The Health Effects of Smoking

Related article: The Ingredients of Smoke

Here's a list of the possible effects smoking can have on your health:

Lung Cancer: this is one of the most obvious diseases you can get when you're a smoker. Lung cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells in the lung tissue. A smoker's risk of getting lung cancer is 10 times as great as a non-smoker. Here are some of the symptoms you can have when you have lung cancer:

  Having a cough most of the time

  Coughing up phlegm with pieces of blood in it

  Pain when coughing or breathing

  Being short of breath

  Excessive weight loss

  Loss of appetite

Check the website of the American Cancer Society for more information about lung cancer.

Other forms of cancer: there are at least 13 kinds of cancer that are smoke related and probably many more. Examples are larynx cancer, oral cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreas cancer, ...

Chronic Bronchitis: bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchi in the lungs. Symptoms are tiredness, a sore throat and a cough with white, yellow ore green phlegm coughed up.

Emphysema: a chronic, irreversible lung disease in which the air sacs are enlarged and damaged. Emphysema is characterized by shortness of breath.

Asthma: a lung disease in which tightening of the air passages provokes difficulty breathing. Smokers are 10 times more likely to develop asthma.

Heart disease: smoking is bad for the cardiovascular system. Possible diseases are coronary heart disease (aka ischaemic heart disease), sudden cardiac death, stroke, ... A smoker's risk of getting a hearth disease is 3 times as great as a non-smoker.

Harder to fight infections

Digestive disorders: smoking can harm all parts of the digestive system and contributes to disorders as peptic ulcers and heartburn.

Tiredness: smoking eats your energy.

Cataract: cataract is a disorder that can blur your vision.

It's harder to get pregnant when you smoke.

Here's the good news: when you stop smoking you will feel healthier right away. The percentage of Co2 in your blood goes down, as well as your heart rate and blood pressure. Your lungs start to get clean and after 10 years you have brought your risk to diseases to the level of someone who never smoked.