Most smokers are aware of what smoking does to their lungs, yet they keep smoking. It is important to understand the seriousness of what smoking does to your lungs, the smoking side effects and other long term effects of smoking.
It is a known fact that smoking is injurious to health. The effects of smoking are bad for overall health and badly affect your brain, lungs, heart, and even your sex life. But it is not just your health which seems to be getting affected by your smoking habit; it is also your looks that are at stake. In fact, with every drag you take, you end up creating a dark pockmark on that beautiful face of yours.
Here, we list both short-term and long-term effects of smoking. We’d like to highlight how smoking can damage and affect your appearance.
The immediate short-term issue smoking can cause is bad breath, poor and reduced lung capacity, and increased heart rate, while on the other hand, long-term diseases that can be caused by smoking include cancer, heart disease, stroke and COPD.
Lungs – Smoking severely damages lungs by destroying air sacs, killing cilia and triggering inflammation. Smoking results in irreversible damage, excessive mucus, reduced oxygen absorption, chronic cough and bronchitis. It can be a cause of 90% lung cancer and 80% COPD deaths.
Heart – Smoking and heart disease are closely connected, because smoking is a major cause of heart disease, responsible for 20% of coronary heart disease deaths, according to the WHO report. It damages blood vessels, builds up plaque, and doubles the risk of heart problems. But the good news is that quitting smoking can reduce the risk of heart disease by 50% within one year.
Apart from serious health issues, find out how smoking can kill you from the inside.
Eyes
Now, we have all experienced how a lack of a good night’s sleep can make you feel grumpy and drowsy for the entire next day. Nicotine is going to make it worse. The withdrawal symptoms get worse during the night, which makes smokers prone to restless night’s sleep. Lack of enough sleep is not going to help your pretty looks either. In older people, cataracts are a common effect of smoking too much. It happens owing to the oxidative stress placed on your eye lenses due to smoking.
Psoriasis
If you thought that only genes are responsible for causing Psoriasis, think again! People who smoke are also in danger of Psoriasis. Long-time smokers run a 60% more chance of being affected by this scaly skin condition than people who avoid smoking. Passive smoking during pregnancy or childhood is also linked to a high risk.
Teeth and Fingers
One of the long-term effects of smoking is discoloring the teeth. Nicotine is notoriously known to stain your pearly whites. It is also linked to tooth decay and erosion. It also damages the gums, which could lead to further tooth loss. This means, along with your cigarette expenditure, you also need to put your dentist’s expenses on the tab. Nicotine, moreover, is also known to stain your fingers.
Aging
Wrinkles may signify wisdom, but not when you are still young! If studies are to be believed, smokers in general look 1.4 years older than their nonsmoking counterparts. The blood supply that keeps the skin supple and healthy can be hampered by excessive smoking.
Hair
You can kiss goodbye to your dreams of having long, luscious, flowing hair if you still want to continue smoking. Smoking not only causes hair thinning but also leads to eventual hair fall. Moreover, smoking causes premature hair greying.
Scars
If you have suffered an injury and are wondering why your scars are taking a long time to heal, the answer is simple. Nicotine causes vasoconstriction. It means nicotine will narrow blood vessels, limiting the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the face and other parts of the body.
Skin
Smoking causes skin to become pale, and we don’t mean it in a good way. It is commonly observed that the natural glow on the face of people who smoke just doesn’t exist. Scientists believe that the oxygen in our blood is replaced by carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke, causing the skin to appear pale and discoloured. Minor skin problems are possibly a short-term effect of smoking. However, if adequate measures are not taken, it may lead to long-term issues. Nicotine is no friend of your skin. It is predicted that there is a direct correlation between smoking and stretch marks. Nicotine causes loss of skin elasticity by disrupting fibres and connective tissues. Moreover, people who smoke are prone to skin cancer.
The Flab
Your inability to lose the chub from your body may be a result of smoking, as people who smoke put on fat more easily than those who don’t. Cigarettes, being an appetite suppressant, may work for those trying to lose weight. However, a study from the Netherlands has proven that nicotine, in fact, increases body fat. Smoking usually leads to flab around the belly and causes love handles.
Takeaway!
It is rather obvious that smoking affects your appearance in more ways than you can imagine. With the support around, in terms of the counseling available, there is no reason not to quit smoking. There are also many quit-smoking medications available that can assist you in kicking the habit. All that is needed here is a little willpower.
It is a known fact that smoking is injurious to health. However, not many realize that smoking also does you much harm in terms of ruining your appearance. It apparently affects every part of your face, from your hair and eyes to your skin to your teeth. Nicotine is also a major culprit in causing grave diseases like Psoriasis, vasoconstriction and skin cancer. You can check out various quit smoking medications and read up on methods on how to quit smoking cigarettes on our website.
Be wise to yourself and your family, and let’s not allow smoking to ruin your personality and life.
