Health Hazards of Smoking
SMOKING HARMS
EVERY BODY ORGAN!
Brain
Nicotine is the addictive chemical in tobacco. It makes you feel calm and satisfied. The more you smoke, the more nicotine you need to feel good because the nicotine only stays active for 20-40 minutes, then you start to have withdrawal symptoms, including irritability and anxiety. So, in order to relieve those symptoms and discomfort, you would light up another cigarette, which starts the vicious cycle of nicotine addiction. After months and years of lighting up, smoking becomes part of your daily routine. You may light up without even thinking about it.
Mouth
Stains teeth, decreases taste buds, makes you have bad breath, and can lead to gum disease and oral cancers.
Throat
Increases risk of cancer of the larynx and esophagus. With years of smoking, you will produce a lot of yellow or yellow-green mucus, causing you to have a “smoker’s cough."
Lungs
Can trigger asthma, increases risk for emphysema, and lung cancer. The tar accumulates in the lungs due to smoking. People who smoke a pack a day accumulate a cup of tar in their lungs in a year.
Heart
From the moment smoke reaches your lungs, your heart is forced to work harder. Your pulse quickens, forcing your heart to beat an extra 10 to 25 times per minute, as many as 36,000 additional times per day. This damages your heart because it is forced to keep working so hard, which can lead to a heart attack. A recent Surgeon General’s report estimated that about 170,000 heart attacks each year are caused by smoking. Over time, all this damage to the heart can lead to heart failure, or even death.
Liver
Increase risk of cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver.
Stomach
Increase risk of stomach ulcers, which can cause burning pain.
Reproductive System
In males, increases risk of impotence. In females, increases risk of cervical cancer and infertility.
Pregnancy
Increases risk for miscarriage, pregnancy complications, bleeding, and premature delivery. If you smoke while pregnant, then your baby is also smoking. So the babies are more likely to be born with birth defects or at low birth weight.
Fingernails
Causes fingernails to turn yellow.
Bones
Increases your risk of early onset of osteoporosis (weakening, softening, and thinning of the bone causing it to easily fracture).
Muscles
Less blood and oxygen flow to muscles, which causes reduced muscle performance when exercising or engaging in physical activities.
Skin
Smoking constricts the blood vessels in your skin, preventing oxygen to flow to the skin. So, smoking causes dry, yellow, and wrinkled skin.
Blood Vessels
Nicotine causes your blood vessels to tighten. Thus, your blood pressure increases by 10 to 15 percent, putting additional stress on your heart and blood vessels, which increases your risk of heart attack and stroke.