Effects of Smoking

“Smoking is injurious to health” – Well every smoker across the world must have seen this statutory warning printed in bold letters on the colorful packs of cigarettes. However, there are only a handful of addicts, who actually pay any heed to such warnings. The prime content of cigarette, Nicotine, is a stimulant, which leads to continued tobacco smoking. Every cigarette contains a punch of very harmful chemicals, which has irreversible and catastrophic effects on the human body and lungs - Formaldehyde, Lead, Mercury, Benzene, Cadmium, Nicotine, Tar, etc. It is surprising, but every stick of cigarette contains almost 4000 chemicals out of which hundreds are highly toxic.

Smoking claims more lives in the US as compared to AIDS, accidents and crime put together collectively. In 1990, more than 3 million people died of smoking. The figure seems to rise at an alarming exponential rate as more and more youngsters acquire this deadly habit. Researches show that an average of 390,000 lives are lost every year just through smoking.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nicotine packed cigarettes caused 5.4 million deaths in 2004. Over 100 million lives have been lost in the 20th century. Lung cancer is the primary reason behind such demise. If a pregnant woman smokes, she is 70% more prone to medical complications with the baby including birth weight, premature and spontaneous abortion. It might even result in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Nicotine reaches every part of the body within 10 seconds of a puff and traces of it can be even found in breast milk.

According to popular reports, one in every two life long smokers would die of some health ailment triggered specifically by this habit. A deadly combination of Nicotine and carbon - monoxide would temporarily increase the blood pressure and might have lethal effects on the heart and blood vessels.

The Tar present in the chemical compounds covers our lungs much like soot cover on the chimneys, paving the way for cancer. The carbon monoxide cuts out the muscles, heart and lungs of oxygen resulting in swelled up airways, which lets in less air into our lungs. It binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells thereby stopping the sells to carry oxygen at their full capacity; Smokers often have diseases like Emphysema, which slowly rots their lungs. Emphysema also results in repeated bronchitis problems.

The puff of nicotine causes fat deposits to narrow and blocked blood vessels. Cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) present largely in Nicotine damages the category of genes that control the growth of cells. The carcinogen benzopyrene is another toxic ingredient that binds itself to the airways causing serious health issues. Smoke contains several traces of arcinogenic pyrolytic products. Over 19 of them are present in Ciggartaes.Tobacco specifically contains two such radioactive chemical carcinogens.

Regular heavy smoking is the root cause of erectile dysfunction (ED), which is slowly emerging as a major problem in today’s youth. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) a result of persuasive smoking, often referred to as tobacco disease, is a permanent, incurable reduction of pulmonary capacity leading to shortness of breath, wheezing, persistent cough with sputum and damage to the lungs. The list can go on forever.

Sadly, in spite of severe measures by government and several other foundations desperately trying to cut down the smoking addiction, the figures keep increasing. In the developing countries, tobacco consumption is rising by 3.4% since 2002. It is time for smokers to realize the damage a single stick of death chemicals can inflict on the human body.