HEALTH  NET

HOW SMOKING DAMAGES YOUR HEALTH 

  I
Tobacco smoke contain three principal dangerous chemicals: tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide. Tar is a mixture of several substances (hydrocarbons) that condense into a sticky substance in the lungs. Nicotine is an addictive drug that is absorbed from the lungs and acts mainly on the nervous and cardiovascular systems. And carbon monoxide decreases the amount of oxygen that red blood cells can carry throughout the body. 

  I
Consider the average smoker a person who smokes 15 to 20 cigarettes per day. Compared with nonsmoker he or she is about 14 times more likely to die from cancer of the lung, throat or mouth 4 times more likely to die from cancer of the esophagus, twice as likely to die from heart attack. Cigarettes are a principal cause of chonic bronchitis and emphysema and having a chronic lung disease increase the risks of pneumonia and heart failure. The usually minor risks of blood clots from oral contraceptives are much greater among women smokers and doctors do not usually prescribe oral contraceptives for smokers over 35 for this reason. Smoking also increases the risk of high blood pressure. 
Some brands of cigarettes contain less tar and nicotine than others hut there is no such things as a safe cigarette. Switching to mild cigarettes does not usually help; habitually heavy smokers usually adapt their smoking habits to the switch by inhaling longer and more deeply and by smoking more cigarettes. 

   I

Copyrights © Reserved 1999-2005, CCOL