significant tobacco companies share the net worth of 35 BM. The global sales reach 500 BM that makes $1000 a second.
The statistics of smoking damage to health is perhaps one of the oldest and richest in research, that lets people joke that smoking is the main reason for statistics.
Still, let’s add a couple of more facts. Besides nicotine tobacco smoke and tar contains 7000+ chemicals and 70 cause cancer of digestion and respiratory organs.
The health effects of smoking Light and Menthol Cigarettes
Some people choose light cigs for the peace of their minds. But all the milds and menthols, as well as the cigarettes with the low tar level are nothing but the marketing strategy invented to boost sales. Despite the descriptions, they are as harmful as regular cigarettes.
The menthols are thought to be less harmful, but that’s just words. They are more addictive as others, and their effects are not studied yet.
Conclusion
Despite all the negative effects of smoking, the tobacco business has more customer loyalty than any other. Smoking doesn’t need advertising, but if there is some, fate may play a bad joke. One of the most popular actors and singers of 50-s Tex Williams once performed a song Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) and died of lung cancer after that.
Understanding the lethal danger of this habit many great people try to quit smoking, by using the most different methods. For instance, Ben Affleck stopped smoking with the help of hypnosis, Jennifer Aniston concentrated on the willpower and Barack Obama on his fear of his wife.
The loyalty to her better half also influenced Kristen Stewart, who kicked the habit for her then-boyfriend and co-star Robert Pattinson. Whatever way you choose, quit now until it’s too late, ‘cause too many things in your life depend on it, and it’s not just your health you will ruin.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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