c



  
 4,000 chemical compounds; 200 of which are known to be poisonous, and upwards of
60 have been identified as carcinogens. Viewed in that light, it's no wonder that the
Op Toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke travel throughout the body, causing effects of smoking are so widespread and destructive.
damage in several different ways.
Op îicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is inhaled. It has Let's take a look at how cigarette smoke affects our bodies, from head to toe. You may
been found in every part of the body and in breast milk. be surprised at some of the ways smoking has a negative impact on our health.
Op aarbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells, preventing affected
cells from carrying a full load of oxygen. 
Op aancer-causing agents (carcinogens) in tobacco smoke damage important
genes that control the growth of cells, causing them to grow abnormally or to Op cmell and staining
reproduce too rapidly.
Op The carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene binds to cells in the airways and major  

organs of smokers.
Op cmoking affects the function of the immune system and may increase the risk Op ctroke
for respiratory and other infections. Op ddiction/nicotine withdrawal
Op There are several likely ways that cigarette smoke does its damage. One is Op ltered brain chemistry
oxidative stress that mutates Dî , promotes atherosclerosis, and leads to
Op nxiety about harm caused by smoking
chronic lung injury. Oxidative stress is thought to be the general mechanism
behind the aging process, contributing to the development of cancer,
cardiovascular disease, and aOPD.  
Op The body produces antioxidants to help repair damaged cells. cmokers have
lower levels of antioxidants in their blood than do nonsmokers. Op ?yes that sting, water and blink more
Op cmoking is associated with higher levels of chronic inflammation, another Op acular degeneration
damaging process that may result in oxidative stress. Op aataracts

÷
 
           
 ÷  î
 

Op Less sense of smell



 
 
  

Do you have any idea which smoking-related disease is the number one cause of death
among smokers? If you're thinking it's lung cancer or aOPD/emphysema, you're Op *raves Disease
wrong. While both of these smoking-related diseases do claim a lot of lives, it is heart
Op Thyroid Disease
disease that that holds the top slot in the list of diseases that kill smokers.
c
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United ctates today, and the leading
cause of death among smokers. nd, on a global level, researchers report that there
were 1,690,000 premature deaths from cardiovascular disease among smokers in the Op Wrinkles
year 2000. In contrast, there were approximately 850,000 lung cancer deaths during Op Premature aging
the same year, and 118,000 aOPD deaths from smoking in 2001, worldwide.
  
cmoking is hard on the heart, but the fact is, tobacco use plays a role in a multitude of
diseases that ultimately lead to disability and/or death. aigarette smoke contains over Op Discoloration and stains
 Op Plaque Op aancer of stomach, pancreas and colon
Op Loose teeth Op ortic aneurysm
Op *um disease (gingivitis)
A   

  

Op Aidney cancer
Op aancers of the lips, mouth, throat and larynx Op ladder cancer
Op aancer of the esophagus
Op core throat 
 
Op ºeduced sense of taste
Op reath smells of smoke Op Osteoporosis
Op cpine and hip fractures

c 
Op Poor circulation(cold fingers)
Op Peripheral vascular disease Op Degenerative Disc Disease
Op Tar stained fingers
  



º 

Op cperm: deformity, loss of motility, reduced number
Op Lung aancer Op Infertility
Op aOPD (includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema) Op Impotence
Op aough and sputum
Op chortness of breath    



Op aolds and flu
Op Pneumonia
Op Period pains
Op sthma
Op ?arlier menopause
Op aomplicates Tuberculosis
Op aancer of cervix
Op Infertility and delay in conception
 



Op Harms, blocks and weakens arteries of the heart
Op Heart attack
Op Leukemia
 
  

Op aancer
Op *angrene
Op Peripheral vascular disease
 
 Op eurger Disease

Op ctomach and duodenal ulcers 3  c 

 Op Weakened immune system  

 

The effects of smoking hold additional risks for women. Those who smoke throughout There's hardly a part of the human body that's not affected by the chemicals in the
their pregnancies increase the risk of: cigarettes you smoke. Let's take a tour of your body to look at how smoking affects it.

Op cpontaneous abortion/miscarriage c 


Op ?ctopic pregnancy
Op bruptio placentae s a smoker, you're at risk for cancer of the mouth. Tobacco smoke can also cause
Op Placenta previa gum disease, tooth decay and bad breath. The teeth become unsightly and yellow.
Op Premature rupture of the membranes cmokers may experience frequent headaches. nd lack of oxygen and narrowed blood
Op Premature birth vessels to the brain can lead to strokes.

