Short term effects of smoking
The short term effects of smoking are frequent respiratory diseases like colds, bronchitis and pneumonia. Children and adolescents when exposed to passive smoking suffer from asthma, ear infections and lower respiratory infections.
Long term effects of smoking
The long term effects of smoking are more damaging and permanent. Numerous diseases are related to smoking. Smoking causes cancer of the throat and mouth, lung cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer and pancreatic cancer. Almost one-third of all cancers are attributed to smoking and 90% of the lung cancers are believed to be a result of smoking.
Smoking may also cause chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) which leads to severe lung damage. Smoking inhibits blood circulation and narrows the vessels depriving the body from oxygen which increases the risks of a heart related disease. Non-smokers exposed to secondary smoking are 25% more likely to develop heart disease and smoking also increases the risks associated with stroke as well as cataract development in the eyes.
For women, smoking has additional risks and increases rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and affects bone loss density which is also known as osteoporosis. They are at an increased risk of getting affected with hip and spine fractures in post-menopausal women. Smoking has nothing good going for men or women and it is best to kick this habit before it takes your life.
Smoking has the dubious reputation of affecting all the systems from head to foot. Smoking is injurious to the health in more than one way. It affects the mouth and goes to more serious ailments like cancer and cardiovascular diseases eventually leading the smoker to death. Smoking alone is not injurious but even passive or secondary smoking has very bad effects on people who are nearby to the smoker.
Smoking during pregnancy
If you are pregnant and if you are a smoker, you are taking your pregnancy through a lot of risks as well as risks to your own health. Smoking during pregnancy increases complications like:
- Miscarriage
- Premature or early birth
- Low weight at birth, and
- Stillborn or stillbirth
The health hazards of smoking are:
- High blood pressure
- Heart diseases
- Pulmonary disease
- Vascular disease
- Stroke
- Laryngeal polyps
- Impotence
- Skin wrinkling
- Mouth disease
- Respiratory infections
- Mouth ulcer
- Defects to the unborn child
Smoking can make some respiratory diseases and conditions worse like contracting asthma or a respiratory tract infection like a common cold. Smoking may also cause impotence in men and it limits the blood supply to the penile region. For women, smoking may affect fertility and make it tough for the woman to bear children.
Secondary or passive smoking
Secondary smoking comes from the tip of a cigarette that is lit and the smoke emitting is what the passive smoker breathes in when the smoker breathes out. Secondary smokers are in as much risk as the smokers and could suffer the same health conditions alike particularly lung cancer and heart related diseases. To understand better, secondary smoking increases risks of lung cancer by 24% and heart related ailments by 25%.
Children are affected severely by secondhand smoking since they are young and their bodies and system is still developing. Children under the age of 5 years old have higher chances of getting chest infections and babies are at a great risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
