Smoking is a leading cause of death in the United States and around the world. It is a deadly habit that results in lung cancer, breathing difficulties, arterial blockages, stroke and heart disease and many other chronic ailments. What makes smoking even more dangerous is that is affects not only the smoker, but also people in the vicinity.
Smoking and Your Lungs
The lungs contain a mucus lining and tiny hair-like structures called cilia. Together, the two function as cleaning agents that trap dirt and other pollutants that enter your lungs. When you smoke, the chemicals gradually destroy the cilia and damage the lungs' capacity to clean out pollutants. The alveoli, which are tiny air sacs in the lungs, help your body intake oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide. Smoking damages the alveoli and thereby reduces the lungs' ability to efficiently supply oxygen to the body. All these factors contribute to breathlessness, lung infections, chronic bronchitis and lung cancer.
Symptoms of Lung Disease
It can be easy for smokers to misunderstand or ignore the signs and symptoms of lung disease that occur with smoking. Many smokers develop a chronic cough, which is indicative of the lungs' incapability to remove the dangerous chemicals that enter the lungs with cigarette smoke. Smokers may also misinterpret a difficulty in breathing as a sign of inadequate fitness or old age. Frequent chest infections, chronic coughs and congestion are also signs of lung disease that results from smoking.
Lung Cancer
Tobacco smoke contains several chemicals, of which 50 or more are known to cause cancer. It also contains tar, which is a combination of about 4,800 chemicals. Over time, tar sticks to the inner lining of the lungs and diminishes their capability to remove impurities and carcinogens. Health Canada says that smoking is the cause of 85 percent of new lung cancer cases that occur on an annual basis. Lung cancer is difficult to detect in its early stages and it is often fatal, because it easily spreads to different organs in the body. Chances of survival are low and 60 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer die within one year.
Smoking and Your Heart
Smoking lowers the level of HDL cholesterol, which is beneficial to health. It also contributes to the buildup of fat in the arteries, causes high blood pressure and increases the risk of blood clots. Fat buildup in the arteries reduces their size and the amount of blood they carry to the heart. When you inhale tobacco smoke, the harmful gases replace oxygen and lower its level in the blood. This makes the heart pump harder, because it accesses a greater quantity of blood in an attempt to increase the oxygen supply available to it. All these factors damage the heart muscles and greatly increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
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