ºisks to the fetus include: 




Op cmaller infant(for gestational age) oving down to your chest, smoke passes through the bronchi, or breathing tubes.
Op ctillborn infant Hydrogen cyanide and other chemicals in the smoke attack the lining of the bronchi,
Op irth defects, e.g. congenital limb reduction inflaming them and causing that chronic smoker's cough. ecause the bronchi are
Op Increased nicotine receptors in baby's brain weakened, you're more likely to get bronchial infections. ucus secretion in your
Op Increased likelihood of child smoking as a teenager lungs is impaired, also leading to chronic coughing. cmokers are 10 times as likely to
Op Possible predisposition to adult anxiety disorders get lung cancer and emphysema as nonsmokers.

s long as this list of diseases known to be associated with smoking is, it is
 
incomplete. We don't yet fully understand all of the dangers that cigarette smoke
presents, but research continues, bringing us new discoveries seemingly by the day.
One thing is certain: aigarettes snuff out life at an alarming rate. ctatistics tell us that
upwards of half of long-term smokers will die a smoking-related death. nd globally,
that presently translates to nearly 5 million deaths a year. Put another way, someone
loses their life to smoking every 8 seconds somewhere in the world.
c

The effects of smoking on your heart are devastating. îicotine raises blood pressure
and makes the blood clot more easily. aarbon monoxide robs the blood of oxygen and
leads to the development of cholesterol deposits on the artery walls. ll of these
effects add up to an increased risk of heart attack. In addition, the poor circulation
resulting from cholesterol deposits can cause strokes, loss of circulation in fingers and
toes and impotence.

If you currently smoke, use this information to help you see your smoking habit for c
 

what it is - a deadly addiction that you can live without. The tools here at bout.com
cmoking aessation are designed to help you learn what nicotine addiction involves The digestive system is also affected. The tars in smoke can trigger cancer of the
and what it takes to quit smoking. esophagus and throat. cmoking causes increased stomach acid secretion, leading to
heartburn and ulcers. cmokers have higher rates of deadly pancreatic cancer. any of
÷
 
        

 ÷  the carcinogens from cigarettes are excreted in the urine where their presence can
 cause bladder cancer, which is often fatal. High blood pressure from smoking can
damage the kidneys.

 º 
The health effects of smoking have results we can measure. Forty percent of men who Op   
are heavy smokers will die before they reach retirement age, as compared to only 18 Op ÿ !   
percent of nonsmokers. Women who smoke face an increased risk of cervical cancer, Op !

   
and pregnant women who smoke take a chance with the health of their unborn babies. Op   
Op "  
ut the good news is that when you quit smoking your body begins to repair itself. Op 

Ten years after you quit, your body has repaired most of the damage smoking caused.
Those who wait until cancer or emphysema has set in aren't so lucky²these
The intensity of the irreversible effects of smoke depends on certain factors;
conditions are usually fatal. It's one more reason to take the big step and quit now.

÷
  
  


 
   ÷  Op ÷    

#
 Op a  ÷÷÷  
#
Op î 
 ÷
#
Op å    ÷  ÷#

?
  


s a matter of fact, we all know about the ill-effects of cigarette smoke and tobacco
use but a smoker really is helpless in front of this menacing addiction. When he has to,
he 'will' smoke; the underlying psychology is µ fag allows a man¶. The µWill¶ is
associated with the short term effects. Let us see the quick-effects of a cigarette smoke
that makes a man physically and mentally dependent on it. These immediate effects
encourage a smoker to take a fag;

Op î    

   ÷   

 
Op ë 
 
÷      ÷ 
    ÷ 
   ÷

  
Op a    
 
Op  
 

While the smokers enjoy the short term effects, what about the long-term affects
which, most of the time, are irreversible? cmoke actually increases the risk of
suffering from life-threatening diseases even if a person quits in the later years of his
life. Of course, quitting would at least help to diminish the evil effects of tobacco.
cmoking has a permanent effect on the following parts of a human body even if you
have smoked for only five years;

Op å
Op a 
Op ?
Op ÷  
Op   

÷

÷  ÷ 
  $

÷  4.p cmokers have the only real community that's left in the workplace today.
 5.p cmokers suffer from less stress, since they actually take a few breaks per day.
6.p That bruhaha about second hand smoking is a load of crap. it's just a phrase
made up to get normal people who earlier didn't care about it, to go and




