The Many Effects of Cigarette Smoking
Many people today are vaguely aware of the many dangers of smoking, from lung cancer to bronchitis. However, the real truth is that there are many, many parts of one’s body, many members of one’s family, and many aspects of one’s life that are hit hard by the effects of cigarette smoking.
Consider these areas of the body that are damaged by smoking. Your skin is usually touched by premature aging and wrinkles, as one of the common effects of smoking is poor blood circulation and a loss of oxygen, both of which are needed for healthy skin. A smoker’s mouth usually has discolored and stained teeth and plaque, and teeth can actually become loose as the gums dry up and become brittle.
Cigarettes are not just rolled tobacco, as many people innocently think. The tobacco industry purposely adds ingredients in order to increase tobacco’s addictiveness. There are approximately 4000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, many of them toxic. The ingredients in cigarettes affect everything from the internal functioning of organs to the efficiency of the body’s immune system. The effects of cigarette smoking are destructive and widespread, covering your entire body from head to toe.
Lung cancer is not the only effect of cigarette smoking that hits the respiratory system. Most smokers are more prone to bronchitis, a constant shortness of breath and persistent cough with sputum, and are more likely to get colds, flu, pneumonia, and asthma. Smoking also complicates tuberculosis and virtually any other respiratory condition one can get.
The heart is also one of the major parts of the body that is not immune to the effects of smoking. Many heart attacks can be traced to smoking. Smoking blocks and weakens the arteries of the heart and constricts blood vessels, making the heart need to work harder just to do its job.
When thinking about the body’s mid-section, cancers of the esophagus, abdomen, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, and colon are all traced to the effects of smoking. The bones are also not immune to smoking’s effects. Osteoporosis, spine and hip fractures, and degenerative disc disease can be traced back to smoking. Infertility is another issue with heavy and chronic smokers, both male and female. Men can have lower sperm counts and decreased sperm motility, and women can have difficulty with ovulation when smoking.
So if you smoke, it’s time to quit smoking for good. It’s time to think about how bad this habit really is, how it really touches your life and the lives of those around you. There are absolutely no health benefits, there is no upside, there is nothing positive about the effects of cigarette smoking.
