Smoking exposes a person to serious health risks, including addiction and various illnesses. The toxic substances in cigarette smoke damage almost every organ as they pass through the body and can even alter the genetic material in cells.
Regular smoking can lead to chronic or incurable diseases that significantly reduce quality of life. Compared to non-smokers, smokers have a much higher risk of dying prematurely.
Not only cigarettes but also other forms of tobacco consumption—such as cigars, pipes, or water pipes—are harmful to health. The same applies to so-called “light” cigarettes.
The risk is particularly high when people start smoking at a young age, as the damage to the organs accumulates.
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What Toxic Substances Are Hidden in Cigarettes?
Although the composition of cigarettes varies slightly between brands and types, they all contain a wide range of harmful substances. Cigarette smoke includes around 4,800 different chemicals, of which about 250 have been clearly identified as toxic or cancer-causing. These substances are released during the burning process when smoking, inhaled by the smoker, and can cause serious damage to the body, including the heart.
Nicotine: An addictive substance that causes physical dependence, releases adrenaline, and increases heart rate.
Carbon monoxide: A colorless and odorless gas that binds to hemoglobin in the blood, reducing the body’s ability to transport oxygen.
Tar: A thick, sticky byproduct of the burning process that settles in the lungs and damages lung tissue.
Carcinogenic chemicals: Compounds such as benzene, formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and nitrosamines that can trigger the development of cancer.
Heavy metals: Toxic elements like lead, cadmium, and arsenic that accumulate in the body and harm various organs.
Radioactive substances: Elements such as polonium-210, which emit radiation and further increase cancer risk.
Arteriosclerosis and Its Impact on Heart And Brain
Arteriosclerosis occurs when fats, cholesterol, and other substances build up on artery walls, forming plaque that narrows or blocks blood flow. Plaques which consist of cholesterol, fats, and blood cells might rupture, completely blocking the blood flow to the tissue supplied by this blocked artery. While this process happens naturally with age, smoking speeds it up and makes it much more severe. If this happens in the arteries of the heart or brain, it can lead to a heart attack or stroke. But the damage doesn’t stop there—smoking also leads to narrowing of blood vessels in the legs. Over 90% of people with “smoker’s leg” are smokers. For men, arteriosclerosis can also lead to erectile dysfunction.
Although often linked to the heart or brain, arteriosclerosis can affect arteries throughout the body. Specific symptoms depend on which arteries are affected:
- Heart arteries: chest pain or pressure (angina)
- Brain arteries: numbness, weakness, slurred speech, or temporary vision loss (possible TIA or stroke)
- Arms/legs: leg pain while walking (“smoker’s leg”) or lower blood pressure in the affected limb (PAD)
- Kidney arteries: high blood pressure or kidney failure
- Erectile dysfunction in man
Tobacco and Oxygen Deficiency in Your Body
Each puff from a cigarette introduces carbon monoxide (CO) into your bloodstream, resulting in a mild to moderate form of poisoning. This reduces the oxygen levels in your blood, leading to oxygen deprivation in all of your organs. In response to this recurring exposure to CO, the body compensates by producing more hemoglobin (the protein that carries oxygen in the blood). As a result, the number of red blood cells increases, thickening the blood and making it more prone to clotting. This puts smokers at higher risk of thrombosis, embolism, and heart attacks. Even a slight narrowing of blood vessels is enough to cause pain and tissue damage. Interestingly, even “light” cigarettes can still contain a harmful amount of CO.
Smoking and Cancer: A Deadly Link
There is a direct and well-established link between smoking and cancer. Smoking is one of the leading causes of cancer and is responsible for 20 to 30% of all cancer-related deaths. Smokers are twice as likely to die from cancer compared to non-smokers, with smoking being responsible for 90% of lung cancer cases.
The risk of cancer is dose-dependent: the longer you smoke, the more cigarettes you consume daily, and the deeper you inhale, the greater your risk. Other factors, such as the tar and nicotine content of the cigarettes, also play a role. In addition to lung cancer, smoking is linked to cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, pancreas, bladder, and cervix.
Smoking Affects Your Skin: Why Stopping Makes You Look Better
Smoking damages your skin, too. Smokers tend to develop more wrinkles and have a dull, pale complexion compared to non-smokers. The changes in skin tone and texture can affect how old a person appears to others.
Smoking constricts the tiny muscles around blood vessels, reducing blood flow to the skin. This is why smokers often have cold hands. Even one cigarette can reduce blood flow to the skin for over an hour. This poor circulation means wounds heal more slowly, and the skin becomes more prone to damage. Smoking also accelerates the breakdown of collagen—the protein responsible for skin elasticity—leading to sagging, wrinkled skin. If you combine smoking with regular sun exposure, you increase your risk of skin cancer.