W Y too much has been said about the 'ill-effects' of smoking, what it could 'do' to
you and other crap. The effects of smoking have been greatly exaggerated, and it's us
smokers who have to face the public sentiment on this.
nyways, what is the big deal if I smoke? People will often come up to me and tell
me, "cmoking can kill you, you know?" I promptly reply with some smartass remark
like "ºeally? TH îA you for telling me!" Yeah, cherlocks. I'm too stupid and
illiterate to read the warning on the pack, let alone understand it. I have this feeling
that not smoking actually makes people so stupid, they don't realize that smokers
already know what they're doing to their bodies. Hey, I know my lungs have taken on
a distinct coloration of black, with pink patches here and there. I know that I'll be
hacking up blood in my cough, a couple years from now. Who gives a damn?
I have a hectic and inundated life, and I'd like to take a break from it all to enjoy the
relief that the cigarette can bring to me. The last thing I need is for yet another self-
appointed camaritan coming near me to tell me what I'm doing to my body, or why
they object to me puffing around. It's not like I'm going up to them and telling them,
"?xcuse me, sir, could you please go elsewhere, you're in my smoking space." I'd
really love to do that though, I don't think that they're even worthy of breathing my
2nd hand smoke.
How many of you readers smoke? How many of you are ferverent anti-smoking
lobbyists? What Ic your problem with smokers? Till date, I haven't seen a good
answer for that last question.
I've made a list of 20 points I'd like to make for the case of smoking. If anyone can,
what is the case against smoking/second-hand smoking?
Here's my spit:
1.p Increases concentration.
2.p People often go with the general sentiment on things like these, most of what
you hear is hogwash. aases of cancer are linked with smoking, but it's not
proof. Only 1 in 3 of us will get lung cancer. (y "us" I also include non
smokers).
3.p cmokers are a persecuted lot, since this habit has been banned from
workplaces, restaurants, buses, subways and planes. You don't think they'd
outlaw breathing for christ's sake.
further persecute the smokers.
7.p It's cool to smoke. ?ver seen a hacker or a real artist with a health shake?
8.p cmokers support the economy by paying all those taxes, which * H?*
some of us don't.
9.p Warning:
The curgeon *eneral fails to warn you that non-smokers die every day
10.p ctudies have shown that prolonged contact (as in several years) with second
hand smoking can cause mild lung problems. cecond hand smoke has no
immediate harmful effects.
11.p ctually, why not just ban non-smokers? :D
12.p Too much is made of the 4000 chemicals that make up a cigarette. ceveral
carcinogens found in cigarettes are found in peppers, carrots, strawberries,
tomatoes, onions and grapefruit.
13.p elieve it or not, nicotine is actually "a surprisingly potent drug for a variety
of diseases that afflict the brain, including lzheimer¶s, Parkinson¶s and
Tourette¶s syndrome." ( n image makeover for nicotine: It shows promise
against brain diseases, Healthaentral.com - Feb. 21, 2000) cmokers have a
60% lower risk of Parkinson's disease
14.p îicotine has a positive effect on ulcerative colitis, which is an inflammation
of the stomach lining, and this disorder affects nonsmokers more than
smokers.
15.p cmokers actually recovered better from a heart attack than nonsmokers
16.p cmoking was found to reduce the risk of estrogen-dependent endometrial
cancer (dunno what that means, it just sounds really cool)
17.p cchizophrenics (4 million mericans) who smoke can get enough nicotine
stimulation to switch on a brain receptor that helps filter information.
18.p ctanford researchers have discovered that low doses of nicotine - a major
component of cigarette smoke - appear to promote new blood vessel growth
(in mice). (³îicotine to be used to treat heart disease,´ ºeuters Health,
Healthaentral.com - cept. 2000)
19.p lcohol is even more harmful than smoking. Yet not much is said against it
as compared to smoking. Half a bottle of wine can supply you with 32-40
times the amount of lead a whole pack of smokes can give you.
20.p "cick smokers may burden a country's health care system but dead smokers
save governments money"
single drive to work puts out more deadly fumes and toxins in the air, than a smoker
could possibly do in one year. If you drive a car, your car puts out more deadly
poisons and toxins in one drive to work than my smoking does in a year. When you go
home again, that's another year. co in a couple months, you've created more deadly
toxins in the environment than my smoking will in a lifetime. ut it's always easier to º
 


    
  

 

     




point fingers at other people, isn't it? 



   


 
  

If you're really concerned about your health then put your money where your mouth is.   
    
   





 

 

 
 

  


 ( 
  (  

          
ctop buying products that are painted (all kinds of toxins put into the environment) or  

 

  

    
 



 

made of plastic (here's some stuff that's good for your health, right?) and stop driving a     



 



( 
  (  

    

 
car. You can survive that way - a lot of people do it. ut I'll bet you don't want to give    

  
  
 

 
 
 
   


up the conveniences these things offer.
º







 "  
    $  
    

I'm really tired of hearing people complain about the health risks that smokers present 

  
 
",$   

             

 
   
,(  


  
       

,
to them when they aren't willing to make changes to their own lifestyle that WOULD 
  

 
  
 
 





("%& 
 
FF?aT TH? Oº? than having any number of smokers quit. 
    
