Effects of Cigerette Smoke on Human Body

[Hurriah]

For many years there has been research on the health effects of smoking and in recent decades the concern has continued to grow. This is because more adverse health effects of smoking are being discovered every day, yet millions of people continue to smoke and young people continue to start smoking in great numbers.There's hardly a part of the human body that's not affected by the chemicals in the cigerettes you smoke. Let's take a tour of your body to look at how smoking affects it.

What does cigerette contains?

Cigerette smoke contains more than 4000 chemical compounds and at least 400 toxic substances
When you inhale, a cigarette burns at 700°C at the tip and around 60°C in the core. This heat breaks down the tobacco to produce various toxins.
The products that are most damaging are:
Tar,
Nicotine
Carbon monoxide
Components of the gas

Effect of nicotine on human body

Nicotine readily diffuses through, your skin, Lungs and Mucous membranes (such as the lining of your nose or your gums)
Nicotine is quickly absorbed by the blood and transported to the brain with in 30 minutes
Within 10 to 15 seconds of inhaling, most smokers are in the throes of nicotine's effects
Nicotine changes how your brain and body functions,it can both invigorate and relax you, depending on how much and how often you smoke.
Nicotine itself may also block the release of the hormone insulin,so the cells take up excess glucose from your blood so this makes people somewhat hyperglycaemic, having more sugar than usual in their blood.
Nicotine also stimulates the production of adrelanine hormone, which results in increases in heart beat , which there fore causes stress on heart
It paralysis the cilia , so it cannot trap the dust partilcles entering the body causing coughing
Nicotine may also increase your basal metabolic rate,this means that you burn more calories than you usually would when you are just sitting around,losing weight by smoking doesn't give you any of the health benefits,it actually does the opposite
Nicotine can increase the level of your bad cholesterol, LDL that damages your arteries. This makes it more likely that you could have a heart attack or a stroke

Effect of Tar

It combines with oxygen to form aresol (droplet of air),
this enters th respiratory system and causes the epithelium to be thickened , leading to bronchitis

The particles contain chemicals including several cancer-causingsubstances
Tar is sticky and brown and stains teeth, fingernails and lung tissue
Tar contains the carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene that is known to trigger tumour development (cancer).
Results in slow growth of fetus

Effect of Carbonmonoxide

Carbon monoxide inhibits the blood's ability to carry oxygen to body tissues including vital organs such as the heart and brain

It combines with hameoglobin to form carboxy hameoglobin , which lowers the oxygen carrying capacity of blood
Carbon monoxide combines with red blood cells over 200 times more easily than oxygen.
It also takes much longer for your body to eliminate carbon monoxide than to absorb it, with is one reason why exposure can be so dangerous.
Infants, children, those with underlying heart disease, pregnant women and the pregnant mother’s fetus experience the adverse effects of carbon monoxide poisoning at lower levels.

Effect of Other components of gas such as

Hydrogen cyanide:



The lungs contain tiny hairs (cilia) that help to clean the lungs by moving foreign substances out,hydrogen cyanide stops this lung clearance system from working properly,

Free radicals:


These highly reactive chemicals can damage the heart muscles and blood vessels.
They react with cholesterol, leading to the build-up of fatty material on artery walls.
Their actions lead to heart disease, stroke and blood vessel disease

[Hurriah]

Mouth Diseases

Smoking tobacco, whether it's cigarettes, cigars or pipes, increases the risk of cancer on the lips, in the mouth or in the throat.Depending on the number of cigarettes smoked, cigarette smokers are six times more likely to die from different mouth related cancers
Cigar smokers are twice as likely to die from mouth related diseases compared to non-smokers
The most common places where oral cancer forms is on the tongue, the gums, or the floor of the mouth

Smoking is a cause of periodontitis, a common dental disease. Its symptoms may include infected gums, loss of the jawbone that supports the teeth and deep spaces forming around the teeth (periodontal pockets). Stopping smoking reduces the risk of developing periodontal disease and slows down the progress of existing disease.

Respiratory diseases

Chronic bronchitis

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the air which may lie acute or chromic. Chromic is the one with gradual on long duration. It is much more serious and a common problem. A cute is a condition, which comes up quickly and finishes off in a short span of time. It lasts for only few days. Smoking leads to chronic bronchitis. Tar in the cigarette smoke damages the epithelium and inhibits the beating of the cilia. It also stimulates the goblet cells to produce more mucus because of which microorganisms and irritants trapped mucus accumulates in the bronchioles. As a result of this the bronchioles become abstracted. Many harmful microorganisms can live and breed in mucus found in bronchi. Secreting toxic materials, which stimulate the smoker to cough. With time the damaged epithelia are replaced by sear tissue and smooth muscles in the bronchi and bronchioles become thicker. This makes the air ways narrow. Coughing & breath resends increases as the disease progresses.


