How smoking affects the human body

Tobacco smoke, unfortunately, contains not only nicotine, but also many other harmful substances. The one who believes that the harmful effects of tobacco is determined only by nicotine is wrong. Of course, nicotine, as a poison of a neurogenic nature, carries enormous harm to the body. But do not forget that it contains more than 4 thousand toxic substances that, to varying degrees, have a harmful effect on the body. No wonder they say that smoking a cigarette is equivalent to a person breathing in car exhausts. The point of application of all these poisons is the cellular level at which they cause irreversible destructive changes.

Sad statistics

Among the women of our country, each of 11-12 female representatives smokes. Among men, 58% of the stronger sex are friends with a cigarette. Moreover, the experience of the heavy smoker is far rather long in its duration. The addiction haunts him for 15-20 years of life.

Naturally, an irreconcilable struggle is waged against this phenomenon at the state level. Advertising of cigarettes is forbidden, age for their sale is limited. In some places, smoking is completely prohibited. Anti-tobacco advertising is widely used, including packaging in which cigarettes are sold.

This is not accidental. This social evil is the cause of high mortality from diseases caused by the entry of tobacco smoke into the body. Statistics data speak for themselves:

1. The annual mortality from pathology due to smoking is more than 450 thousand people.
2. Smokers are more likely to die at the age of 40-45.
3. In the working-age population, one in five people suffers from a disease caused by smoking.

A similar problem is characteristic not only for our country, but also for the whole world. It is hard to imagine, but every 5 seconds from smoking in the world 1 person dies.

Smoking is the cause of hypoxia

Tobacco smoke selectively affects the respiratory system. With an increase in smoking history, a condition called hypoxia gradually forms. Its main manifestation is a lack of oxygen with all the ensuing consequences. In the body when smoking comes from the atmosphere is not oxygen, but carbon monoxide.

Schematically, the process of tissue respiration can be represented as follows:

1. When oxygen enters together with the inhaled air, it binds to the hemoglobin of the blood. As a result of this, a compound is formed, which is called oxyhemoglobin.
2. Due to the transport function of the blood, the final destination of its delivery are various tissues.
3. After oxyhemoglobin reaches the final point of its path, it undergoes decay. This releases the oxygen in it.

Replacing oxygen with carbon monoxide leads to the fact that instead of oxyhemoglobin, carboxyhemoglobin is formed - a substance that is extremely harmful to the body. Carbon monoxide combines with hemoglobin three hundred times faster in comparison with oxygen. At the same time, its decay is much slower, and, therefore, it has a more harmful effect.

The formation of carboxyhemoglobin leads to a chronic lack of oxygen. Hypoxia forms a symptom such as shortness of breath. At first, it can manifest itself during physical activity, then it can be observed at rest. Important organs instead of oxygen receive carbon monoxide. Naturally, the suffering of their function is observed from this.

The process of urbanization has led to a deterioration in the quality of the atmosphere in large cities. This phenomenon is inevitable and is one of the components of the process of scientific and technological progress. You have to pay for everything in life. Even if a resident of a large city does not smoke at all, then his blood contains carbon monoxide (CO) in an amount of 0.92%. It is worth smoking only one cigarette, as this amount will increase by 6 times.

If smoking is intense, then the content of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood reaches 18%. If this figure reaches 20%, symptoms appear from the side of impaired brain function. The heavy smoker is familiar with these symptoms:

• Dyspeptic symptoms occur, the smoker often has nausea.
• Headache appears.
• Dry coughing attacks may occur with pain in the chest.
• The heart begins to beat much more often.
• Pressure rises, a sensation of ripple is noted in the temples.

Passive smoker

When a cigarette is smoked, not all tobacco smoke enters the lungs of a smoker, but only 20% of its quantity. The remaining 80% are in the room or in the surrounding atmosphere. It is not necessary to smoke a cigarette yourself. One has only to breathe this smoke and become a passive smoker. But a person inhales all the same harmful substances into the body as one that does not release a cigarette from his mouth.

It is no coincidence that a lot of attention is paid to passive smoking. If there is at least one smoker in the family, the nicotine content in various biological media can already be found in other members. This includes blood, urine, saliva, and other substrates. With passive smoking, the nicotine content in them can reach up to 2%.

As a result of secondhand smoke, there is a decrease in the working volume of the lungs to 10%. Atherosclerotic processes begin to proceed more intensively. This entails the emergence of a number of undesirable conditions:

• Infant mortality is increasing.
• The birth rate of children with a deficit in body weight is increasing.

Cancer incidence is growing rapidly:

• women have breast cancer;
• increased risk of brain cancer in childhood;
• diseases of bronchial asthma become a frequent companion.

