The Dangers of Smoking
Smoking is dangerous for everyone regardless of age, race, socioeconomic background, and any other factor you can think of. It increases the risk of potential fatal diseases including cancer, heart disease and stroke.
Even passive or second hand smoke poses similar risks. Being around passive smoke increases the risk of respiratory disorders such as asthma and bronchitis in children, and had also been linked with developmental and learning problems.
The Dangers of Smoking: Looking Beyond Lung Cancer
Many people are unaware of the fact that smoking affects much more than just the lungs alone. Of course, there is a clear and well known association between smoking and lung cancer, but smoking has negative effects on all of the body’s system, and can lead to a veritable laundry list of problems.
Increased risk of lung cancer and bronchitis are well established dangers of smoking, but very few know that cigarette smoking is a major contributor to heart attacks as well. A host of cancers in addition to lung cancer have also been linked with cigarette smoking. The list includes cancer of the larynx, liver cancer, esophageal cancer, cancer of the bloodstream, cancer of the large intestine, cancer of the tongue and mouth and bladder cancer.
Smoking raises blood pressure and elevates the heart rate due to nicotine stimulating the nervous system. Oxygen to the brain is reduced and the blood thickens, which increases the likelihood of blood clots. Over time, these symptoms lead to cardiovascular disease resulting in potential heart attacks and strokes. Smoking cigarettes also deposits tar in the lungs with damages air sacs and clogs arteries. Long term damage and shortness of breath are common effects.
The Dangers of Smoking: What Makes Cigarettes So Unhealthy?
Cigarettes contain approximately 4,000 chemicals, 60 of which have been linked to cancer. If there are any doubts remaining with regard to the seriousness of the health risks associated with smoking, they should be put to rest. The evidence is overwhelming, and all points to the same conclusions. This is not just scaremongering; there are years of research behind these statements. The dangers of smoking are real and well documented.
The average smoker will have a life expectancy 12 years shorter than a non-smoker. In addition to a shorter lifespan, many smokers spend their last years suffering from painful diseases that all but strip any enjoyment from their days.
When compounded with other conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol or other chronic conditions the risks associated with smoking are even higher. The good news; quitting smoking can reverse many of these conditions. The sooner you quit the more health benefits you’ll receive.
As mentioned above, lung cancer is not the only effect smoking has on the respiratory system. Smokers are more prone to pneumonia, influenza, and even common colds. Smoking has also been linked with Tuberculosis, and just about every known disease of the respiratory system.
The effects of cigarette smoking also reach out to those around you as well. Those who are exposed to second-hand smoke inhale about 15% the amount of nicotine as those who are active smokers, so for every ten cigarettes you have around your children, they may as well have smoked one a half cigarettes themselves.
As for the rest of the body, cigarette smoking can cause blood diseases, decreased circulation to the toes and feet, and slower healing wounds. The negative effects of regular smoking practically affect the entire body in one way or another. Smokers will often reference someone they know who is 85 years old and has smoked for 60 years, yet is in fine health. Perhaps these people exist, but there numbers pale in comparison to those dying painful deaths in hospitals around the world. Do you really want to roll the dice with those odds?
The Dangers of Smoking: Big Tobacco
If the health dangers of smoking aren’t reason enough to curb the habit, it was also found that the tobacco industry was knowingly marketing to children, tracking the behavior of the demographic in an attempt to turn them into smokers early and have a whole new generation of lifelong customers. They have also repeatedly downplayed the risks of smoking, even with irrefutable evidence aplenty.
Luckily legislation has been passed that regulates how and who the tobacco companies can market to. Descriptions including ‘light’, ‘natural’, ‘low tar’ and ‘ultra light’, as well as any other marketing language that attempts to downplay the health risks of smoking can no longer be used.
The Dangers of Smoking: Isn’t it Time?
If you’re a smoker and have been trying unsuccessfully to quit, now is the time to get serious about it and kick the habit. There are many proven methods being used by smokers to quit once and for all. Don’t keep gambling with your health; the help you need is available.




