|
Subscribe
to
our
newsletter.
It's Free!
Related Links:
• Avoiding the Temptation to Smoke
• Avoiding Weight Gain When You Quit Smoking
• Benefits of Quitting Smoking
• Cancer Sticks
• Cigarette Cravings
• Give Up Smoking With Nicotine Gum
• Giving Up Smoking
• Health Risks of Smoking
• Helping Your Spouse Quit Smoking
• Hospital Smoking Cessation Programs
• How to Stay Quit
• Identify Smoking Triggers
• Kick the Smoking Habit
• Lung Cancer and Smoking
• Methods of Quitting Smoking
• New York State Quit Smoking Web Site
• Nicotine Patches as an Aid to Quitting Smoking
• Nicotine Replacement Therapy
• Nicotine Vaccine
• Pregnancy and Smoking
• Psychological Cues to Smoking
• Quit Smoking Again
• Quit Smoking and Become Wealthy
• Quit Smoking and Freshen Your Breath
• Quit Smoking and Live Longer
• Quit Smoking and Stay Slim
• Quit Smoking Cold Turkey
• Quit Smoking for a Healthy Lifestyle
• Quit Smoking for Health and Fitness
• Quit Smoking for the Sake of Your Kids
• Quit Smoking Game Plan
• Quit Smoking Methods
• Quit Smoking Now
• Quit Smoking with Hypnosis
• Quit Smoking with Zyban
• Quitting Smoking for Life
• Secondhand Smoke and Your Childrens Lungs
• Sign a Stop Smoking Contract
• Smoke Free Zones in Your Environment
• Smoking and Surgery
• Smoking and the Pill
• Smoking and Your Sex Life
• Smoking and Your Social Life
• Smoking Causes Cancers
• Smoking Cessation
• Smoking Damages Your Skin
• Smoking is An Addiction
• Smoking is Bad for Your Health
• Smoking Relapses
• Smoking Related Illnesses
• Smoking Temptations
• Stop Smoking With Herbal Remedies
• Teenage Smoking
• The Urge to Smoke
• Weight Gain and Quitting Smoking
• What Happens After Quitting Smoking
• What Smoking Does to Your Body
• Why People Smoke
• Why Smoke
• Withdrawal Symptoms When Quitting Smoking
• Women Smokers
• Your Quit Smoking Plan
|
Health Risks of Smoking
Health Risks of Smoking
By smoking, you are putting yourself at several health risks. Cigarettes contain a number of different toxins and chemicals that permeate your body, leading to diverse health problems.
Leukemia is a type of bone marrow disease that happens with an increase in white blood cells. Usually, this happens because the white blood cells are unable to be controlled. What may not be widely known is that Leukemia can be a greater risk for smokers than for those who don't smoke. This is because of the chemical used in cigarettes known as benzene. Benzene is a leukemogen that adds to the tendency of white blood cells to become uncontrolled.
A weakened immune system is a consequence of smoking. Quite simply, if you smoke, you are more likely to become sick more often. Colds, flu, pneumonia, bronchitis, etc. are some of the many respiratory illnesses that you will be more prone to if you smoke. The cigarettes chemicals move into the immune system and replace the immune system's disease fighting ability with toxins. This will not only cause you to become sick more often, but after a long period of smoking, it will invariably lead to chronic illnesses that can weaken your system or cause death.
Osteoporosis is another insidious disease in which the bones become weak. Osteoporosis in smokers begins when the smoke causes damage to nerve endings and tissue. This causes a lower level of blood to move into the bones, eventually not allowing the right nutrients to move into the bone areas. Smokers who suffer fractures (which occur more readily where osteoporosis is present) will take longer to heal.
Smoke and tar that are in cigarettes take away the nutrients and oxygen that are needed for your skin to remain healthy, so smoking causes premature wrinkles and aging. Weakening the collagen and fibers that are needed for healthy skin is caused by smoking. These fibers are what give your skin strength and flexibility. Smoke also causes the blood vessels in your skin to constrict.
Asthma is a lung disease that occurs when the lungs are unable to receive a sufficient amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide. This happens because the air flow to the lungs is blocked off. This then causes swelling of the air tubes, making it more difficult for air to move through. Asthma is often related to the symptoms of shortness of breath, a tight chest, coughing and wheezing. Asthma a common result of smoking. The toxins and chemicals from the cigarettes narrow the airways to your lungs and through the blood stream. Because of the toxins in the cigarette smoke, your lungs will compensate by attempting to create larger air sacs. This begins severe problems with breathing because the oxygen and carbon dioxide are blocked off from the normal air flow.
Altered brain chemistry is the result of both addiction and withdrawal. Other imbalances in your brain caused by smoking include heightened anxiety. This mainly occurs because of the nicotine contained in cigarettes. Nicotine moves into the brain and affects the natural system of chemicals that are used to calm painful situations. When the constant feeling of relaxation and feeling good is absent, it causes a smoker to have cravings for more nicotine, and without it, withdrawal symptoms.
|
|
