Smoking…

Thrills but kills

Smoking

• Can be easily defined as the practice where tobacco is burned and the vapors either tasted or inhaled.

History

• Began as early as 5000-3000 BC• Some civilizations burnt incense during religious

practices which was later adopted for pleasure• Tobacco smoking began in South America

where it was first cultivated• It also became a part of Shamanistic rituals• First used to achieve trances and go into the

spiritual world

Painting of Aztec women being handed cigars before banquet dinner

Tobacco

• It is basically a plant

• Processed from leaves of Nicotina plant genus

• Means a pipe which is used to smoke

• Was first cultivated in South America

• Mayans were the first to use at as a drug

• Contains Nicotine which gives smoker a pleasurable feeling

Tobacco Plant

Nicotine

• Alkaloid found in Tobacco plants

• Used as an insecticide as it has antiherbivore chemicals

• Responsible for pleasurable feeling in smoking

• Addiction is very hard to break

Nicotine

How Nicotine works on the body

• Once nicotine has entered the body, it immediately gets into the bloodstream which means it has access to all the major organs of your body like the brain

• It triggers the adrenaline hormone to be released which in turn triggers glucose to be released which gives the smoker a short-term energy boost

• This is one of the many reasons of the smoker’s high

• Also, almost as soon as nicotine enters your bloodstream, it flows to the brain

• This is responsible for a part of the pleasurable feeling obtained from smoking it’s also responsible for the withdrawal symptoms and irritability you feel when you try to quit

• Simultaneously, nicotine suppresses the pancreas release of insulin, preventing the body from re-storing released glucose. This ultimately makes the smoker’s appetite much lower

• So people think of smoking as also a way to lose weight

Side effects of smoking

• Affects air passages, lungs, alveoli and heart – apart from other things

• Associated with lung cancer, bronchitis, emphysema, coronary heart disease and ulcers of the stomach and duodenum

• Pregnant women who smoke more likely to give weight to under-weight babies

Smokers Cough

• In the trachea and bronchi of a smoker, the cilia are destroyed by chemicals in the cigarette smoke

• Therefore, the lungs become susceptible to bacteria and dust affecting them

• Also, the number of cilia gets reduced• The reduced number of cilia mean that mucus is

not swept away from the lungs, but instead remains to clog the air passages

• This is made worse because the smoke irritates the linings of the airways which causes them to release more mucus

• The smoker then develops an acute cough which is what is known as the “Smoker’s Cough”

Person with Smoker’s Cough

Emphysema

• It kills about 20,000 people a year in Britain

• Smoke damages the walls of the alveoli, which break down and fuse together again to form irregular air spaces

• This reduces surface area for gas exchange

• So, gas exchange becomes very inefficient

• The blood of the smoker also begins carrying less oxygen

• This as we all know, is fatal

• It could lead, in serious cases, to the person being unable to carry out any form of mild exercise like even walking

• There is no cure for emphysema

Lungs affected by Emphysema

Lung cancer

• Evidence of the association between smoking and lung cancer first appeared in the 1950s

• A survey of people suffering lung cancer was done by a group of scientists. Almost all the patients were smokers

• So they realised the co-relation between smoking and lung cancer

• There are 18 drugs, one of which is nicotine, known to cause cancer

• They are known as carcinogens• They are what form tar in the lungs• Cancer happens when cells mutate and

start to divide uncontrollably, forming a tumor

• Lung cancer is very hard to detect as it causes no pain in the early stages

Lungs

• Smoking cause cancers not only in the lungs but also in other parts of the body like the larynx, pharynx, esophagus, bladder and many more

Carbon monoxide in smoke

• It is one of the many harmful substances in cigarette smoke

• When breathed in, it interferes with the haemoglobin in blood to form carboxyhaemoglobin

• When this happens, blood carries far less oxygen

• Therefore, carbon monoxide is a major cause of heart disease

Smoking also gives…

• Bad skin. Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin — which is why smokers often appear pale and unhealthy.

• Bad breath. Cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath.

• Bad-smelling clothes and hair. The smell of stale smoke tends to linger — not just on people's clothing, but on their hair, furniture, and cars.

• Reduced athletic performance. People who smoke usually can't compete with nonsmoking peers because the physical effects of smoking (like rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath) impair sports performance

This is what you’re putting into your body when you smoke!!!

So we should realise that…

Cigarettes are killers that travel in packs

And…

Stop smoking!!!

But How?

• The only way is to stop smoking!

• Some people are more suited to the immediate quitting approach

• While others prefer to do it slowly and in bits

• Also, it’s a good idea to have your reasons for quitting in mind. They will give you the drive to quit

• Talk to a counselor or look online for resources on how to quit smoking which can help you through the process

• When quitting, you might find it hard but don’t give up

• Realise that the first few days of quitting are the hardest

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all do this to our smoking? =)