Smoking also raises blood pressure , weakens blood vessel walls, and increases blood clots. Together, this raises your risk of stroke. Exposure to secondhand smoke carries the same risk to a nonsmoker as someone who does smoke. Risks include stroke, heart attack, and heart disease. The more obvious signs of smoking involve skin changes.
Substances in tobacco smoke actually change the structure of your skin. A recent study has shown that smoking dramatically increases the risk of squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer.
Smoking increases the likelihood of fungal nail infections. Hair is also affected by nicotine. An older study found it increases hair loss , balding, and graying. Smoking increases the risk of mouth, throat, larynx, and esophagus cancer. Smokers also have higher rates of pancreatic cancer. Nicotine affects blood flow to the genital areas of both men and women. For men, this can decrease sexual performance. For women, this can result in sexual dissatisfaction by decreasing lubrication and the ability to reach orgasm.
Smoking may also lower sex hormone levels in both men and women. This can possibly lead to decreased sexual desire. Quitting smoking is difficult, but your doctor can help you make a plan. Ask them for advice. There are a variety of nonprescription and prescription medications that can help you quit.
You can also turn to our smoking cessation resource center , which has advice, stories from others, and more. There are both short and long-term benefits to quitting smoking. Since smoking affects every body system, finding a way to quit is the most important step you can take to living a longer and happier life.
But that doesn't make it easy to quit. Our readers sent us their tips on how to quit…. Do you know all the leading causes of death in the United States?
The fourth cause in our list may surprise you. The top 12 causes of death in the…. Let us help you find the right products to help you quit smoking. COPD, which is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, includes both chronic bronchitis and emphysema discussed below. Most people with COPD have both of these conditions, but the severity of each of them varies from person to person. In COPD, damage to the small airways in the lungs makes it hard for the lungs to get oxygen to the rest of the body.
Smoking is by far the most common cause of COPD. The risk goes up the more you smoke and the longer you smoke. Some of the early signs and symptoms of COPD can include noises in the chest such as wheezing, rattling, or whistling , shortness of breath when active, and coughing up mucus phlegm. Over time, COPD can make it hard to breathe at rest as well, sometimes even when a person is getting oxygen through a mask or nasal tube.
COPD tends to get worse over time, especially if a person continues to smoke. There is no cure for COPD, although some medicines might help with symptoms. Chronic bronchitis is a common problem in people who smoke for a long time. In this disease, the airways make too much mucus, forcing the person to try to cough it out.
The airways become inflamed swollen , and the cough becomes chronic long-lasting. The symptoms can get better at times, but the cough keeps coming back.
Over time, the airways can get blocked by scar tissue and mucus, which can lead to bad lung infections pneumonia. In emphysema, the walls between the tiny air sacs in the lungs break down, which creates larger but fewer sacs. This lowers the amount of oxygen reaching the blood. Over time, these sacs can break down to the point where a person with emphysema might struggle to get enough air, even when at rest. People with emphysema are at risk for many other problems linked to weak lung function, including pneumonia.
In later stages of the disease, patients often need an oxygen mask or tube to help them breathe. Tobacco smoke has many chemicals and particles that can irritate the upper airways and the lungs. When a person inhales these substances, the body tries to get rid of them by making mucus and causing a cough. The early morning cough common among people who smoke happens for many reasons.
Smoking - effects on your body. Actions for this page Listen Print. Summary Read the full fact sheet. On this page. Dangerous chemicals in tobacco smoke Effects of smoking tobacco on the body Effects of smoking on the sexual organs Effects of smoking on babies Diseases caused by long-term smoking Where to get help.
Dangerous chemicals in tobacco smoke Highly damaging components of tobacco smoke include: tar — is the word for the solid particles suspended in tobacco smoke. The particles contain chemicals, including cancer-causing substances carcinogens. Tar is sticky and brown, and stains teeth, fingernails and lung tissue carbon monoxide — is a poisonous gas. It is odourless and colourless and, in large doses, quickly causes death because it takes the place of oxygen in the blood.
In people who smoke, the carbon monoxide in their blood makes it harder for oxygen to get to their organs and muscles oxidizing chemicals — are highly reactive chemicals that can damage the heart muscles and blood vessels of people who smoke. They react with cholesterol, leading to the build-up of fatty material on artery walls. Their actions lead to heart disease, stroke and blood vessel disease metals — tobacco smoke contains several metals that cause cancer, including arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead and nickel radioactive compounds — tobacco smoke contains radioactive compounds that are known to be carcinogenic.
Effects of smoking on the immune system The effects of tobacco smoke on the immune system include: greater susceptibility to infections such as pneumonia and influenza more severe and longer-lasting illnesses lower levels of protective antioxidants such as vitamin C , in the blood. Effects of smoking on the musculoskeletal system The effects of tobacco smoke on the musculoskeletal system include: tightening of certain muscles reduced bone density.
Effects of smoking on the sexual organs The effects of tobacco smoke on the male body include an increased risk for: lower sperm count higher percentage of deformed sperm genetic damage to sperm impotence, which may be due to the effects of smoking on blood flow and damage to the blood vessels of the penis. The effects of tobacco smoke on the female body include: reduced fertility, menstrual cycle irregularities, or absence of menstruation menopause reached one or two years earlier increased risk of cancer of the cervix greatly increased risk of stroke and heart attack if the person who smokes is aged over 35 years and taking the oral contraceptive pill.
Other effects of smoking on the body Other effects of tobacco smoke on the body include: irritation and inflammation of the stomach and intestines increased risk of painful ulcers along the digestive tract reduced ability to smell and taste premature wrinkling of the skin higher risk of blindness gum disease periodontitis.
Effects of smoking on babies The effects of maternal smoking on an unborn baby include: increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth weaker lungs low birth weight, which may have a lasting effect of the growth and development of children.
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