One of the ingredients in tobacco is a mood-altering drug called nicotine. Nicotine reaches your brain in mere seconds and makes you feel more energized for a while. But as that effect wears off, you feel tired and crave more. Nicotine is extremely habit-forming, which is why people find smoking so difficult to quit. Physical withdrawal from nicotine can impair your cognitive functioning and make you feel anxious, irritated, and depressed. Withdrawal can also cause headaches and sleep problems.
Over time, this damage leads to a variety of problems. Along with increased infections, people who smoke are at higher risk for chronic nonreversible lung conditions such as:.
Withdrawal from tobacco products can cause temporary congestion and respiratory discomfort as your lungs and airways begin to heal. Increased mucus production right after quitting smoking is a positive sign that your respiratory system is recovering. They also tend to have higher rates of pneumonia and bronchitis. Smoking damages your entire cardiovascular system. Nicotine causes blood vessels to tighten, which restricts the flow of blood.
Over time, the ongoing narrowing, along with damage to the blood vessels, can cause peripheral artery disease. Smoking also raises blood pressure , weakens blood vessel walls, and increases blood clots. Together, this raises your risk of stroke. Exposure to secondhand smoke carries the same risk to a nonsmoker as someone who does smoke. Risks include stroke, heart attack, and heart disease.
The more obvious signs of smoking involve skin changes. Substances in tobacco smoke actually change the structure of your skin. A recent study has shown that smoking dramatically increases the risk of squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer. In this disease, the airways make too much mucus, forcing the person to try to cough it out. The airways become inflamed swollen , and the cough becomes chronic long-lasting.
The symptoms can get better at times, but the cough keeps coming back. Over time, the airways can get blocked by scar tissue and mucus, which can lead to bad lung infections pneumonia.
In emphysema, the walls between the tiny air sacs in the lungs break down, which creates larger but fewer sacs. This lowers the amount of oxygen reaching the blood. Over time, these sacs can break down to the point where a person with emphysema might struggle to get enough air, even when at rest.
People with emphysema are at risk for many other problems linked to weak lung function, including pneumonia. In later stages of the disease, patients often need an oxygen mask or tube to help them breathe. Tobacco smoke has many chemicals and particles that can irritate the upper airways and the lungs.
When a person inhales these substances, the body tries to get rid of them by making mucus and causing a cough. The early morning cough common among people who smoke happens for many reasons. Normally, tiny hair-like structures called cilia in the airways help sweep harmful material out of the lungs. But tobacco smoke slows this sweeping action, so some of the mucus and particles in the smoke stay in the lungs and airways.
After waking up, the person coughs because the lungs are trying to clear away the irritants and mucus that built up from the day before. Smoking tobacco damages your heart and blood vessels cardiovascular system , increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke. A child who's exposed to passive smoke is at increased risk of developing chest infections, meningitis , a persistent cough and, if they have asthma , their symptoms will get worse. They're also at increased risk of cot death and an ear infection called glue ear.
Read more about passive smoking. If you smoke when you're pregnant, you put your unborn baby's health at risk, as well as your own. Read more about stopping smoking in pregnancy. Your GP can give you information and advice on quitting smoking. You can also call the NHS Smokefree helpline on Read the answers to more questions about stopping smoking. Not much is known about the health risks of using them.
We do know they contain nicotine, the same addictive substance in tobacco cigarettes. E-cigarettes also expose non-smokers to secondhand aerosols rather than secondhand smoke , which contain harmful chemicals.
Smokeless tobacco , such as chewing tobacco and snuff, is also bad for your health. Smokeless tobacco can cause certain cancers, including oral cancer. It also increases your risk of getting heart disease, gum disease , and oral lesions.
Remember, there is no safe level of tobacco use. Smoking even just one cigarette per day over a lifetime can cause smoking-related cancers and premature death. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of health problems. The earlier you quit, the greater the benefit. Some immediate benefits of quitting include.
The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health. On this page Basics Summary Start Here.
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