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Even though the WHO reported in May 2002 that the incidence of smoking is falling in developed nations, smoking-related deaths have recently reached epidemic proportions among certain groups in developed countries, like the USA.
The death rate from lung cancer amongst American women rose by 600 percent between 1930 and 1997, following the smoking trends with a 20 to 30 years lag. Last year, nearly 70 000 women died from lung cancer in the US – that's more deaths than from breast cancer and all gynaecological cancers combined. The main culprit: smoking.
How smoking harms
Smoking is harmful to every organ and system in the body. Small wonder, if one considers that each cigarette contains more than 4 000 toxic chemicals. These include cadmium (used in the production of batteries and metal coatings), benzine (a component of petrol) and formaldehyde (used as a glue in wood products and a preservative in some paints).
Every cigarette smoked shortens life by about five minutes – about the time taken to smoke it.
Smoking can cause lung cancer, emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. It has also been recognised as a contributor to cancer of the colon, cervix, pancreas, larynx, oesophagus, mouth, bladder, anus and kidneys.
Studies link smoking to diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, psoriasis, reduced fertility and impotence. The habit is also associated with worsening of asthma symptoms and snoring, and can even have a negative impact on work productivity.
Smoking also has a direct and immediate impact on quality of life, by causing eye irritation, headache, cough, sore throat, dizziness and nausea.
The list goes on and on.
If this hasn't convinced you to kick the habit for good, read on. The intricate details of what cigarettes do to your body might do the trick:
1. Heart disease and stroke
Smoking increases the risk of heart disease by two to three times and by 10 times for a woman on the Pill.
A smoker's risk of heart disease is directly linked to the number of cigarettes smoked daily. In people who already have a high risk of heart disease, smoking is particularly dangerous.
According to the Heart Foundation of South Africa, smoking narrows the blood vessels and enlarges naturally occurring blood clots, thus causing clogged arteries and restriction of blood to the heart. Furthermore, smoking causes cholesterol to become more likely to be trapped in the lining of the blood vessels and form plaques, which could further restrict blood flow. This may induce a fatal heart attack.
Cigarette smoking also raises carbon monoxide levels in the blood, which increases the risk of injury to the lining of the arterial walls. It increases blood pressure and it doubles the risk of stroke.
2. Cancer
Lung cancer is the most common solid tumour growth in men and in women. In several countries it has surpassed breast cancer as the most common tumour. The silent onset of lung cancer, as well as the fact that atypical symptoms may occur, makes early diagnosis difficult.
The evidence is stacked up against smoking. An association between the habit and lung cancer has been established in up to 90% of male and 80% of female smokers.
Smoking is particularly associated with the most malignant form of lung cancer, small cell carcinoma. The prognosis for this carcinoma – just one of the different types of lung cancer that can develop as a result of smoking – is particularly bad, as it usually spreads to distant organs such as the adrenal glands, brain, bone or lymph nodes before the initial diagnosis has been made.
As mentioned above, smoking is also associated with several other forms of cancer.
Factors that increase the prevalence of cancer in smokers include starting smoking at an early age, and a high number of cigarettes smoked per day. Pipe and cigar smoking have a lower prevalence of lung cancer, but lose their halo of innocence through a higher prevalence of lip, larynx and oesophageal cancer.
3. Sexual function and fertility
New research contends that smoking causes damage to the reproductive organs.
A study found that women who smoke, take longer to conceive, and also found that their chances to conceive are reduced by up to 40 percent. Men are twice as likely to be infertile and to have damaged DNA in their sperm. Both men and women are less responsive to fertility treatments when they smoke.
Smoking causes the blood vessels in the penis to narrow. The subsequent decreased blood flow makes it difficult or impossible to achieve and maintain an erection. In England, more than 120 000 men between the ages of 30 to 50 are currently impotent due to smoking.
4. Dangers during pregnancy
When a pregnant woman smokes, her baby is exposed to toxic chemicals. Carbon monoxide and nicotine are carried through the blood stream from the mother to the baby, leading to lower levels of oxygen intake and a higher pulse rate of the foetus.
Associated complications include placental complications, premature membrane rupture, premature and low birth weight babies, and perinatal death.
Babies, whose mothers smoked during pregnancy, have a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, middle-ear disease, respiratory illnesses, and asthma. Nicotine exposure in the womb may inflict lasting brain damage, new research contends.
The offspring of women who smoke during pregnancy are also more likely to become smokers later in life.
5. Other conditions
Smoking:
- increases your risk of gangrene, and subsequent loss of limbs, by over five times;
- causes older people lose their cognitive ability at rates five times faster than non-smokers;
- increases your risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus – a chronic inflammatory disease affecting various parts of the body – by 1,5 times;
- ups your chances of becoming blind due to age-related macular degeneration by up to four times;
- accelerates natural ageing processes, such as skin sagging, wrinkles and greying of the hair.
Unfortunately it is impossible to list the 50 to 60 damaging, and often fatal, aspects – all research-based - of smoking in this short article. The bottom line is that there is no safe level of smoking. The sooner you quit, the better.
– (Carine van Rooyen)
