Why Is Smoking Dangerous?

The primary reason cigarettes are so hazardous to your health is that they contain various carcinogens, such as benzene, formaldehyde and various radioactive elements. It only takes 10 seconds after you have drawn from a cigarette for the toxins to reach your organs, and cause significant damage after continuous use.

Smoking contains the addictive compound, nicotine, which makes it difficult for many people to stop smoking. It is important for smokers to know of all the harmful effects smoking can have on their bodies, and we will provide you with all this information.

What Exactly Are The Dangerous Chemicals Inside A Cigarette?

A cigarette contains many dangerous chemicals that are harmful to your health. The following toxic compounds can be found in cigarettes:

What Made Cigarettes So Popular?

There are various reasons people started smoking cigarettes. Here are some of the most common reasons why people start smoking:

• Peer pressure leads a lot of adolescents to start smoking and to be socially accepted by their friends.
• Many people, who admire celebrities who smoke, will be influenced to take up smoking themselves.
• In the past, smoking was associated with sophistication and elegance. This notion  caused many people to start smoking.
• People who have anxiety or feel stressed, use smoking as a coping mechanism to deal with their emotions.
• It is believed that cigarettes help with weight loss. This is because certain receptors in the brain, when triggered by nicotine, reduce appetite.

How Does Smoking Influence Your Body?

There is no evidence, whatsoever, that proves that smoking has a positive effect on your body. Smoking can cause cancer in any part of your body, and your chances of getting cancer are higher than those who do not smoke. Carcinogens found in cigarettes can affect the following parts of your body:

Brain

Having restricted blood flow to your brain, because of narrowed blood vessels, is very dangerous. You are at high risk of suffering a stroke resulting in serious brain damage, and can even be fatal.

Heart

When you are a smoker, your chances of developing a cardiovascular disease are very high. Having blood clots that restrict blood flow to your heart, and other organs, will increase your chances of having a heart attack. These blood clots can also restrict blood flow to your limbs, and result in the amputations of those limbs.

Smoking will also increase your blood pressure and weaken your blood vessel walls. All of these facts contribute to the risk of having a stroke.

Immune System

Your immune system will be weakened immensely because of smoking, and you will be prone to more infections compared to non-smokers. In addition, smoking can also cause inflammation within the body, resulting in a perpetually compromised immune system.

Lungs

Because you are inhaling nicotine while smoking a cigarette, your chances of developing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is very high. It is a serious condition which causes the airflow to your lungs to be restricted, and it will only worsen over time.

Furthermore, if you are a smoker with asthma, your condition will only worsen over time. Your chances of getting an asthma attack will increase.

Mouth

Because your mouth comes in direct contact with a cigarette and its chemical compounds, it will likely be affected. Not only are you at risk to lose your taste in food and drinks, but you are also at risk for developing various gum infections. Your mouth will also show a few physical symptoms due to smoking, such as bad breath, swollen and bleeding gums and in extreme cases tooth loss.

Skin

Your skin is the largest and most visible organ in the human body, and when someone is a smoker, they can be identified through their skin. Some of these will include dry skin, bags under the eyes, wrinkles around the mouth and unevenly pigmented skin.

Other visible parts of the body that will be impacted is a colour change in a person’s nails and hair. 

• Smoking causes your nail beds to become stained with tar and nicotine, which leads to a yellow hue under your nails. The lack of oxygen to your fingernails also contributes to the change in colour of your nails.
• Your hair will begin to grey sooner than that of a non-smoker. Not only might your hair begin to turn grey prematurely, but it can also grow slowly or, in extreme situations, result in hair loss due to a lack of oxygen to your hair roots.

Reproduction

In males, long term smoking significantly impacts the production of male hormones. This can cause erectile dysfunction as well as impact sperm production, which impacts their fertility. In females, long term smoking also reduces the production of hormones responsible for fertility, resulting in pregnancy issues.

The Carcinogens within cigarettes negatively affect various hormones within the female body that influences reproduction. Some important hormones which are negatively affected are the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and Luteinising hormone (LH) which are responsible for regulating the menstrual cycle and the anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) which is responsible for having a high ovarian reserve. This, along with a low level of sperm production in men, causes males and females to have a low level of infertility.

What Benefits Will You Experience When You Stop Smoking?

These are the benefits you will experience when you stop smoking cigarettes:

• Your health will significantly improve, and you will lead a healthier quality of life
• Your life expectancy can be prolonged by as much as 10 years
• You will have a better sense of taste and smell
• Your chances of developing lung, mouth, or throat cancer will decrease
• For women, your chances of having a miscarriage will decrease significantly
• You will have more finances available which you have saved by refraining from buying cigarettes

How Can You Stop Smoking?

You can use various methods to stop smoking. Some of these methods include:

• Try nicotine replacement therapy, such as nicotine patches or lozenges
• Avoid all the triggers that will influence you to start smoking
• Try starting a hobby that can keep your mind off smoking
• Join support groups and speak to other people who are on the same journey as you are
• Start vaping to help you quit smoking

Using Vaping To Help You Quit Smoking

Many people have successfully stopped smoking after they took up vaping. Vaping is 95% healthier than smoking and does not contain all the toxic chemicals that are present in a cigarette. One of the main benefits of vaping is that you can vape without consuming nicotine. 

There are e-liquids which are nicotine free, and can be enjoyed by ex-smokers who want to live a healthier, nicotine-free lifestyle. If you choose to vape a nicotine-based e-liquid, you can decide how much you would like to take in. You can gradually reduce this amount as you adjust to less nicotine.

Gradually reducing your nicotine intake through vaping can help a person satisfy their nicotine cravings. Vaping is a great way to stop smoking, while still enjoying the same hand-to-mouth action you are used to, and you can still partake in social activities which involve smoking.