Harmful Effects Of Cigarettes Are Massive..... Compared To Its Enjoyment
Over years, there has been several ways in which people use to relieve themselves of stress, or even deliberately having fun. This purpose of enjoyment continue for a wide range period which may eventually leads to addiction.
Of all ways of relieving the body of stress or even catching fun, the consumption of alcohol and smoking of cigarettes are the most popular of all. Other ways can also be intake of hard drugs and so on.
The most excited part of it is the presence of one or more organic chemicals in these products, which may cause the consumer to get more addicted to them because of the greater level of pleasure they derived by consuming them.
Even though there a lot of fun and excitement attached to it, a question I'll like to ask us all is that, how much do we know about the harmful effects of these products on our body during and after consumption?.
For now, I'll be talking about the harmful effects of smoking tobacco(i.e. Cigarette).
Smoking of cigarette has prove to be the fastest substance that could be get addicted to, this is credited to the power and presence of an organic substance called NICOTINE.
Nicotine is known to be a chemical that contains nitrogen, and which is made by several types of plants, including the tobacco plant,and it is also produced synthetically. It is both a sedative and a stimulant.
When a body is exposed to nicotine, the individual experiences a "kick." This is partly caused by nicotine stimulating the adrenal glands, which results in the release of adrenaline. This surge of adrenaline stimulates the body,causing an immediate release of glucose, as well as an increase in heart rate, breathing activity, and blood pressure.
Nicotine also makes the pancreas produce less insulin, causing a slight increase in blood sugar or glucose.
Nicotine causes the indirect release of dopamine in the pleasure and motivation areas of the brain which is a similar effect that occur in other substances such as cocaine and so on.
Dopamine is a brain chemical that affects emotions, movements, and sensations of pleasure and pain. If your brain dopamine levels rise, the feeling of contentment (I.e smoking sensation) is higher.
As users become more tolerant to nicotine, they require higher doses to enjoy the same effect, and this is the the situation that leads to what is called addiction
Apart from nicotine, smokers inhale about 7,000 other chemicals in cigarette smoke. Some of these chemicals include, tar.,carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, oxidizing chemicals, metals, radioactive materials among others. Many of these chemicals come from burning tobacco leaf. Some of these compounds are chemically active and trigger profound and damaging changes in the body.
The most damaging components of tobacco smoke are it's effects on the body such as causing damage to many of the body’s organs and systems.
Smoking also have effect on respiratory system which includes; irritation of the trachea (windpipe) and larynx (voice box), reduced lung function and breathlessness due to swelling and narrowing of the lung airways and excess mucus in the lung passages, impairment of the lungs’ clearance system, leading to the build-up of poisonous substances, which results in lung irritation and damage, increased risk of lung infection and symptoms such as coughing and wheezing, permanent damage to the air sacs of the lungs e.t.c.
It can also have effects on the circulatory system such as, raised blood pressure and heart rate, constriction (tightening) of blood vessels in the skin which results in a drop in skin temperature, less oxygen carried by the blood during exercise which is more prone to clotting, reduced blood flow to extremities (fingers and toes), increased risk of stroke and heart attack due to blockages of the blood supply.
Others include effect on immune system which leads to greater susceptibility to infections such as pneumonia and influenza, more severe and long lasting illnesses, lower levels of protective antioxidants (such as vitamin C) in the blood e. t.c. It can also have effect on the skin causing aging skin and malfunction of nutrition leading to abnormalities of the skin texture.
Some other effects of smoking include the effects of tobacco smoke on the male body which include an increased risk for, lower sperm count, higher percentage of deformed s perm, genetic damage to s perm, impotence which may be due to the effects of smoking on blood flow and damage to the blood vessels of the penis.
The effects of tobacco smoke on the female body include; reduced fertility menstrual cycle irregularities or absence of menstruation, menopause reached one or two years earlier, increased risk of cancer of the cervix, greatly increased risk of stroke and heart attack if the smoker is aged over 35 years and taking the oral contraceptive pill e.t.c.
It's no secret that smoking can cause a lot of harmful effects to our body system and the most effective way of controlling these effects is to totally quit smoking which will regulates your blood pressure and improves your blood circulation.
It will also leads to reduction of Nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in the blood and oxygen levels return to normal.
Note: This post is not meant to abuse anybody but rather making us all to know these materials cause more harm than the pleasure we derived from them...... Observations and corrections are welcome....... Thanks
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