I
was at the mall getting groceries when the young man in front of me took up a
cigarette pack and was about to buy it. This was not unusual because I am aware
that many people smoked. What caught my attention, however, was the warning
written boldly on the packet “smokers are liable to die young”. I couldn’t help
but ask this young man if he read that warning and he said, yes he did. And I was
shocked because, if somebody told me I am doing something that is very much
likely to kill me, then I would stop doing it. So I have decided to write a
little piece on smoking and its effects.
Wikipedia
defines smoking as:
“A practice in which a substance is burned and
the resulting smoke breathed in to be tasted
and absorbed into the bloodstream”
There
are no two ways about this; smoking is
bad for your health! The damage that smoking can do to your body is truly
immense. Regular smoking can be compared to living in a continual acid rain
downpour of toxic chemicals. Smoking harms almost every organ in your body and smoking has been known to cause a variety of
health problems. Complications that can arise from smoking include:
- Heart Diseases
Your
chances of getting a coronary heart disease increases considerably the more you
smoke, and there really isn't a safe number of cigarettes that can make you fall
below that risk. One or ten, the risk is still there.
- Strokes
Smoking has a considerable effect on the arteries that supply blood to the brain and causes the arteries as well as other
tissues to harden, thereby putting you at an increased risk of getting a
stroke. Research shows that the probability of developing strokes (cerebral
thrombosis) is higher in smokers as compared to non-smokers; with women who take
contraceptive pills facing even greater risks.
- Cancer
One
out of three cancer-related deaths has
been attributed to smoking. Your chances of developing cancer increases by 25% every
time you decide to puff a stick. The worst part is that smoking can cause
cancer in almost all body parts (not just the lungs). 90% of lung cancer deaths
in men and 80% of lung cancer deaths in women are attributed to smoking.
- Erectile dysfunction
Smoking
can affect a man’s sperm, which in turn can reduce fertility and also increase
risks of birth defects and miscarriage. Nicotine
acts as a vasoconstrictor - it constricts the blood vessels and arteries,
therefore impeding the flow of blood. Since the basis of an erection is blood
filling up the penis' blood vessels, the impediment in blood flow results in an
unsatisfactory erection, or in the complete absence of one
- Overall physical appearance
Smoking
has been associated with bad breath, yellow teeth, and yellow fingernails. New research shows that smoking
also damages your skin, causing it to wrinkle and age faster; and it also makes
the woman’s breast sag as cigarette smoking breaks down elastin which is responsible for keeping the skin tight.
- Body fitness
Smoking
affects your physical fitness levels. The more you smoke, the quicker you run
out of breath and the more tired you become. Haemoglobin
helps to transport oxygen round your body
by binding to red cells in the body. Smoking releases Carbon monoxide into the body
which inhibits oxygen attachment to the red cells' empty haemoglobin slots. Do the math, less oxygen=
less fuel for your body = tiredness.
The
health implications of smoking are just immeasurable. Every time you light up a
stick from now on, think about all the dangers that you're putting yourself in.
even the cigarettes company warns that smokers are liable to die young!
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