Post by judyb on Apr 2, 2007 15:14:54 GMT -5
Inside A Smokers Body, Eyes, Nose & Throat
Within a few seconds of your first puff, irritating gases (formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and others) begin to work on sensitive membranes of your eyes, nose, and throat. Continued smoking produces abnormal thickening in the membranes lining your throat. This thickening is accompanied by cellular changes that have been linked to throat cancer. From your very first puff, the smoke begins to chip away at your lung's natural defenses. Continued exposure can completely paralyze the lungs' natural cleansing process. Your respiratory rate increases, forcing your lungs to work harder. Irritating gases produce chemical injury to the tissues of your lungs and the airways leading to the lungs. This speeds up the production of mucus and leads to an increased tendency to cough up sputum. This excess mucus serves as a breeding ground for a wide variety of bacteria and viruses. Smoking impairs the ability of the white blood cells to resist invading organisms. The lining of your bronchi begins to thicken, predisposing you to cancers of the bronchi. Most lung cancers arise in the bronchial lining. Farther down, inside your lungs, the smoke weakens the free-roving scavenger cells that remove foreign particles from the air sacs of the lungs. Continued smoke exposure adversely affect elastin (the enzyme that keeps your lungs flexible), predisposing you to emphysema. Many of the compounds you inhale are deposited as a layer of sticky tar on the lining of your throat and bronchi and in the delicate air sacks of your lungs. A pack-a-day smoker pours about eight ounces--one full cup-- of tar into his/her lungs each year. This tar is rich in cancer-producing chemicals, including radioactive polonium 210.
Heart
From the moment smoke reaches your lungs, your heart is forced to work harder. Your pulse quickens, forcing your heart to beat an extra 10 to 25 times per minute, as many as 14,400 to 36,000 additional times per day. Because of the irritating effect of nicotine and other components of tobacco smoke, your heartbeat is more likely to be irregular. 170,000 heart attacks each year are caused by smoking.
BLOOD VESSELS
Your blood pressure increases 10-15% putting additional stress on your heart and blood vessels increasing your risk of heart attack and stroke. Smoking increases your risk of vascular disease of the extremities. Severe cases may require amputation. This condition can produce pain and can increase your risk of blood clots in the lungs.
SKIN
Smoking constricts the blood vessels in your skin, decreasing the delivery of life-giving oxygen to this vital organ. As the result of this decrease in blood flow, a smoker's skin becomes more susceptible to wrinkling. This decreased blood flow can be a special problem in people who suffer from chronically cold hands/feet. Smokers are at particularly high risk for a medical syndrome called "Smoker's face" which is characterized by deep lines around the corners of the mouth and eyes, a gauntness of facial features, a grayish appearance of the skin, and certain abnormalities of the complexion.
BLOOD
Carbon monoxide--the colorless, odorless, deadly gas present in automobile exhaust -- is present in cigarette smoke in more than 500 times the concentration considered safe in industrial plants. High levels of carbon monoxide may play a major role in triggering heart attacks. When you breathe in a lung full of cigarette smoke, the carbon monoxide passes immediately into your blood binding to the oxygen receptor sites and figuratively kicking the oxygen molecules out of your red blood cells. If you continue to smoke for several weeks, your number of red cells begins to increase, as your body responds to chronic oxygen deprivation. This condition characterized by an abnormally high level of red blood cells is known as smoker's plycythemia. Smoking makes your blood clot more easily.
Within a few seconds of your first puff, irritating gases (formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and others) begin to work on sensitive membranes of your eyes, nose, and throat. Continued smoking produces abnormal thickening in the membranes lining your throat. This thickening is accompanied by cellular changes that have been linked to throat cancer. From your very first puff, the smoke begins to chip away at your lung's natural defenses. Continued exposure can completely paralyze the lungs' natural cleansing process. Your respiratory rate increases, forcing your lungs to work harder. Irritating gases produce chemical injury to the tissues of your lungs and the airways leading to the lungs. This speeds up the production of mucus and leads to an increased tendency to cough up sputum. This excess mucus serves as a breeding ground for a wide variety of bacteria and viruses. Smoking impairs the ability of the white blood cells to resist invading organisms. The lining of your bronchi begins to thicken, predisposing you to cancers of the bronchi. Most lung cancers arise in the bronchial lining. Farther down, inside your lungs, the smoke weakens the free-roving scavenger cells that remove foreign particles from the air sacs of the lungs. Continued smoke exposure adversely affect elastin (the enzyme that keeps your lungs flexible), predisposing you to emphysema. Many of the compounds you inhale are deposited as a layer of sticky tar on the lining of your throat and bronchi and in the delicate air sacks of your lungs. A pack-a-day smoker pours about eight ounces--one full cup-- of tar into his/her lungs each year. This tar is rich in cancer-producing chemicals, including radioactive polonium 210.
Heart
From the moment smoke reaches your lungs, your heart is forced to work harder. Your pulse quickens, forcing your heart to beat an extra 10 to 25 times per minute, as many as 14,400 to 36,000 additional times per day. Because of the irritating effect of nicotine and other components of tobacco smoke, your heartbeat is more likely to be irregular. 170,000 heart attacks each year are caused by smoking.
BLOOD VESSELS
Your blood pressure increases 10-15% putting additional stress on your heart and blood vessels increasing your risk of heart attack and stroke. Smoking increases your risk of vascular disease of the extremities. Severe cases may require amputation. This condition can produce pain and can increase your risk of blood clots in the lungs.
SKIN
Smoking constricts the blood vessels in your skin, decreasing the delivery of life-giving oxygen to this vital organ. As the result of this decrease in blood flow, a smoker's skin becomes more susceptible to wrinkling. This decreased blood flow can be a special problem in people who suffer from chronically cold hands/feet. Smokers are at particularly high risk for a medical syndrome called "Smoker's face" which is characterized by deep lines around the corners of the mouth and eyes, a gauntness of facial features, a grayish appearance of the skin, and certain abnormalities of the complexion.
BLOOD
Carbon monoxide--the colorless, odorless, deadly gas present in automobile exhaust -- is present in cigarette smoke in more than 500 times the concentration considered safe in industrial plants. High levels of carbon monoxide may play a major role in triggering heart attacks. When you breathe in a lung full of cigarette smoke, the carbon monoxide passes immediately into your blood binding to the oxygen receptor sites and figuratively kicking the oxygen molecules out of your red blood cells. If you continue to smoke for several weeks, your number of red cells begins to increase, as your body responds to chronic oxygen deprivation. This condition characterized by an abnormally high level of red blood cells is known as smoker's plycythemia. Smoking makes your blood clot more easily.
