A healthy respiratory system uses breathing and circulation to extract oxygen from air, feed it growing cells and rid the body of carbon dioxide, or CO2 waste on a continual basis. Smoking cigarettes upsets this natural rhythm and balance, forcing the body to work harder on less oxygen.
Prolonged tobacco use can irreparably damage the lungs and airways, preventing the cells in other parts of the body from performing their jobs. Smokers notice the symptoms of these health problems as fatigue, breathing difficulty and sometimes medical emergencies that result in organ failure and possibly death.
Breathing Obstruction
Tobacco use sends unneeded compounds and particles into the bronchi, lungs and blood which displaces some of the elements that the body does need. Unwanted debris is normally cleared from the airways by the cilia, the tiny hairs that line the bronchial airways.
The American Lung Association reports that smoking cigarettes harms cilia, allowing a buildup of particulate and mucus that the body produces to surround and expel debris. Chronic bronchitis is the health problem that arises when breathing is obstructed by this foreign matter. Bacterial infection becomes more likely, adding to breathing obstruction. The bronchi become inflamed and smokers cough up phlegm frequently to improve air flow.
Oxygen Imbalance
Smoking cigarettes decreases the amount of oxygen taken in by the lung air sacs, or alveoli, due to the other compounds inhaled. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, notes that some of these substances work specifically to shift the normal oxygen balance in blood. When a cigarette is lit, carbon monoxide, or CO, is produced and ingested during tobacco use.
The alveoli transfer CO, along with other diffused gases, to the oxygen-depleted blood cells for transport to the heart and the rest of the body. The CDC says that CO molecules attach to hemoglobin, preventing oxygen from doing so. Thus, the oxygen levels in the blood become lower than normal, causing problems with other metabolic functions.
Exercise Restriction
Weakened alveoli are less able to expel CO2. This condition, known as emphysema, further restricts the normal transfer of oxygen to the blood. This deficiency becomes apparent when smokers attempt any physical exertion that requires more oxygen.
MayoClinic.com notes that smoking cigarettes also causes health problems in the blood vessels between the lungs and heart. High blood pressure in the lungs, called pulmonary hypertension, can prevent adequate oxygen from reaching the heart and the rest of the body. Thus, ongoing tobacco use effectively starves cells of the oxygen they need for respiration.
