Smoking cigarettes can have many dangerous effects on your body. Some of these can result in life-threatening complications. In fact, as per the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), smoking cigarettes grows the risk of dying from several causes, not just those related to tobacco use.
Smoking cigarettes impacts the respiratory system, the reproductive system, the circulatory system, the eyes, the skin and it increases the danger of a wide range of cancer diseases.
Smoking can prompt several dangerous complications in the body, and many of them can cause long-term effects on your body systems.
Let’s learn about 10 possible health effects of smoking on the body
1. Lung Diseases
Smoking cigarettes affects your lung’s health because when you inhale smoke, you’re inhaling so many other harmful substances too that can damage your lungs and can even cause lung cancer. This smoking risk is 25 times greater for men and for women it is 25.7 greater.
Over time, these health risks prompt to a variety of complications. The CDC report reveals that around 9 out of 10 lung cancer deaths are due to smoking. Along with increased complications due to smoking, there are higher risks for chronic nonreversible lung diseases such as:
- Lung cancer & asthma attack
- In emphysema disease, the destruction of the air will sac in your lungs.
- In chronic bronchitis disease, permanent inflammation impacts on the breathing tubes lining of the lungs
- You can also face a group of lung diseases named chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Parents who smoke, their children are progressively inclined to wheezing, asthma attacks, and coughing. They are also more prone to have higher paces of bronchitis and pneumonia.
2. Heart Diseases
Smoking cigarettes can damage your heart’s blood cells as well as blood vessels. The tar and chemical substances in cigarettes can influence the risk of atherosclerosis, which is the beginning of plaque in the veins. This buildup reduces the flow of blood and can prompt risky blockages.
Research shows a direct connection between smoking and Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). Indeed, even the individuals who used to smoke face a higher hazard than individuals who never smoked.
Having PAD influences the risk of experiencing: a heart attack, angina, or chest pain, a stroke and blood clots.
3. Type 2 Diabetes Risks
Several types of researches reveal that people who smoke on a regular basis have a 30% to 40% higher risk of having type II diabetes; as compared to those who do not smoke. People who smoke while suffering from diabetes can also face more difficulties to manage their diabetic conditions.
4. Weakened Immunity
Smoking cigarettes can also affect a person’s immune system, making it weak and more prone to illness. It can also lead to additional inflammation in the body.
5. Eyesight Problems
Smoking cigarettes can lead to vision problems, incorporating a higher risk of age-related macular degeneration as well as cataracts. Other eyesight problems caused by smoking include dry eyes, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma, etc.
6. Fertility Issues
Smoking cigarettes can increase the risk of a damaged female’s reproductive system and make it very difficult for women to get pregnant. This may be due to smoking tobacco and inhaling many other harmful chemicals that affect hormone levels.
In males, smoking for longer duration increases the higher risks of erectile dysfunction. Smoking can also reduce the sperm’s quality that can lead to reduced fertility.
7. Complications in Pregnancy
As per the CDC report, smoking can cause pregnancy complications and affect the developing fetus in many ways, including:
- Smoking increases the danger of ectopic pregnancy.
- Reduces the infant’s birth weight.
- Increases the chance of premature delivery.
- Damaging the embryo’s lungs, central nervous system and brain as well.
- Increasing the danger of abrupt baby demise disorder.
- Contributing to intrinsic abnormalities, for example, congenital lip or congenital palate
8. Bad Oral Hygiene
Individuals who smoke have higher risks of several gum diseases. These hazards increase with the number of cigarettes an individual smokes per day. Symptoms of gum diseases due to smoking include tender and swollen gums, bleeding while brushing teeth, sensitive and loosen teeth. Tobacco Smoking can also lessen a person’s capability to smell and taste things appropriately. It can also bring stains on the teeth and make them brown or yellow.
9. Damaged Hair and Skin
Smoking tobacco can also damage a person’s hair and skin. People who smoke regularly may experience wrinkled and dry-looking skin, prematurely aged and grey shaded hair. There are higher chances for them to have skin cancers, especially on their lips. Smoking Tobacco also leads to consistent hair loss and baldness.
10. Risk of Several Other Cancers
Along with the above-mentioned diseases caused by smoking, it also causes other different types of cancers. Individuals who smoke are additionally multiple times are prone to have bladder cancer than individuals who don’t smoke.
Smoking Cigarettes can also cause the below-mentioned cancers:
- Stomach cancers
- Mouth cancer
- Throat cancer
- Laryngeal cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Liver cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Colon cancer
- Acute myeloid leukemia
Final Thoughts
We hope after learning these 10 possible health effects of smoking, you might have planned to quit smoking if you do so. We know, quitting smoking is not that easy as it seems, but healthcare professionals or your doctor can help you out to take positive steps toward quitting smoking.
Take their advice as they can give you a variety of prescription medications such as Nicotex to quit smoking and various other useful tips to quit smoking. Try to read out stories of quitting smoking from others and build self-confidence in you that you can do it. There are several short and long-term benefits and risks associated with quitting smoking. But the smoking effects on the body are higher than the minor risks related to quitting smoking. Finding the right ways to quit smoking is the most important step you should take to live a healthy and happier life.