The Effects of Smoking on the Body

 

The Effects of Smoking on the Body



No matter how you smoke it, tobacco is dangerous to your health. There are no safe substances in any tobacco products, from acetone and tar to nicotine and carbon monoxide. The substances you inhale don’t just affect your lungs. They can affect your entire body.

Smoking can lead to a variety of ongoing complications in the body, as well as long-term effects on your body systems. While smoking can increase your risk of a variety of problems over several years, some of the bodily effects are immediate. Learn more about the symptoms and overall effects of smoking on the body below.

 

Smoking cigarettes affects lung health because a person breathes in not only nicotine but also a variety of additional chemicals.

Cigarettes are responsible for a substantial increase in the risk of developing lung cancer. This risk is 25 times greater for men and 25.7 times greater for womenTrusted Source.

The CDC report that roughly 9 out of 10Trusted Source lung cancer deaths are linked to smoking.

Smoking cigarettes also presents a greater risk of developing and dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). In fact, the American Lung Association report that smoking causes 80 percent of COPD deaths.

Cigarettes are also linked to developing emphysema and chronic bronchitis. They can also trigger or exacerbate an asthma attack.


2. Heart disease

Smoking cigarettes can damage the heart, blood vessels, and blood cells.

The chemicals and tar in cigarettes can increase a person’s risk of atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of plaque in the blood vessels. This buildup limits blood flow and can lead to dangerous blockages.

Smoking also increases the risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD), which occurs when the arteries to the arms and legs start to narrow, restricting blood flow.

Research shows a direct link between smoking and developing PAD. Even those who used to smoke face a higher risk than people who never smoked.

Having PAD increases the risk of experiencing:

  • blood clots
  • angina, or chest pain
  • a stroke
  • a heart attack

Smoking cigarettes can damage a female’s reproductive system and make it more difficult to get pregnant. This may be because tobacco and the other chemicals in cigarettes affect hormone levels.

In males, the more cigarettes a person smokes and the longer they smoke for, the higher the riskTrusted Source of erectile dysfunction. Smoking can also affect the quality of the sperm and therefore reduce fertility.


4. Risk of pregnancy complications

According to the CDCTrusted Source, smoking can affect pregnancy and the developing fetus in several ways, including:

  • increasing the risk of ectopic pregnancy
  • reducing the baby’s birth weight
  • increasing the risk of preterm delivery
  • damaging the fetus’s lungs, brain, and central nervous system
  • increasing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome
  • contributing to congenital abnormalities, such as cleft lip or cleft palate

The CDC report that people who smoke regularly have a 30–40 percent higher riskTrusted Source of developing type 2 diabetes than those who do not.

Smoking can also make it more difficult for people with diabetes to manage their condition.

Smoking cigarettes can weaken a person’s immune system, making them more susceptible to illness.

It can also cause additional inflammation in the body.


Smoking cigarettes can cause eye problems, including a greater risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.

Other vision problems related to smoking include:

  • dry eyes
  • glaucoma
  • diabetic retinopathy

People who smoke have double the riskTrusted Source of gum disease. This risk increases with the number of cigarettes a person smokes.

Symptoms of gum disease include:

  • swollen and tender gums
  • bleeding when brushing
  • loose teeth
  • sensitive teeth

Smoking tobacco can limit a person’s ability to taste and smell things properly. It can also stain the teeth yellow or brown.

Smoking tobacco can affect a person’s skin and hair. A person who smokes may experience prematurely aged, wrinkled skin. They also have a higher riskTrusted Source of skin cancer, “especially on the lips.”

Smoking can cause the hair and skin to smell of tobacco. It can also contribute to hair loss and balding.

In addition to the well-documented link with lung cancer, smoking cigarettes can also contribute to other forms of cancer.

The American Cancer Society report that cigarette smoking causes 20–30 percentTrusted Source of pancreatic cancers.

People who smoke are also three times as likelyTrusted Source to develop bladder cancer than people who do not.

Smoking cigarettes can also double a person’s riskTrusted Source of stomach cancer. Tobacco is especially linked to stomach cancers that occur near the esophagus.

Cigarettes can also increase the risk of:

  • mouth cancer
  • laryngeal cancer
  • throat cancer
  • esophageal cancer
  • kidney cancer
  • cervical cancer
  • liver cancer
  • colon cancer
  • acute myeloid leukemia

Bonus Fact

Secondhand smoke

The ill effects of smoking cigarettes do not only affect people who smoke. Secondhand smoke can also have significant health effects on family members, friends, and coworkers.

Effects of exposure to secondhand smoke include:

  • increasing the risk of colds and ear infections
  • making asthma worse
  • raising blood pressure
  • damaging the heart
  • reducing levels of high-density lipoprotein, or “good,” cholesterol

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