Eyes and Smoking: A Direct Hit to Your Vision
Smoking isn’t just bad for your lungs; it can also damage your eyes. The tiny blood vessels in the eyes are particularly vulnerable to the toxins in cigarette smoke. These substances cause a type of chemical irritation in the eyes, making them look red and feel itchy.
But the damage doesn’t end there. Smoking can directly affect the retina and optic nerve, both of which require a lot of oxygen to function properly. If oxygen supply is compromised, it can result in a condition known as “eye stroke,” leading to sudden blindness. Smoking also significantly increases the risk of glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, two leading causes of blindness. Smokers are at a much higher risk of developing these eye conditions than non-smokers.
Thrombosis and Smoking: The Blood Clot Connection
Smoking significantly raises your risk of developing blood clots (thrombosis). This is especially dangerous for women who smoke while taking hormonal birth control, as nicotine changes the composition of the blood, making it more prone to clotting.
The combination of nicotine, increased red blood cell count (due to carbon monoxide exposure), and blood vessel constriction creates ideal conditions for blood clots to form. A clot that forms in the heart or brain can lead to a heart attack or stroke, and in young women, blood clots in healthy vessels can lead to vein thrombosis.
Weakened Immune System: Smokers Are More Prone to Illness
Smoking weakens the immune system, making smokers more vulnerable to infections. Smokers have fewer immune antibodies in their blood compared to non-smokers. This makes them more susceptible to severe infections, such as pneumonia and blood poisoning. The longer you smoke, the higher your chances of getting seriously ill. However, quitting smoking helps improve immune function—within one to nine months after quitting, immune defense levels increase significantly.
Respiratory Problems: The Impact of Smoking on Your Lungs
One of the most well-known risks of smoking is damage to the respiratory system. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung condition that affects nearly all smokers. Around 90% of people with COPD are current or former smokers. COPD is a combination of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, both of which damage the airways and lungs.
COPD begins with inflammation of the airways and an overproduction of mucus. Over time, the tiny hair-like structures in the lungs that help clear mucus become paralyzed and eventually destroyed. This causes the airways to narrow, leading to symptoms like chronic cough and shortness of breath. Lung infections, such as pneumonia, are also common in people with COPD.
Smoking also increases the risk of asthma attacks, especially in children. More than 70% of people with asthma have a history of smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke. For those who already suffer from asthma, smoking makes symptoms worse.
Smoking and Oral Health: Brown Teeth and More
Smoking causes staining on your teeth, often resulting in brown discoloration. This is due to tar deposits from the cigarette smoke. These stains can only be removed with professional dental cleaning, and if left untreated, they can become more deeply ingrained in the enamel. This makes the stains harder to remove over time.
In addition to the cosmetic damage, smoking increases the risk of gum diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis, as well as cavities. Smokers also tend to have bad breath due to the sulfur compounds found in tobacco smoke.
Sexual Health: How Smoking Affects Your Libido
Smoking can impact both male and female sexual health. In men, smoking can disrupt blood flow to the penis, making it more difficult to achieve an erection. It can also lower sperm quality and quantity, as tobacco can damage the genes that are crucial for healthy reproduction.
For women, smoking can reduce sexual arousal and lead to vaginal dryness, making sexual intercourse painful. Smoking also harms the ovaries, reducing fertility and making it harder to get pregnant. Pregnant women who smoke face an increased risk of premature birth, stillbirth, or complications during childbirth.
Secondhand Smoke: The Danger to Non-Smokers
It’s not just active smoking that’s harmful; secondhand smoke is also a major health risk. Secondhand smoke contains the same toxic chemicals as the smoke inhaled by the smoker. Interestingly, the concentration of harmful substances in secondhand smoke can be even higher than in the main smoke.
Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at greater risk for respiratory illnesses, such as asthma and ear infections. Babies born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to suffer from allergies and asthma. Secondhand smoke has also been linked to an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Prevention and Health Screenings
If you’re a smoker, former smoker, or regularly exposed to secondhand smoke, it’s important to undergo routine health screenings. These exams can help detect diseases like cancer, arteriosclerosis, and heart disease at an early stage, making them easier to treat. A lung function test can detect any respiratory issues. The most important preventive measure, of course, is quitting smoking.
The benefits of quitting smoking are clear: after just one year of quitting, the risk of heart attack and stroke is reduced by half, and after ten years, the risk of lung cancer drops by 50%. It’s never too late to stop and improve your health.
