Cigarette Smoking Effects On the Body

Cigarette Smoking Effects On the Body

Cigarette smoking is associated with increased overall morbidity and mortality. Smoking is a cause of cancer of the lung, oral cavity, larynx, bladder, cancer , stomach, cervix, liver, penis, and rectum. Smokers are at greater risk for coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease.

Cigarette smoking is the single most important risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and is associated with lower levels of increased respiratory symptoms and infections. Women who smoke during pregnancy have an increased incidence of complications, especially intrauterine growth retardation.

Effects of Cigarette Smoking on Heart

Smoking damages your heart and your blood circulation, increasing the risk of conditions such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular disease and cerebrovascular disease .

Carbon monoxide from the smoke and nicotine both put a strain on the heart by making it work faster. They also increase your risk of blood clots. Other chemicals in cigarette smoke damage the lining of your coronary arteries, leading to furring of the arteries.

In fact, smoking doubles your risk of having a heart attack, and if you smoke you have twice the risk of dying from coronary heart disease than lifetime non-smokers.

Effects of Cigarette Smoking on Stomach

Smokers have an increased chance of getting stomach cancer or ulcers. Smoking can weaken the muscle that controls the lower end of your gullet (oesophagus) and allow acid from the stomach to travel in the wrong direction back up your gullet, a process known as reflux.

Smokers have an increased chance of getting stomach cancer or ulcers. Smoking can weaken the muscle that controls the lower end of your gullet (oesophagus) and allow acid from the stomach to travel in the wrong direction back up your gullet, a process known as reflux.

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Effects of Cigarette Smoking on Skin

Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen that gets to your skin. This means that if you smoke, your skin ages more quickly and looks grey and dull. The toxins in your body also cause cellulite.

Smoking prematurely ages your skin by between 10 and 20 years, and makes it three times more likely you’ll get facial wrinkling, particularly around the eyes and mouth. Smoking even gives you a sallow, yellow-grey complexion and hollow cheeks, which can cause you to look gaunt.

Effects of Cigarette Smoking on Circulatory System

• raised blood pressure and heart rate
• constriction (tightening) of blood vessels in the skin, resulting in a drop in skin temperature
• less oxygen carried by the blood during exercise
• ‘stickier’ blood, which is more prone to clotting
• damage to the lining of the arteries, which is thought to be a contributing factor to atherosclerosis .
• reduced blood flow to extremities (fingers and toes)
• increased risk of stroke and heart attack due to blockages of the blood supply.

Effects of Cigarette Smoking on Immune System

• greater susceptibility to infections such as pneumonia and influenza
• more severe and longer-lasting illnesses
• lower levels of protective antioxidants (such as vitamin C), in the blood.

Effects of Cigarette Smoking On Sexual Organs

• lower sperm count
• higher percentage of deformed sperm
• genetic damage to sperm
• impotence, which may be due to the effects of Cigarette smoking on blood flow and damage to the blood vessels of the penis.

Effects of Cigarette Smoking on the female body

• reduced fertility, menstrual cycle irregularities, or absence of menstruation
• menopause reached one or two years earlier
• increased risk of cancer of the cervix
• greatly increased risk of stroke and heart attack if the person who smokes is aged over 35 years and taking the oral contraceptive pill.

Lungs

Coughs, colds, wheezing and asthma are just the start. Smoking can cause fatal diseases such as pneumonia, emphysema and lung cancer. Smoking causes 84% of deaths from lung cancer and 83% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease .

a progressive and debilitating disease, is the name for a collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. People with have difficulties breathing, primarily due to the narrowing of their airways and destruction of lung tissue. Typical symptoms of include: increasing breathlessness when active, a persistent cough with phlegm and frequent chest infections

Brain

If you smoke, you are more likely to have a stroke than someone who doesn’t smoke.

In fact, smoking increases your risk of having a stroke by at least 50%, which can cause brain damage and death. And, by smoking, you double your risk of dying from a stroke.

One way that smoking can increase your risk of a stroke is by increasing your chances of developing a brain aneurysm. This can rupture or burst which will lead to an extremely serious condition known as hemorrhage, which is a type of stroke, and can cause extensive brain damage and death.

Effects of Cigarette Smoking on Mouth and throat

Smoking causes unattractive problems such as bad breath and stained teeth, and can also cause gum disease and damage your sense of taste.

The most serious damage smoking causes in your mouth and throat is an increased risk of cancer in your lips, tongue, throat, voice box and gullet .

Effects of Cigarette Smoking on Reproduction and Fertility

Smoking can cause male impotence, as it damages the blood vessels that supply blood to the penis. It can also damage sperm, reduce sperm count and cause testicular cancer. Up to 120,000 men from the UK in their 20s and 30s are impotent as a direct result of smoking, and men who smoke have a lower sperm count than those who are non-smokers.

For women, smoking can reduce fertility. One study found that smokers were over three times more likely than non-smokers to have taken more than one year to conceive. The study estimated that the fertility of smoking women was 72% that of non-smokers.

Smoking also increases your risk of cervical cancer. People who smoke are less able to get rid of the HPV infection from the body, which can develop into cancer.

Effects of cigarette Smoking on the body

• irritation and inflammation of the stomach and intestines
• increased risk of painful ulcers along the digestive tract
• reduced ability to smell and taste
• premature wrinkling of the skin
• higher risk of blindness
• gum disease