Smoking is a growing public health menace that kills its users eventually. It is prevalent in low and middle-income nations and is more commonly practiced among males. Tobacco kills more than eight million users per year. Most of the deaths are due to direct tobacco use, and some of the deaths are due to passive (secondhand) smoking. There is a heavy burden of illness associated with tobacco use as the substance is harmful in all quantities, the most common one being cigarette smoking.
Smoking affects the different body systems in a negative manner and decreases overall immunity. According to Dr. Viona Dcunha MBBS (MD Pathology at SNMC, Karnataka, India), the user’s life span depends on the number of cigarettes they smoke per day. Smoking is a major contributing factor to the pathogenesis of stroke, congestive heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and peripheral vascular disease. The toxic substance deteriorates cell physiology. It can alter cholesterol levels by reducing HDL (good cholesterol) and elevating LDL (bad cholesterol). It also reduces the oxygen levels in the blood, increases blood pressure, and increases the tendency for blood clotting. As a result, arteries in the body get constricted and hardened and there is reduced blood flow. This condition is known as atherosclerosis.
Smoking affects the respiratory system of the user by causing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and pneumonia. Tobacco destroys the lung tissue by decreasing air spaces and deteriorating the pulmonary blood vessels. Eventually, this results in less oxygenation throughout the body affecting the overall health of the individual.
Dr. Viona says that smoking causes carcinogenesis (cancer formation) in several parts of the body such as the lungs, mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus, colon, bladder, stomach, pancreas, cervix, kidney, and liver. The toxic substances within tobacco such as tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide destroy the cells and alter the DNA which results in different cancers eventually.
Tobacco smoking affects the reproductive health of an individual. It can cause erectile dysfunction in males and infertility in males and females. A pregnant woman who smokes is prone to several complications such as a miscarriage, premature baby, or stillbirth.
Last and not least, passive smoking is also quite dangerous, especially for immunocompromised individuals, children, and pregnant women. There is an increased risk of getting lung cancer in adults and asthma, and respiratory tract infections in children.
Therefore, it is important to be educated about the ill effects of smoking as it can cause a significant economic impact on households pushing them to poverty as users spend more money on cigarettes than food, clothing, and shelter. It also causes spending more money on health due to its associated adverse health effects.
References:
1) nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/what-are-the-health-risks-of-smoking
2) cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/smoking-and-cancer/whats-in-a-cigarette-0
3) Banks, E., Joshy, G., J. Rosemary, Stravreski, B., Soga, K., Egger, S., Day, C., Clarke, N.E., Lewington, S., Lopez, A.D. (2019). Tobacco smoking and risk of 36 cardiovascular disease subtypes: fatal and non fatal outcomes in a large prospective Australian study. BMC Medicine, 17, 128. doi: 10.1186/s12916-019-1351-4.
4) who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco
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