Smoking Diseases: A Few Good Reasons To Quit Smoking Now

Each time you inhale cigarette smoke into your body, you introduce over 4,000 different chemicals into your system. Among these 4,000 chemicals are 43 cancer-causing compounds and 400 other toxins which include nicotine, tar, cyanide, formaldehyde, ammonia, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and arsenic. These chemicals are so active that they reach your brain in a matter of six seconds.

It is a fact that nicotine is very addictive. But take a moment to visualize what is happening inside your body every time you inhale cigarette smoke. Certain smoking diseases are evident signs of the way these chemicals slowly destroys the body.

Cancer is still the dominant illness among smokers. The big “C” as they call it, is practically the most common and the most deadly among smoking diseases and will affect smokers and non smokers alike. Smokers tend to have twice the risk of developing cancer than those who do not smoke. A study showed that 90% of smokers develop lung cancer and 1 out of 10 moderate smokers and 1 out 5 heavy smokers will die of lung cancer. But it is not only the lungs that are affected: later and/or different stages of cancer are likely to develop in the bladder, kidney, and pancreas.

Another predominant smoking related illness is heart disease. Certain substances found in cigarette and tobacco smoke harden the arteries which in turn speed up blood clotting. Once these arteries are clogged, cardiovascular diseases starts to appear. This disease is call thrombosis and thrombosis can either be coronary or cerebral. Coronary thrombosis clogs the veins that supplies blood to the heart and will likely result in a heart attack. Cerebral thrombosis on the other hand causes the clogging of the veins leading to the brain. The results may vary from collapse, stroke or paralysis.

Chronic Pulmonary Disease is also a common illness among smokers. Coined by some as CPD, it is probably the most common among smoking diseases in heavy smokers. CPD blocks the airflow which will eventually lead to breathing difficulty.

Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are two of the most commo
CPD among smokers. Emphysema is the damage to the air sacs inside the lungs which is brought about by certain chemicals found in cigarette smoke while chronic bronchitis is characterized by continuous coughing with mucus and on some occasions, with blood for several months. CPD is a “creeping” disease: smokers tend to feel the symptoms of CPD during the later stages of their lives, a negative sign since it will eventually lead to a more serious, and for some, more fatal disease.

Another smoking disease which is unknown to some is early aging. This is mainly due to the lack of blood supply to the skin and the decrease in the levels of Vitamin A, thus smokers have paler skin and will eventually have more wrinkles than those of non-smokers.

Cataract is also a smoking disease that smokers face each and every time cigarette smoke gets into their eyes. Certain chemicals in cigarette smoke cause macular degeneration, which will result in the loss of eyesight and other optical diseases.

Diseases of the mouth, gums and teeth are also caused by smoking such as stained and loose teeth, swollen gums and bad breath. Smokers also have a high risk of developing mouth ulcers.

Impotency and fertility problems are also rampant among smokers. Females who smoke during their pregnancy may experience some complications during birth as a result of their smoking.

Other smoking diseases include chest infections, diabetic retinopathy,tuberculosis, sclerosis and Crohn’s disease.