4. Smoking is a practice in which a substance is
burned and the resulting smoke is breathed
in to be tasted and absorbed into the
bloodstream. Most commonly, the
substance used is the dried leaves of the
tobacco plant, which have been rolled into a
small rectangle of rolling paper to create a
small, round cylinder called a "cigarette".
6. Lung cancer occurs when cells divide in the
lungs uncontrollably. This causes tumors to
grow. These can reduce a person's ability to
breathe and spread to other parts of the
body. Lung cancer is the third most common
cancer and the main cause of cancer-related
death in the United States.
Lung cancer develops when normal lung
cells change, or mutate, in a way that alters
their natural growth and death cycle,
resulting in unregulated cell division that
produces too many cells. The rapidly
dividing cells do not carry out the functions
of normal lung cells or develop into healthy
lung tissue.
8. Cigarettes contain tobacco. All types
of tobacco products contain
chemicals that can be harmful to
your health.
Cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco
are made from dried tobacco leaves.
Other substances are added for
flavor and to make smoking more
pleasant. The smoke from these
products is a complex mixture of
chemicals produced by burning
tobacco and its additives.
9. Tobacco smoke is made up of thousands of chemicals, including at least 70 known to cause cancer. These
cancer-causing chemicals are referred to as carcinogens. Some of the chemicals found in tobacco smoke
include:
● Nicotine (the addictive drug that produces the effects in the brain that people are looking for)
● Hydrogen cyanide
● Lead
● Ammonia
● Radioactive elements
● Benzene
● Carbon monoxide
● Tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs)
● Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Many of these substances cause cancer. Some can cause heart disease, lung disease, or other serious
health problems, too. Most of the substances come from the burning tobacco leaves themselves, not
from additives included in cigarettes (or other tobacco products).
11. ● Less airflow
Smoking inflames and irritates the lungs. Even
one or two cigarettes cause irritation and
coughing.
Smoking also can destroy your lungs and lung
tissue. This decreases the number of air spaces
and blood vessels in the lungs, resulting in less
oxygen to critical parts of your body.
12. ● Lung cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer
death in the United States. Smoking causes 85
percent of lung cancer cases.
Smokers have a higher number of pre-cancer
changes in their airways than non-smokers.
● Circulation
Cigarette smoking can be very damaging to your
circulation system. Because the tar in cigarettes
contain harmful chemicals, your blood stream is
infected by them when you smoke. When these
poisons enter your blood:
● You are at an increased risk for
experiencing blood clots, as your blood
becomes thicker
● Your blood pressure and heart rate
increase, causing your heart to work
harder
● Your arteries become thinner, which
reduces the amount of blood carrying
oxygen as it circulates to your organs
13. ● Fewer cilia
The lungs are lined in broom-like hairs called
cilia, which clean the lungs.
A few seconds after you light a cigarette, cilia
slow down in movement. Smoking just one
cigarette can slow the action of your cilia for
several hours. Smoking also reduces the
number of cilia in your lungs, leaving fewer to
properly clean the organ.
14. ● Brain
Smoking cigarettes is also quite harmful to your
brain. Smokers are 50% more likely to have a
stroke, as opposed to non-smokers. With that,
you are twice as likely to die from a stroke.
● Stomach
Your digestive system, particularly your
stomach, is greatly impacted by smoking
cigarettes. The esophagus can be weakened by
smoking, allowing acid to travel in the wrong
direction through it. This process is better
known as reflux.