Emphysema

One in every five smoker develops the crippling lung disease called emphysema. The disease develops over a period of 20 years & it is impossible to diagnose until the lungs have been irreversible damaged. Emphysema means that the alveoli dilate and burst. In the early stages the only symptom is slight breathlessness. If this gets progressive people can’t even get out of their beds. People usually die of respiratory failure. People may also die due to heart failure because the heart is even worked trying to pumps more blood to overcome the shortage of oxygen. Chronic bronchitis caused lungs to be more liable infection which in turn leads toinflammation, Inflammation caused by macrophages & phagocytes to release a protein digesting enzyme known as electase. Electase destroys elastin in the connective tissue of alveoli that the alveoli do not stretch and recoil when breathing in and out therefore bronchioles collapse during exhalation trapping air in the alveoli, which after bursts and this decreases the surface area for gaseous exchange healthy lungs .In healthy lungs , elastin not broken down because of protein inhibitor (& anti tripsin), which inhibits the action of the enzyme elastase. However, in smoker’s oxidants in the cigarette smoke in activates this inhibitor , resulting in greater elastase activity arid hence break down of elastin leading to emphysema.

Lungs Cancer

There is more than one type of lung cancer but bronchial carcinoma is by for the most common. The tar in the cigarette smoke causes it. It reacts with the DNA in the epithelial cells living the respiratory tract making them divide in an abnormal way forming a tumor. This tumor can be detected by W.B.Cs & may be destroyed before causing any damage but sometimes the tumors can become larger, breakaway from the original site and invade other tissue to start secondary tumor and cause lung cancer. The most common symptom of lung cancer is soughing up blood as a result. We can detect lung cancer by bronchoscopes chest X-ray & CT scan.

Cardiovascular Diseases

Arteriosclerosis

It is multi factorial diseases in many factors are responsible for development of this disease. It is the most common cause of cardiovascular disease. In this disease, the inner layer of artery wall thickens with deposits of cholesterol, fibrous tissue, dead muscle cells & platelets. The condition is referred to as hardening of arteries.

Stages of developing arteriosclerosis

1. Damage to the lining of artery due to increased blood pressure which causes endothelium to break.

2. The break leads to inflammation and so phagocytes release growth factors that stimulates the growth of smooth muscle for healing but cholesterol from blood accumulates in that region. Cholesterol is transported in the form of lipoproteins. Thee are 2 types of lipoprotein Low density (LDL )and High density(HDL). Low density lipoprotein (LDL) transport the cholesterol from liver to the tissue and (HDL) remove the cholesterol from tissue and takes it to the liver. When there is a breakage LDL penetrates out of the blood capillaries arid can deposit cholesterol.

The cholesterol deposited on the wails is attached by free radicals released by phagocytes. This makes use of cholesterol more by oxidation of LDLs. When hood comes in contact with fatty and fibrous tissue, platelets get activated and release the clotting factor. In healthy arteries, endothelium secretes a substance called prostaglandin; which inhibits blood clotting. Smoke, saturated fats and high blood pressure increase chance of arteriosclerosis. Cigarette smoke also reduces the concentration of antioxidants in the blood., E.g.:- Vitamin E & C, this increases the damage to the arteries. Cigarette smoke also increases the number of platelets in the blood. It increases blood cholesterol & fats concentration. Smoking causes constriction of coronary arteries and arise hi the ration if LDL & U LDL to HDL (HDL removes cholesterol).


3. Stroke

Stroke occurs when an artery in the brain bursts so that the blood leaks into the brain tissues. Or, it is more likely when there is a blockage due to arteriosclerosis. The brain tissues are deprived of O2 & die this is called cerebral infraction. The risk of stroke is increased by high blood pressure and since smoking increases blood pressure it causes stroke.

4 . Cardiovascular disease

It is related to the obstruction of the coronary artery. These arteries the heart muscle. When they are blocked, the heart muscles are deprived of O2 leading to death. Too much fat especially with low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Leads to deposition of cholesterol in the artery causing a disease called arteriosclerosis. Coronary heart disease can take any one of the forms.

1 . Angina pectoris/chest pain due to the pressure of blood.

2. Heart attack
Due to the blockage of the coronary artery and gradual damage to the hearts muscles, the heart fails to pump blood efficiently.

3. Heart failure
It is also called myocardial infraction. This happens if the main coronary artery is blocked. All heart muscles are deprived of blood which results in the death of heart muscles. It happens where there blood clot in the coronary artery. Chest pain is cause and could result to be fatal if action isn’t taken.