SMOKING

SHORT TERM EFFECTS OF SMOKING: Immediately you start smoking cigarettes, the changes in your body can be monitored and some smokers may wonder what are the short term or immediate effects of smoking. Well for a start, a person's blood pressure and heart rate are increased, which means the heart is working harder than it should. At the same time the blood flow to the body's extremities, such as hands and feet is reduced, also there is short-term stimulation to the brain and nervous system. Reduced appetite is seen in some people, but smoking is a poor way to try to control weight. When people claim they put on weight after quitting, it's because their appetite improves and returns to normal. Weight should be controlled by a healthy diet not smoking.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS There is a long list of other short term effects that although may not be considered serious are nonetheless rather nasty. They include, foul breath, stained teeth and fingers, annoying coughing, reduced or loss of taste and smell, a reduced immune system often sees smokers getting more colds and flu, with longer recovery times, reduced potency in men and fertility in women, bad effects on pregnant women and their baby, and some studies have shown that it even effects the largest organ in our body, the skin, making smokers look older, earlier. Simply put, there are no positive effects of smoking cigarettes.

LONG TERM EFFECTS OF SMOKING If the above short term effects of cigarette smoking is not enough to make you want to quit, then you may be interested in what are the long term effects of smoking. The truth is the long term effects of smoking are down right scary and you have to wonder why anyone would take up smoking in the first place. It's usually the body's respiratory system that suffers the most damage, the chemical filled smoke entering the lungs is a recipe for disaster. Pneumonia and chronic bronchitis are just two of the respiratory infections that result from long term use. Emphysema a debilitating lung disease that is irreversible, incurable and in some cases fatal. Due to the heart overworking and vascular decease, coronary disease is common, which leads to heart attacks. All kinds of cancers are related to smoking, lung, mouth, throat, stomach, bladder, cervix and more. Due to the reduced blood flow to the body's extremities like the legs and feet, vascular disease in these areas can cause painful ulcers that are often impossible to cure.

Individual Effects How a particular individual is effected is determined by many factors, these include... The physical and emotional effects of smoking will differ from person to person The number of years that a person has smoked The quantity smoked daily A smokers age and also the effect of smoking among teenagers, the immediate health effects of smoking on teenagers may not be clearly visilble but be assured the deadly effects are there. This may make some wonder, do young people understand the effects of smoking The long term effects in males can ofter be different in females, not to mention the effect of smoking while you are pregnant The individual person's susceptibility to the toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke. These effects may vary, but the one thing that they all have in common is, without any doubt, their health will suffer. You have to ask yourself, knowing the Effects of Smoking, why would anyone continue to smoke, once they are aware of the consequences, this is your opportunity to consider the above and stop smoking now. The long-term effects of smoking on your health can be reduced if you stop now. It is our intention to add many more articles on the effects of smoking.

POSSIBLE DISEASES FROM SMOKING Around 90% of all lung cancer deaths are caused from smoking and smoking is also the biggest risk factor for a number of other types of cancer as well. Overall, smoking has been linked to a third of all deaths from cancer. In the US, 1 in every 4 people die of cancer and over half a million people die each year from this disease. To give you a clearer idea, more than 1,500 people a day die from cancer. People who smoke a lot of cigarettes a day are particularly at risk of developing cancer and if those people have been smoking for a long time, the risk is even higher. For example, a person who has been smoking one packet of cigarettes a day for 30 years is more at risk than a person who has been smoking two packs a day for 15 years. Smoking also causes a quarter of all deaths from heart disease. Over 70% of smokers between the ages of 35 and 44 who die of coronary heart disease, die prematurely due to smoking. In teenagers who smoke, early signs of heart disease, such as the building up of fatty deposits in the arteries, can be detected. In the US, coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death and more than 2,600 people die each day from some form of cardiovascular disease, which may have been caused by smoking.

SMOKING CAUSES Smoking also causes strokes and heart attacks and doctors say that smokers are twice as likely to suffer a heart attack than non-smokers and three times as likely to suffer a stroke. However, on a more positive note, if a smoker quits smoking, after 5 years, the risk of suffering a heart attack is halved and after 10 years the risk drops to the same as that of a non-smoker who has never smoked. Another major illness and cause of death from smoking is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This term is used generally and includes a number of lung destroying and respiratory illnesses that are brought on by smoking. The main diseases are emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The airways and tissues of the lungs are destroyed, which will in time make breathing extremely difficult. Sufferers of these diseases may experience shortness of breath, chest pain, constant coughing and tiring after a small amount of exertion. At the moment, the symptoms can be eased with medical treatment, however as yet no cure exists. If you already have either of these diseases, giving up smoking will stop their progression. If you do not suffer from any of the symptoms associated with either emphysema or chronic bronchitis, then giving up smoking will greatly reduce the risk of developing these seriously debilitating illnesses.positive