What is Smoking?

This term relates to the inhalation and exhalation of smoked air which have ‎sizeable amount of very toxic substances. Often people smoke via cigarettes, cigar ‎and pipe.

Smoking is an addictive habit. Persons that are addicted by smoking ‎face many health problems. Actually, smoking is a way to death. It reduces ‎the life about 10 years or more. On average, about 81% adults people ( with age 30 years or more) died via smoking in US in year 2014. Inhalation of insane amount of smoke causes ‎numerous health problems.

Types of Smoking:

Active Smoking:

Smoking from the filter end of cigarettes. Frequently, ‎cigarettes filters are made of cellulose acetate, fibers, or activated charcoal. It ‎just filters the large tar particles that can travel deeper into the lungs.‎ However, small irritant particles of smoke like carbon monoxide can pass through it easily.

Active smoker

Passive Smoking:

The breathing in other’s people smoke said to be ‎passive smoking. It is inhalation of smoke without any filter. Thus, it has some ‎more bad effects on lungs than that of active smoking. So, usually it is said to ‎avoid the smokers. So that we would not harmed by passive smoking.‎

Baby is passive smoker in image

Smoking and health issues:‎

‏ Smoking is very destructive to human health. It causes serious damage ‎to many organs. It is the basic reason of heart problems, asthma, high blood ‎pressure, bad breathing and can cause considerable lungs damage. As ‎smoke air is inhaled into the body it disturbs the natural functioning of many ‎organs. From its highly toxic substances human body is badly affected and as ‎result of which person becomes susceptible to many dangerous diseases.‎

Overview of 7 most dangerous diseases caused ‎by Smoking:‎

‎1) Lungs Cancer: (lungs cancer is the leading ‎cause of cancer):

About lungs:
Image provided by Robina Weermeijer on unsplash

Lungs are spongy (air filled) organs, ‎as they have millions of alveoli. They are present in chest ‎cavity. Air from outside is carried by the trachea, into the ‎lungs by the means of bronchi (tubular branches).

Cigarettes contents that cause lungs ‎cancer:

‎ Tobacco cigarettes hold nicotine, carbon monoxide (CO) ‎and tar as their main contents. All these contents are carried ‎to lungs via smoking then they badly affect the bronchioles ‎and alveoli in lungs. These damages of lungs are the leading ‎cause of lungs cancer.‎

Symptoms of lungs cancer:

Long lasting cough (more than 14 or 21 days).‎
Coughing with blood.‎
Severe pain in chest.‎
Shortness of breathing or difficulty in breathing.‎
Wheezing.
Hoarse voice while breathing.‎
Pain in ribs.
Sudden weight loss.‎
Loss of appetite.‎
Severe headache.
Feeling of pain while breathing.‎

‎Rare symptoms of lungs cancer:

Swelling around neck.‎
Clubbing of the fingers. ‎
Loss of energy without any work.‎
Feeling exhausted after a little work.‎
Pain in chest and shoulder.‎
Bleeding from nose without any injury.‎
Difficulty while Swallowing the food.‎

‎

A comparison between healthy lungs (left side) and lungs damage by cancer (right side)

Treatment of lung cancer:

‎ However, Lung cancer is treated by Chemotherapy, ‎Radiation therapy but often majority don’t survive in lung ‎cancer. So, smoking leads to the death of its addict.‎

Mortality rate: ‎

A large number of people in world died due to the lungs cancer as it is a ‎leading cause of cancer. It leads to the breast cancer in ‎females. 99% patients don’t survive in the lungs cancer‏ ‏and ‎ultimately die. Almost 17,000 cases of men while 5,000 cases of women death's due to lungs cancer were reported in 2019. Following are the top 5 countries that are ‎adversely affected by the lungs cancer and their death rate ‎in 2020.‎

*Country*	*Deaths*
China	715,000
America	606,520
India	67,475
UK	35,000
Canada	21,200

‎2)Asthma:

Smoked air makes the air ways in lungs inflamed and ‎filled them with sticky mucus. So, Lungs feel difficulty to support the ‎mechanism of breathing. This condition leads to the asthma. A whistling sound ‎‎(wheezing) is made when asthma patients breathe. Tobacco in smoke is common ‎cause of asthma. Patients might be recovered by giving up smoking habit.‎

Symptoms of asthma:

Coughing.‎
Wheezing.‎
Shortness of breath.‎
Fast breath.‎
Blue finger or lips.‎

Treatment: Asthma is treated by following measures:

By proper medication (inhalation of corticosteroids).‎
By using Quick-relief inhalers.‎
‎By First-line therapy (Beta-agonists).‎
Avoid smoking either active or passive. ‎

‎3)Cardiovascular disease (CVD):

Lungs inhaled oxygen from atmosphere ‎and then transmit it to deoxygenated blood in order to convert it into oxygenated blood. While this ‎oxygenated blood is actually pumped into the body through heart. When this oxygenated blood is ‎contaminated by smoked air then it in heart defects the veins, arteries and provide basis for ‎cardiovascular disease (CVD).‎ In the year 2019, there was about 167.63 deaths per 100,000 population, mortality rate in China due to heart diseases.

Symptoms of cardiovascular disease (CVD)‎:

Heart attack.‎
High blood pressure (Hypertension).‎
Coronary heart disease.‎
Failure of heart.‎
Peripheral artery disorder.‎
Aortic aneurysm.‎

‎4)Stroke:

Stroke damage on brain

Smoked air damage the quality of blood. Increasing in toxic ‎substances in blood and considerable decrease in the oxygen ‎concentration of blood often cause devastating diseases. Stroke is one ‎of these devastating diseases. Blood contaminated with nicotine, tar and ‎carbon monoxide prevent the brain tissue from getting essential amount ‎of oxygen and nutrients and eventually brain blocks or reduces the ‎supply of this harmful blood. This one is a chief cause of stroke.

