The Effects of Smoking on the Body
Almost one third of the World’s population are smokers for one reason
or another, appearance, reduce stress etc. However, I, and many
others, find it very difficult to believe smoking can aid anyone’s
appearance as it encourages early ageing, and I do not believe that
any of the risks that smoking has is worth any amount of stress relief
that it can provide.
Cigarette smoking can have serious health effects on the human body.
Smoking causes a variety of life threatening diseases. This is because
they contain more than 4,000 chemicals (www.click2quit.co.uk),
including 43 of which cause cancer (www.betterhealthchannel.com.au).
Nicotine is a substance in cigarettes which although does not cause
cancer itself, it is a highly addictive drug that is toxic and
potentially lethal (www.click2quit.co.uk). Apart from its use in
tobacco products, nicotine is a scheduled poison. Tobacco smoke
contains many dangerous chemicals, the most damaging of which are;
tar, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia,
metals and radioactive compounds. These all contribute in seriously
harming the body’s health through a variety of diseases.
Smoking is shown to have harmful effects on most if not all areas of
the body. The circulatory system can suffer from raised blood
pressure, thrombosis, atherosclerosis and increased risk of stroke and
heart attack due to blockages of the blood supply caused by the build
up of fatty deposits on tightening artery walls and blood vessels.
Smoking can also prevent blood flow to extremities, result in the
tightening of muscles and reduced bone density damaging the
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...carcinoma, and squamous cell
carcinoma. NSCLC involves vital organs and organ systems within
the respiratory system and throughout the body to be engulfed by
the tumour. (www.vh.org)
Although few people argue that smoking can be beneficial for stress, I
strongly disagree that smoking can in any way be beneficial enough to
be worth the risk of any effects discussed above. I agree that
cigarettes can be addictive due to the effects of nicotine present in
them, but would never consider risking lung cancer over a little
stress relief from smoking, as there is very clearly a strong link
between the two. This link can also be shown by an estimated 430,000
deaths each year being directly caused by cigarette smoking
(www.mamashealth.com), which I consider a far too bigger risk for any
amount of stress relief.