Smoking is a very notorious habit and is now considered an addictive substance in some countries.  

But what is smoking?

Smoking is a habit where people burn certain substances (usually tobacco) and inhale it, then its ingredients are absorbed into the bloodstream. Tobacco smoke contains around 7,000 chemicals. Many of these ingredients are poisonous and more than 60 of them are known to be carcinogenic. Some of these ingredients include:

•  Nicotine is one of the main ingredients of tobacco and it is a colorless, poisonous alkaloid.
•  Tar is the term used to describe the toxic chemicals found in cigarettes.
•  Carbon monoxide.
•  Arsenic.
•  Ammonia
•  Acetone.
•  Toluene.
• Methylamine.

  In fact, tobacco smoking is responsible for one death in every 5 deaths in the USA. Smoking is the main cause of preventable deaths in Britain, it accounts for more than 50,000 death annually. Smoking includes many types like smoking cigars, cigarettes, pipes, hookahs, e-cigarettes, vapes and others.  

How does smoking affect your body?

Smoking and its harmful ingredients harm almost every cell, tissue, and organ of your body. We will discuss 10 organs affected by smoking.  

• Circulation:

Smoking causes the poisons from the tobacco to enter your bloodstream, these poisonous ingredients causes the following:

• Thickens your blood consistency.
• Increases risk for blood clotting.
• Increases blood pressure with all its complications
• Increases resting heart rate.
• Atherosclerosis.
• Hypoxia

All these effects lead to heart failure, stroke or myocardial infarction that is fatal!  

• Brain

Brain aneurysm, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and brain stroke are all complications of smoking that lead to brain damage and subsequently death.  

• Heart

As we mentioned earlier, smoking negatively affects your blood circulation and your cardiac function. It leads to:

• Coronary heart diseases
• Heart attacks (Angina and infarctions).
• Stroke
• Vascular diseases
• Cerebrovascular diseases
• Excessive blood clotting
• Atherosclerosis
• Heart failure.

 

• Lungs:

Since smoking means inhaling smoke and burnt tobacco, your lungs are the first organs to be affected by it! It first causes some discomfort like

• Coughing both dry and expectorant cough (with phlegm).
• Wheezing while breathing
• Difficulty in breathing
• Snoring
• Asthmatic attacks (especially if you had asthma in your childhood).

  These symptoms lead to serious diseases like:

• Frequent chest infection and Pneumonia
• Emphysema
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (aka Smokers Cough).
• Sleep apnea
• And of course, lung cancer.

 

• Oral health:

The effect of smoking on your oral health is countless! It affects your teeth, gums, tongue, and lips. Its unfavorable effects include:

•  Bad breath.
• Teeth caries.
•  Gingivitis.
•  Ruined sense of taste
• Dry and cracked lips.
• Dry mouth.
•  Tongue diseases.
•  Missing tooth.
•  Increased risk for oral cancer.

 

• Skin and hair:

Your skin is the largest organ in your body and of course, it is affected by smoking! Smoking causes hypoxia (decreased oxygenation) for all tissues including your skin. This leads to early aging of your skin leaving it looking:  

•  Dry
•  Dull, yellow complexion.
• Cellulite.
•  Slow healing of wounds.
•  Wrinkles (around eyes, lips, and cheeks).
•  Undereye dark circles and bags.
• Excessive hair fall.
• Dull hair that easily breaks.

 

• Gastrointestinal tract:

Your stomach and intestine are very vulnerable to the negative effects of smoking! Smoking puts you at risk of:

•  Esophageal cancer.
•  GERD (Gastro-esophageal reflux disease).
• Peptic ulcer.
• Indigestion.
•  Constipation or diarrhea.

 

• Bones:

Smoking causes osteoporosis which is thinning of the bones, this causes your bones to become brittle and weak and thus, breaks easily.  

• Reproductive system:

Smoking affects both males and females when it comes to their reproductive system. It affects the blood supply of the gonads (ovaries in women, testicles in men) leading to serious diseases. In males, it leads to;

• Infertility (it affects the quality, quantity, and movement of the sperms).
• Erectile dysfunction as it damages the blood circulation of the penis negatively affecting its erection and ejaculation.
• Testicular cancer. Studies proved that smokers are at higher risk of testicular cancer than nonsmokers.
•  Varicoceles.

In females, it leads to the following:

• Irregular menses.
• Reduced fertility.
• Increased susceptibility to viral infections (like HPV)
• Increased risk of cervical cancer.

And in case of smoking during pregnancy, it leads to:

• Frequent miscarriages.
• Premature birth.
• Low birth weight.
• Congenital diseases (like cleft lip and palate).
• Stillbirth.
• Increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (aka Crib death).

 

• Eye diseases:

Smoking singlehandedly can triple the risk of any of the following eye diseases:

• Dry eye syndrome
• Glaucoma
• Cataract
• Macular degeneration
• Retinal detachment

All these diseases if left untreated will lead to vision loss!   Smoking has many other negative effects on your nose, ears, blood sugar, healing, cartilages, nerves, brain functions and much more. It increases your risk of cancer than those who are non-smokers. And doubles the risk of other serious diseases.  

But what happens if you quit smoking?

The good news is that smoking effects are somehow reversible if you quit as soon as possible For example:

• After your first year of quitting: your cardiac risk for strokes decreases by half, and if you stay smoke-free for 5 years, eat healthier and exercise more often your heart will return as good as new.
• Within 2 years of quitting smoking, the risk for strokes decreases by half and in 5 years the risk is equal to those who are non-smokers.
• Within 3 years of quitting smoking, all your pulmonary symptoms will disappear especially cough and COPD.
• Within 4 years of quitting, your skin deterioration will be reversed.
• Within 5 years of becoming smoke-free, the risk for cancers decreases to less than 25% approaching the risk percentages of non-smokers.

 

Magrabi’s advice

Smoking is one of the worst habits ever, do not start smoking and if you do quit immediately. Smoking increases your risk for almost all diseases most seriously cancer! Reach out to your doctor and he/she will recommend the best ways, centers, facilities, groups to help you in your journey of quitting smoking and restoring your health!