It’s no secret that smoking is detrimental to your health. Prolonged exposure and inhalation of cigarette smoke can not only cause serious damage to the lungs and other life-threatening diseases. According to the WHO, tobacco kills 8 million people a year worldwide.
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. So, if you’re trying to quit but can’t find enough reasons why you should, we’ve listed some important ones here.
What makes tobacco so dangerous
The life expectancy of a smoker is ten years less than that of a non-smoker. The chemicals contained inside a cigarette are incredibly harmful. This is because they’re not meant for human consumption under any circumstance. These chemicals include but aren’t limited to nicotine, formaldehyde (used to preserve cadavers) and benzene.
The inhalation of smoke not only damages the structure of the lungs; it inhibits the basic processes carried out by them, namely breathing and the absorption of oxygen. The effects of cigarette smoke on the brain are numerous, which includes trapping you into a cycle of addiction that can be hard to break.
Coronary heart disease and strokes
Chemicals and tar in cigarettes cause plaque build up in the blood, which causes blockages and narrowing of the arteries, thus making it harder for blood to flow through the vessels to the vital organs in your body. Carbon monoxide and nicotine cause the heart to work much harder and faster, putting it under strain.
The best thing to prevent further damage to your heart and the rest of your body is to quit smoking. For information and guidance on smoking cessation, visit QuickRxRefill.com. Their remote consultation and prescription services will help you, wherever you are, to take the necessary steps toward a smoke-free, healthy life.
Lung cancer
Cigarettes are full of cancer-causing chemicals called carcinogens. The alveoli are small pockets inside the lungs that help transport oxygen from to the rest of the body through osmosis. When you smoke, these porous structures fill with tobacco, chemicals and tar instead.
Carcinogens promote carcinogenesis or the formation of cancer. They can disrupt cellular metabolic processes by damaging the cell’s DNA. The presence of carcinogens in the body promotes rapid cell growth, but damaged cell DNA creates more mutations, like cancer, to occur.
Emphysema
Emphysema is a lung condition that results in shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. It causes damage to the alveoli, the most important structures inside your lungs. The damage inflicted on the alveoli makes it harder for them to take in oxygen, so old air gets trapped inside them, leaving no room for fresh air.
The extent of emphysema symptoms can make it difficult to perform daily tasks. Long-time suffering with this disease causes lung collapse and the development of bullae, which are large holes inside the lungs. It’s quite common that the use of an oxygen tank becomes mandatory as a result.
Diabetes
Smoking increases the risk of type-2 diabetes by between 30 and 40 percent. This is because chemicals inside cigarettes affect the function of cells inside the body. Type-2 diabetes causes an abnormality in the way that the body uses insulin. The person could have an adequate or surplus amount of insulin, but their body doesn’t know what to do with it.
High levels of nicotine decrease the effectiveness of insulin. So, for those living with diabetes, management of their condition can grow increasingly strained. As a result, smokers with diabetes may need more insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels. Diabetes, on its own, can lead to further complications like kidney failure and blindness.