Symptoms:

Include migraine
Headache
Blindness in one ‎or both eyes
Loosing of body balance while walking and suddenly ‎blackened vision. These are some general symptoms of stroke.

Early ‎medical can actions reduce the brain damage.‎

‎5)Diabetes:

In consonance with the 2014 Surgeon General’s Report smokers have more ‎risk of developing type 2 diabetes than nonsmokers. Actually, toxic chemicals defect the quality of ‎oxygen in blood as they are the chief cause of oxidative stress. In this way, they harm the blood ‎as well as almost all components in the blood. Insulin (hormone secreted by pancreas) is present ‎in the cell which serves as to manage the blood sugar (glucose) level. Nicotine in blood reduces ‎efficiency of insulin and cause Type 2 diabetes.

Symptoms of type 2 diabetes:

Blurred vision.
Sluggish healing wounds.
Fatigue.
Sudden weight loss.
Repeated infections.
Ravenous.
Increase in appetite.‎
Dark skin areas usually around neck or armpits.
Frequent thirst.

‎6) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease:

Long term smoking ‎causes accumulation of smoked particles in bronchioles eventually this accumulation inflamed the ‎bronchioles. When this inflammation becomes chronic it obstructs the airflow in lungs leads to ‎situation called COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Air pollution, dust in work places ‎and passive smoking often leads to COPD. There are two most common types of COPD.‎

1.Emphysema:
Emphysema is a respiratory disorder. There is a considerable ‎damage of air sacs (alveoli) in lungs. It reduces the surface area of alveoli so lungs face ‎difficulty to support the mechanism of respiration. It causes shortness of breath, irritation ‎and suffocation. Severe condition of emphysema can cause pneumonia. Patient with ‎emphysema should avoid dirt air places, smoked places and the act of smoking. ‎Emphysema can be cured by proper medication, oxygen therapy, steroids (on doctor ‎advice)‎‏ ‏lungs transplant or surgery and by vaccines. ‎
2.‎Chronic bronchitis:

In second common type of chronic obstructive pulmonary ‎disease (COPD) bronchi are contaminated with very amount of mucus which cause ‎inflammation in the bronchi as well as in bronchioles. Chronic bronchitis might be acute. ‎Acute attack of bronchitis, termed as chest cold, recovers within 10 weeks without any ‎lasting damage. Avoid smoking is one of the best solution to prevent from chronic ‎bronchitis. Treatment of emphysema is quitting smoking either active or passive, proper ‎medication, steroids and oxygen therapy.‎

‎7) Cataracts:

Left side eye is damaged with cataracts while right one is normal eye

Irritant particles of smoke damage the retina which is the coloured ‎part of the eyes. Lens of eye serve to focus the light to produce clear image of an object. ‎Smoking reduces flexibility of lens and also makes it thicker and cloudy. This condition is ‎called Cataracts. It makes difficult for lens to focus the light as it blocks the light to pass ‎through the lens. If it is left to continue then it will make the vision more cloudy and ‎blurred. . It is not essential that cataracts affect the both eyes. Often individually eyes are ‎affected by cataracts. Symptoms that appear in cataracts are blind vision, sensitivity to ‎light, night blindness etc. Cataracts are surgically treated. Fortunately, there are negligible ‎risks in the cataracts surgery.‎ ‎ ‎

How to quit smoking?

One of the most major problems of smokers is that they ‎don’t know how to prevent from smoking?

As smoking is an addict habit so, quiet smoking is a ‎long term process that requires lot of determination and will power. . One of the most important ‎issues that smokers have to face is bad image in society. Here we shall provide you some easy ‎way to avoid smoking.‎

Avoid bad Company:

Bad Company is the chief cause of bad habits like smoking, drug ‎addiction and alcoholic consumption etc. In order to avoid smoking you must have to leave ‎bad guys. Actually they are not bad but their habits are bad these habits not only defect ‎them but also cause many problems for other fleshes. Instead of waste your time in such ‎bad companies play physical games, read books, make some sensible and honest friend ‎those that can guide you about wrong and true. These measures will provide you lot of ‎support to avoid smoking.‎

Keep in mind health problems caused by smoking:

Above discussion on the ‎health problems and diseases caused by smoking have make it clear that smoking is very ‎much dangerous to health. Often we leave any habit when we have come to know about ‎the devastating effects of that habit. Mostly people don’t know about severe diseases ‎caused by smoking like lung cancer, heart attack, stroke and respiratory disorders. When ‎they fall in one of them disease then they knows that how much smoking is dangerous to ‎health. So, to avoid smoking you must have to know about health problems from this ‎habit.‎

Be happy:

Number of people smoking to overcome from depression, anger, sadness, ‎Negative thinking and rude behavior also leads to smoking. Keep yourself happy is the ‎best way to prevent from smoking. This attitude not only helps you to avoid smoking but ‎will increase your self confidence. Being happy will prolong your life.‎

Devise a plan:

Quit smoking is long term process so it demands a complete plan. If you ‎smoke a cigarette after break of every 20 minutes then increase your break period from 20 ‎minutes to an hour and then continue to increase your break at regular intervals. If one ‎week you set your break time 1 hour then next week increase it to 2 hours. From this one ‎day you will succeed to leave smoking.

7 Harmful Diseases Caused By Smoking | Tips to Quit Smoking