The ill effects of smoking you should consider before you light a cigarette

2 May 2019

That smoking affects your heath adversely is not new information. Whether you choose to smoke a cigarette or vape, you should know that it impacts your health negatively. Most people use cigarettes as a crutch, claiming that it relaxes them, when they are stressed. While cigarettes appear to relieve stress on a superficial level, they actually end up damaging your internal organs, making you prone to various kinds of health issues and diseases. From cancers to respiratory diseases, the harmful effects of smoking on health cannot be understated. Here are some of the most common ill effects of smoking you should consider before you light that cigarette again.

Smoking can damage your lungs:

The principal ingredient in cigarettes is nicotine; a substance so potent that it can damage your lungs. Habitual smokers are also more likely to contract high-risk diseases such as lung cancers. Moreover, the risk of contracting and dying from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder) is also high among smokers as is the risk of developing chronic bronchitis and emphysema in which the air sacks in the lungs are stretched and damaged.

Smoking causes cardiovascular diseases:

Another well-known health effect caused by smoking is that it damages your heart including your blood cells and blood vessels. The presence of tar in cigarettes can increase the risks of atherosclerosis that causes the arteries to become hardened and narrowed, owing to plaque build-up around the walls of the arteries. The plaque build-up in turn limits the flow of flood and can cause can dangerous blockages. Smokers also tend to develop peripheral artery diseases (PAD), which further increases the risks of strokes, heart attacks, blood clots and chest pain.

Smoking weakens your immune system:

Studies have found that smokers are more prone or susceptible to various illnesses. Nicotine, tar and other harmful substances present in cigarettes can weaken the immune system and make your body age faster than it should. You also start feeling tired, lethargic and stressed faster than non-smokers. Smoking also causes inflammation.

Smoking causes cancers:

The best known health effects caused by smoking, is that it can cause an entire assortment of cancers. While lung cancer is incredibly common among smokers, it also causes cancers of the mouth, tongue, throat, oesophagus, liver, colon, and kidney and so on. It is no wonder that the government mandates tobacco companies to furnish a warning regarding the ill effects of smoking on cigarette packets.

Smoking causes fertility issues:

Another ill effect of smoking is that it can cause fertility issues in both, men as well as women. The tobacco in cigarettes can affect one’s hormone levels, which may result in difficulties in conceiving among women, adversely damaging their reproductive system. In case of male smokers, smoking can affect the sperm quality, thereby reducing fertility.

Vision problems:

Harmful effects of smoking on health also include problems related to eye sight and vision. Smokers are at a greater risk of contracting issues of the eyes such as cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy (in case of diabetic smokers) and dry eyes syndrome. Smoking also causes macular degeneration before one begins to age.

Apart from these above mentioned reasons, there is another harmful effect of smoking on health that you may not have considered. Health insurance providers can either charge you high premiums or reject your insurance claim altogether if you are diagnosed of diseases related to lifestyle choices like smoking or alcoholism. In such a case, you have to bear most or all the financial costs related to the treatment of the disease/s. So think about this, before you smoke another cigarette.