There is a trend in smoking and you can see people smoking no matter where you go. Young people smoke because they get influenced by their friends. Young people who start smoking in their teenage years usually will continue until their adult years. Perhaps you will change your mind and make up the decision of stop smoking when you are informed about the bad effects of tobacco smoke and how it can harm your health in many ways. The following are the 10 bad effects of smoking on your body.
1. Premature Aging
Smoking makes you age at a faster rate so that you look older than your age. Because of the premature aging effect, you will notice your skin developing lots of wrinkles and having a leathery texture. Nicotine is responsible for narrowing the blood vessels on the outer skin layer so that lesser oxygen can reach your skin. As a result, your skin cannot obtain important vitamins such as vitamin A.
2. Inflammation on Stomach Lining
Smoking causes inflammation in the stomach lining and encourages the development of ulcers. Nicotine will induce the stomach to produce a higher amount of acid which in turn can increase your risk of developing ulcers. Many smokers suffer from ulcers in the duodenum and esophagus. If you continue to smoke, it will take a longer time for you to fully recover from the stomach ulcer even if you are taking a prescription.
3. Acid Reflux
Nicotine from the tobacco can weaken the sphincter muscles, a ring of muscle in the lower esophagus. The sphincter muscle facilitates the food passage from the esophagus to the stomach and makes sure the stomach acid flows toward the stomach. When the muscle is weakened, the stomach acid will flow up to the esophagus causing the person to suffer from acid reflux.
4. Atherosclerosis
Smoking can cause plaque to build up inside the blood vessel and increases your chances of developing atherosclerosis. In atherosclerosis, the plaques that have been built up in your blood vessels become hardened and narrow the passageways of your arteries. When the blood vessels become narrow, the blood that travels to your heart will carry lesser oxygen. People with atherosclerosis also tend to suffer from coronary heart disease and peripheral artery disease.
5. Oral Problems
Yellow teeth discoloration is one of the most obvious bad effects of smoking. The tartar from the tobacco can also cause brown stains that build up on the edge of your teeth. The acidic cigarette smoke can cause cavities in your teeth so that you suffer from toothache. Smoking can cause receding gum lines exposing more of the tooth. People who smoke regularly also tend to suffer from various types of gum diseases such as gingivitis and leukoplakia.
6. Bone Injury
Smoking can weaken your bone so that it is easier for you to get bone injury. In the cigarette smoke, there is a chemical that can reduce your body's ability to absorb calcium. Calcium is an important mineral required for a healthy bone. When your body can't absorb calcium properly, you will have weaker bone and suffer from bone related problems such as rheumatoid arthritis. Long term smoking can reduce the overall bone mass density and increases the chances of develop osteoporosis.
7. Damage to Fetal Development
Smoking can cause damage to a fetus that is still in development inside the womb of a pregnant mother. Many women who smoke during pregnancy deliver babies with health problems such as heart problems, cleft lips/cleft palate, and high blood pressure. The baby that is born tends to have low birth weight or they are born prematurely. Smoking also increases the chances of miscarriage, delivering a stillborn baby and sudden infant death syndrome. If you don't want to give birth to an unhealthy baby, you should stay away from smoking.
8. Make Your Lungs Black
The tar of the cigarette smoke that you inhale can build up on your lungs and make them black over time. The tar will deposit in the bronchioles one by one until the entire lung becomes black. Smoking can damage the cilia, a structure that brush away particles that enters into your lung. When the cilia is damaged, it will no longer be able to remove the tar that you inhale and you will find yourself coughing as your lung work harder to remove it. Smoking can lead to diseases such as emphysema, COPD, lung cancer, and breathlessness.
9. Cortical Thinning
Cigarette smoke can cause cortical thinning and deteriorates cognitive function of the person. Corthical thinning not only causes minor problems such as short term memory loss. Too much dopamine can cause the smoker to suffer from psychotic illnesses such as Alzheimer disease, Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia. Cortical recovery can take place weeks or years later after you quit smoking depending on how much cigarettes you have smoked.
10. Type 2 Diabetes
Research has shown that smoking is link to Type 2 diabetes, the most common type of diabetes disease in the world. People who smoke are 40% more likely to contract diabetes. Smoking causes you to have problem with insulin dosing and makes it harder for you to control your diabetes. Diabetes can lead to other problems such as heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, and damage to the nervous system. Type 2 diabetes can cause poor blood circulation and slow down the healing process of any wound that appears on your body. When the wound is slow in healing, the tissue around it will rot. Ultimately, you will have to resolve to amputate the body part to prevent the infection from spreading to other part of the body.
Conclusion
In conclusion, even though you don't see any of these symptoms now, you should not feel safe about continuing your cigarette smoking habit. This is because they take time to develop and you don't know the bad effects that are happening inside your body while you are smoking. So, if you don't want to suffer from these harmful effects, you should take actions to help yourself quit smoking now.
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