Smoking: Harmful Effects on the body

Smoking is one of the most common causes of many secondary dangerous diseases such as cancer. In fact, smoking is considered one of the biggest causes of preventable deaths in the world. According to WHO, tobacco kills more than 8 million people worldwide.

Hence, if you are a smoker and experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned below, it is high time for you to quit smoking. Otherwise, it might bring with itself a severely debilitating condition which would be hard to manage.

What does cigarette smoke contain?

Cigarette smoke contains over 7000 chemical compounds of which around 250 compounds are harmful to smokers and people exposed to second-hand smoke. Around 70 compounds are carcinogenic. Some of the harmful compounds include:

Arsenic – particularly involved in carcinoma of skin, lung, and liver.

Naphthylamine – particularly involved in bladder cancer.

Formaldehyde – can cause cancer of blood, nose, and throat.

Hydrogen Cyanide  – It is formed from the combustion of protein and nitrates existed in tobacco at high temperatures. It has abnormal effects on the heart, brain, lungs, and thyroid.

Carbon monoxide – It has a 200% higher binding capacity for hemoglobin than oxygen. Thus, it can replace oxygen from its binding site on hemoglobin and decrease the ability of the body to carry oxygen tissues. This leads to fatigue, nausea, vomiting, mental confusion, and increased heart rate.

Cadmium – It is a highly toxic metal that causes oxidative damage to various biomolecules in the body.

Nicotine – One of the main components of tobacco. It binds to nicotinic cholinergic receptors and mediating the release of neurotransmitters and thereby mediating the complex actions of nicotine in tobacco users.

Tar – Tar is formed via the combustion of smoke. Tar is a sticky substance that causes gums and teeth staining. It also lines trachea and damages normal physiological functions which can cause acute lung problems.

Effects of smoking

1. On Heart and Blood vessels

Smoking causes damage to heart and blood vessels.

Nicotine has the ability to stimulate the adrenal gland and mediating releasing of catecholamines mainly adrenaline. This huge surge of adrenaline causes an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and constriction of blood vessels.

Chronic smoking can lead to hypertension which can damage the blood vessel wall causing peripheral arterial disease.

This weakening of the vessel wall can damage the endothelial cells which line the inner layer of blood vessels. Due to this, cholesterol and blood components accumulate in the damaged area leading to atherosclerosis. Smoking is considered to be a modifiable factor for atherosclerosis.

This can further lead to:

Abdominal aortic aneurysm – Due to weakening of the aortic wall

Coronary artery disease – due to occlusion of coronary artery mostly by atherosclerosis leading to ischemia

Myocardial infarction – Mostly due to rupture of atherosclerotic rupture plaque leading to acute thrombosis

Buerger disease – It is a form of vasculitis (inflammation of the vessel). It mostly affects limbs and can lead to gangrene and autoamputation of digits.

2. On Lungs

Smoking can damage your respiratory tract including alveoli.

Major diseases caused due to smoking are: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Lung Cancer.

COPD is simply defined as obstruction of air flow causing air trapping inside lungs. There are 2 types of COPD:

Chronic Bronchitis

Smoking contains pollutants that are removed by mucus in the trachea. Chronic smokers have an increased amount of mucinous glands that causes abnormal mucus secretions to deal with the pollutants. This leads to chronic bronchitis.

Emphysema

Smoking causes inflammation in air sacs as alveolar macrophages phagocytose pollutants. This leads to an increased amount of proteases that cause the destruction of air sacs and loss of elastic recoil of lungs.

Lung cancer has the highest incidence and mortality rates of all cancers worldwide. Mostly small cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are caused by smoking.

On Brain

Smoking causes various adverse effects on nervous system that can be potentially life-threatening.

One of the major effects of smoking is a stroke. It occurs due to acute blockage of blood vessels in the brain causing disruption of blood flow leading to ischemia and infarction. Stroke can be reversible until there is a brain cell death.

Nicotine present in smoke can raise your blood pressure and increase heartbeats. Also, carbon monoxide can reduce the amount of oxygen present in the blood. This can lead to blood vessel wall weakening and formation of thrombus and occlude blood flow to the brain.

Vessel wall weakening at the bifurcation of vessels can cause a berry aneurysm. This aneurysm can rupture due to trauma or high blood pressure and can lead to subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Nicotine gives you a sense of ‘kick’. This feeling of euphoria leads to addiction. Addiction might lead to the intoxication of nicotine that can cause restlessness, agitation, mood swings, etc.

On Skin, Hair and Nails

Smoking has adverse effects on the integumentary system too. Yellow staining of nails and fingers occurs due to chronic exposure of smoke and tar. Fingers also show burn marks due to matchsticks and cigarettes. The skin of fingers is prone to fungal infections.

Smoking can increase the amount of hair fall and gray hair. Moustache, especially in the elderly having white hair, turns yellow due to smoke.

Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen to the skin. Also, toxins damage the skin layers. This makes the skin look dull, dry, and irritating. The skin develops premature wrinkles on face especially around the corner of eyes and mouth. Chronic smoking along with prolonged sun exposure can give a yellow tinge to the skin.

On Eye

Smoking is one of the major risk factors for the development of cataracts. It is defined as the opacification of the lens resulting in glare and decreased vision.

One of the reasons for cataract development is due to cadmium present in smoke. Cadmium inactivates superoxide dismutase (SOD) which is an antioxidant by replacing the bivalent metal like zinc from its native site. This weakens the antioxidant defense. Smoke constituents generate free radicals that travel from blood to the lens and damage the lens via oxidative stress leading to cataract.

Smoking can also lead to age-related macular degeneration.

On Oral Cavity

Smoking leads to halitosis or bad breath.

In chronic smokers, lips have bluish-black discoloration. Teeth are mostly brownish discoloration from inside to yellowish discoloration from outside.

It can also cause weakening of the gum and increases susceptibility to infections such as periodontal disease.

Some people who are heavy smokers have even lost the ability to taste and smell.

Smoking is one of the major factors of oropharyngeal carcinoma.

On Reproductive System

Smoking affects blood flow to genitals of both genders.

Male smokers have an increased risk of impotence. Studies have shown that the quality of sperms decreases if smoking is continued. Also, the sperm count reduces.

Female smokers have an increased risk of reducing fertility. Females who smoke take a longer time to conceive than female non-smokers.

Smoking should be avoided by pregnant women. There is a higher chance of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy in smokers. Their babies can also suffer from:

• Low birth weight

• Premature delivery

• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

• Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR)

Cancer

Smoking is the primary cause of numerous cancers of different parts of body such as: