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Side Effects of Smoking

Cigarette smoking is assumed, especially by teenagers, to be harmless and no addictive. Most cigarette consumers do not believe that it has adverse immediate effects on one’s health, as well as it can easily become a tough habit to drop. There are two types of smokers, active and passive. While the active smoker suffers more from these smoke-related consequences, involuntary exposure to tobacco likewise causes a health risk to victims. The habit of smoking adversely affects the respiratory, immune, cardiovascular, metabolic and gastrointestinal systems, as well as the brain,. As a rule, these effects are immediate, but most of them do not trigger obvious symptoms instantly. However, the cigarette has irreversible effects that may culminate in serious medical conditions and health defects. This paper examines all the known effects of smoking and their resultant consequences on the human body systems.

Among the most ignored effects of smoking, especially amongst young people, is an addiction. Most young people do not believe that smoking can create a heavy dependency syndrome within a short time. The latest research has shown that substantial symptoms of addiction usually appear among youths within a few weeks or even days after they try out smoking for the first time. These symptoms may include having strong urges to smoke, feeling anxious and unusually irritable, or failing to quit smoking. In addition, studies have shown that at least 90% of regular smokers in their youth get considerably strong cravings, while over 70% of them have already attempted to quit smoking, but eventually failed.

Continued exposure to tobacco leads to stress. There are a number of things that result from smoking but have not been acknowledged by smokers. Smoking does nothing to alleviate stress, in fact, it increases it. The reason for the assumption that it reduces stress is that smokers usually fall back into their previous stress less state, soon after the smoke wears out.

Smoking affects brain performance. Smokers have a smaller number of dopamine receptors. Initially, smoking increases these receptors to give the smoker a sense of pleasure. However, upon the frequent use, receptors are reduced to create dangerously high levels of cravings and dependency. This alteration in brain chemistry may also affect other functions of the brain like intelligence and memory. Cigarette smoking causes a medical condition called bronchospasm. This refers to tightened air passages, and it results in the difficulty in breathing, as well as, irritability in passages of the lungs. The air is forced in and out, thus, damaging the wall lining. This creates a wheezing effect, similar to that of an Asthma patient. The common symptoms for this condition are, therefore, wheezing in nonasthmatics and the difficulty and pain during breathing.

Smoke deposits are considered as irritants in the lungs, and to get rid of them, human bodies induce coughing. Smokers persistently have these irritants, thus, they persistently cough in a bid to remove them. This is the only way to reduce the harmful constituents of smoke in the lungs; therefore, a smoker without the cough is likely to suffer more and much sooner from the effects of smoking than the one, who coughs. This cough is, however, irritating and not good for the airways.

Smoking limits breathing, yet the physical performance requires more oxygen to be transported to the muscles as well as the heart. This implies that a smoker is less likely to carry out a strenuous physical activity successfully compared to a nonsmoker. In addition, among adolescents, it may result in a stagnated growth of respiratory organs, like the lungs, thus resulting in a limited future potential.

Tobacco smoking causes atherosclerosis. This is a condition, in which the walls of arteries are lined with ‘plaques’ formed of fat and cholesterol. Once in the bloodstream, nicotine and other toxins damage the walls and facilitate a faster formation and sticking of these ‘plaques’; thus, smoking accelerates atherosclerosis.

Some toxic components of smoke result in abnormal clotting abilities due to the high levels of thrombin in their blood systems. Thrombosis is a condition of blood clotting within the vessels, hence creating a blockage and preventing the blood from reaching some parts of the body. This may also result in a heart attack, as well as sudden death. By altering the body chemistry, smoking may cause a vassal constriction, thus resulting in a stroke or heart attack, especially among those with thrombosis, atherosclerosis, asthma or sickle cells.

Scientists have proven that the higher the nicotine consumption, the higher the resting heart rate. Moreover, a heart that works too hard is likely to wear out much faster. A heart attack or stroke is, thus, more likely in a young smoker. By increasing the blood pressure, smoking requires the heart to pump faster and harder so as to counter the pressure. This is also most likely to result in a stroke or heart attack since the heart will get worn out much faster than in nonsmokers.

Smoking induces the excessive production of mucus in the lungs but inhibits the same in the stomach. This leaves the stomach walls exposed to acids, thus resulting in self digested holes within the muscle layers of the digestive system. If untreated, these holes become peptic ulcers and are quite difficult to heal, given that tobacco hinders the effective wound healing mechanisms.

Furthermore, smoking results in the gum inflammation, tooth decay, and other mouth infections, since it alters the blood supply, immune responses and healing capabilities of the mouth. Smokers generally have an unpleasant smell that spreads into their clothes and immediate surroundings, as well. Other than just bad breath, they also suffer a strong body odor that most people consider repulsive. Sinuses warm and moisturize the air as inhaled before it enters the respiratory system. They clear unwanted particles and prevent the mucus from building up. Smoking slows or stops these processes, thus resulting in infections and irritations that are manifested through headaches, facial pain, tenderness, swelling, fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, bad breath, and a decreased sense of smell. Altered body mechanisms result in an inability to effectively absorb vital nutrients into the body system, thus creating deficiency disorders in young passive smokers, as well as minor active smokers.

Smoking also affects one’s responsiveness to medicines. Naturally, medicines are broken down by enzymes before being assimilated into the body to perform their specified corrective functions. Any factor that affects drug metabolism affects the drug’s function, as well. Smoking interferes with a number of medicines given that the constituents of the tobacco smoke accelerate the breakdown of some antidepressants, blood-thinners, and anti-seizure medications, while it also leads to decreasing of the effectiveness of certain medicines, namely painkillers, asthma, heart and ulcer medicines, as well as sedatives. Oxidative damage, otitis media, rhinitis, and pneumonia are other possible consequences of smoking that affect both passive and active smokers but are more severe in young passive and minor active smokers.

While most of the effects of smoking can be mitigated by quitting early, some effects are irreversible and result in permanent organ damage. Thus, while advising smokers to quit, it is essential to emphasize that they also need a medical examination to determine the extent of damage to their body systems. Smoking generally results in higher death rates among young and supposedly healthy persons, with an alarmingly high number of premature strokes and heart attacks in this otherwise resilient and resistant age bracket.

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