 

 
 
 
 
  º  
*##
(

         
 , + º
  
I'm a smoker and to be honest, I really hate seeing butts all over the ground. ut I'm î 
   
($   

%  




   
 


 
  
   
also tired of seeing cDonalds wrappers all over the place. When a non-smoker sees a
butt on the ground, they always say something like, " LL smokers should have to
 



 

  
   
 
        
clean these up." or something along the lines of punishment for LL smokers. ut 


 

 
 


 
 


   
they never say "every person who eats at cDonalds should have to clean these up."

   



    



 
     


When was the last time you heard this one:  




    

 

    


"He went to the bar after work, had one smoke too many and went home and beat the
crap out of his wife and kids?" p
Or §


     

 


 


 






"That auto accident was caused by someone who smoked one too many? (we're talking 

 
 







 

  ! 

"####$



   
!%

 




  
! 
about tobacco here)."  
 

§p
p pp
 p( 

 
  

  
 


 
  '    
 
   
(p 

 p
÷
 ÷
 %&'(
(( ( (  
  p !

§&#$



 






%'

%
 ##$



î
 îî 
 



   %

%
 ##$



 








 !!()
 *+
§p "
#$p%p p(î 
  

   
By Wanda Hamiltonp  (pp&$p' 

 p
$p(&&
p &
 p)p p
º
 
 
    

 
    

 



 
p






 

  
 


   



 
  
      

 
   

 §,  !  



 -
%

%

 !. 


 

 


      

 



 
   /



0
 &1

#§p
&*
p+p, p(î 
   
 


  
  
 
   


  





 

 (p-&
$p$
p.p &
 p/0 p
p!p'pp#1p2p
p
&$p2&p34p& !
     

!

"##$%&
! 
    


 



  
 
     
  


%!  §







 
 
 


 

 


 
 %

   
 '(
 
 )*    

 
  
 ####2 


 %




 




   

 
 

     
 
(+ 


     ()
 *

!
 !%



#§p 56&$p+p% p(î 
  

 






   


 
 





 
   
(p 

 p0/ p



  
  
     


 
   

 



 §  








 



 !

!
   ####
  
 
   
 
        
  
   +
 
 










 


 !





 

  

   


  

 









 

 

#§p 5p,7p p($2&7p'p5 p
(
   



 
 
  (p8&$&p&$p8p&&$ p)
 p%p !

§+
!



 %




  
 +(3
/()
 *
0






 




 


 

  !%



 


 

#§p $p9p p:

*&
$p(p pp
 p( 

 

 

 
  
 
 






  
  
   



(p 

 p p !

§ 
%''
 
*'###%

'

  !
'%2 '


*
#§p %!p%
6&p$p.pp;$&6& p
.p,
2
&&p:p.p#&p,
p
p<p&$p( 



   



 



(p# p
p=& p'2p>*p p)??!p%!p$p
$p
p@
&$p/p
&p$p*&$p
$p
*&$$4!p3&p p2
p#&p&$pp$ pp&p.p
' !

-&$pp
p p$p
p: p;$&6& p
$p#&p&$pp1$
p
 

 p*p
pp$
 p
p
p$&p
$p$$*!p

 p
(* p*2
$p.p: p;$&6& 4p 

 p$& p
& p§3  
'  !-
%!  
 

 % 
 
 '


%! 


' §p
p$pp((8p'2 p?? p
A8&
p4*p p
p
.p
*4!A

3$p
p$
&$p
ppp
$$
p&$p.pp-&
$p &
&p-&
&$p$p p
p&$p3$ p%!p
p'2p.pp;$&6& p.pB$pp$p&p
p$p

&$p
*&$$4p&
p2&p$&&$!p§2 


 %
%

 
 




 


 



  


  
#§p3p

p&$p
&$p
&p
$p$
p&$p!p3p
p
pp
p
.p$&pp.p
$&&$p$p
*&$$4p
&$ pp.$&$p
$pp
#&& pp6p
p&6!p
p
# p
 p)?? p(î 
  


 



( !p

§3


'



' 

 



 
 #
  




' 
'
   

' ####§p 3 *p8 p
$p9 p(+



      

 
    

(p:
$&$
6&
$p$
p.p
9
$ p0) p$p !

§ 



!

 '


4/ 


0 5

 
 
'   5
% 
 
'% 4
' #(







  % %
-
 
 %

  
' 

4


 '

% 
§p 5
$p(p- p(  
 

 

'  



(p8$&6p3
 p p-p
 !

§ 
!%
 !'    

 



 

'    


6
  %  
'





' §p%!p
&$pC#$ p$p
pp

p=p,&
p&$p
5$$ p
p<p&$pp%
& p3
 p?0?/!p

÷
   ÷  ÷  ÷