Destructive processes in the brain are intensively developing, and the result is senile dementia in people older than 50 years.

Cardiovascular disease

As a result of smoking, processes leading to an increase in blood viscosity are observed. This entails an increased risk of blood clots. And this is the cause of heart attacks. To push the viscous blood of a smoker through the vessels, the heart is forced to work with greater intensity. It speeds up its contractions, hence the pronounced tachycardia. With ischemia of the heart, the left ventricle is hypertrophied, peripheral blood pressure rises.

Heart palpitations are also due to the fact that tobacco smoke provokes the release of more adrenaline and dopamine into the blood. Of course, the heart is just a muscle, not an iron bar, and wears out quickly. It can not work for a long time with a heavy load. Sooner or later, it openly declares itself.

A smoker develops pains of varying intensity in a cardiac projection. Sometimes the pains are piercing in nature like dagger pain. The heart works at an accelerated rate. All these phenomena are due to hypoxia, which develops due to the presence of carboxyhemoglobin formed under the influence of tobacco smoke.

Vascular apparatus

Under the influence of carboxyhemoglobin, the arteries are in a state of constant spasm. In addition, nicotine is a powerful vascular poison. It selectively acts on the endothelial tissue, which is so rich in blood vessels.This leads to the deposition of atherosclerotic plaques in the vessel wall and its lumen. In other words, the phenomena of atherosclerosis become apparent.

The blood of a smoker is abundantly saturated with prostaglandins, and they are known to be inflammation factors. They further enhance atherosclerotic phenomena.

Smoking, as a factor in the development of atherosclerosis, leads to the following phenomena in the body:

1. Increases pressure associated with kidney damage (hypertension of a renovascular nature).
2. Affected arteries of the brain carry a risk of ischemic stroke.
3. Cardiac vessels are destroyed, which entails the development of angina pectoris.

Under the influence of nicotine, an atherosclerotic plaque can rupture. As a result, its contents pass into the lumen of the vessel and may clog it. This site does not receive the necessary amount of blood, and with it oxygen, being exposed to the phenomena of necrosis. In other words, a heart attack develops.

Nicotine does not disregard peripheral blood vessels. Often, it is the cause of the development of obliterating endarteritis. In smokers, a persistent narrowing of the vessels of the foot area is observed. The main symptom of this disease is intermittent claudication. The result is sad and consists in the development of gangrene and amputation of the foot.

Skin, sensory organs, brain

There is not a single organ in the human body that does not suffer from the effects of nicotine.

Organ of vision
Nicotine significantly affects its function:

1. Perhaps the development of angiopathy of the retina. This is due to insufficient blood supply. In addition, small vessels are constantly in a state of spasm.
2. It is quite possible the occurrence of tobacco amblyopia. It can be observed, including with passive smoking.
3. The formation of cataracts of the eye.
4. The presence of allergic conjunctivitis.

Organ of hearing
Nicotine is also not ignored, and this important organ for humans:

• Under the influence of smoking, the onset and development of sensorineural hearing loss occurs.
• There is a deterioration in the ability to perceive speech.

Leather
Nicotine has a pronounced effect on the skin and appendages of the skin:

1. Due to insufficient blood supply, the skin becomes dry, its elasticity is lost, which leads to the early appearance of wrinkles.
2. The face takes on a gray tint.
3. Hair loses its stability, and a tendency to hair loss appears. In addition, they lose their luster, splendor, begin to break.

Tooth tissue
The smoker provokes the appearance of changes in the structure of the dental tissue:

1. The color of the teeth turns yellow.
2. Gums lose their health. Their bleeding may appear.
3. Teeth may fall out. About half of smokers aged 40 lose all natural teeth.

central nervous system
Brain tissue is very sensitive to nicotine. Smoking can cause a number of negative conditions:

• Sleep disturbance and the formation of persistent insomnia.
• The appearance of headaches.
• The development of atherosclerotic phenomena in the brain tissue.
• Increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage.
• The risk of developing oncological pathology of brain structures increases.

Reproductive function

Smoking contributes to the development of infertility. Among female smokers, 42% of women are affected by this condition. The likelihood of miscarriages increases. Under the influence of nicotine, the quality of the egg decreases. The period of reproductive function is reduced. In men, smoking is one of the significant reasons for the development of erectile dysfunction. Nicotine also affects the quality of the seed stock.

In conclusion, it should be said that smoking is a social evil. Nicotine negatively affects literally every cell in our body. This addiction can and must be fought.The smoker must opt ​​for abandoning this habit. Having gathered the will into a fist, it is quite possible to abandon it. Otherwise, then it will be just too late.

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