Friday, August 8, 2008

question 2

2) how does smoking affecting our health ?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

we all know the affect of smoke from cigaratte.....
so if you want to know more details , read this .....

There are no physical reasons to start smoking. The body doesn't need tobacco the way it needs food, water, sleep, and exercise. In fact, many of the chemicals in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are actually poisons that can kill in high enough doses.

The body is smart. It goes on the defense when it's being poisoned. For this reason, many people find it takes several tries to get started smoking: First-time smokers often feel pain or burning in the throat and lungs, and some people feel sick or even throw up the first few times they try tobacco.

Anonymous said...

Smoking also exacerbates diseases and conditions that are not always fatal, but cause suffering or are sources of personal concern.

* Smoking delays healing of peptic ulcers of the stomach and duodenum, many of which would heal spontaneously in non-smokers.
* Its effects on blood vessels cause chronic pains in the legs (claudication) which can progress to gangrene and amputations of the toes or feet.
* An effect on elastic tissue causes wrinkling of the skin of the face to develop earlier in chronic smokers. On average they look 5 years older than non-smokers of the same age do.
* Smoking also brings on an earlier menopause in women, advancing it by an average of 5 years.
* It reduces women's fertility and delays conception after they stop using oral contraceptives.
* It impairs erections in middle-aged and older men and may affect the quality of their sperm. It seems to "sedate" sperm and to impair their motility. This is reversed after stopping smoking.
* Smoking accelerates the rate of osteoporosis, a disease which causes bones to weaken and fracture more easily.
* Women who smoke during pregnancy damage their unborn child, causing effects that last throughout the child's life. The risks of miscarriage, premature birth, and death of the baby in its first year of life are all significantly increased.

Smoking During Pregnancy

In addition to the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, and death of the baby in its first year of life, a woman's smoking during pregnancy also has other effects on the baby:

* The growth and development of all unborn babies is impaired if their mothers smoke. On average, birth weight is reduced by about half a pound. This makes little difference to a baby of normal weight, but could be crucial to ones weighing 3 to 4 pounds.
* The development of the brain is also affected. Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are on average about one year behind non-exposed children in reading and numerical ability, for example. Loss of a few IQ points may be hardly noticeable to a normally intelligent child or adult, but may be critical for someone on the borderline.
* The child will be more likely to have behavioral problems and hyperactivity.

Finally, during the first few years of life, children are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of passive smoking if their parents smoke. These effects include worsening of asthma, increased frequency of colds and ear infections, and increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome

Anonymous said...

Health effects from a smoking addiction are numerous and begin once an individual smokes his first cigarette. Beginner smokers are two to six times more likely to suffer from health effects such as coughs, increased phlegm, wheezing, and shortness of breath than non-smokers.

The earlier teenagers become smokers, the greater the risk of dying prematurely from heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema (abnormal dilation of air spaces in the lung). Other health effects experienced by adult smokers include accelerated osteoporosis, earlier menopause, and impaired reproductive capacity.

If a pregnant woman smokes, her baby’s brain development and birth weight is affected. The baby would also have a higher risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), hyperactivity, and behavioural problems. Chronic respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and asthma are significantly more common in infants and children who have one or two smoking parents.

Children with parents who both smoke receive a nicotine equivalent of smoking 80 cigarettes a year; this quota is based on continine levels (a standard nicotine test) in the saliva of these children. A child’s health is acutely affected by passive smoking.

Anonymous said...

Smoking Damages Other Systems
Smoking adversely affects the reproductive system, especially in women. Many female smokers experience irregular or absent periods. Fertility is compromised, and menopause occurs one to two years earlier. The risk of cervical cancer is increased. For women over 35 taking oral contraceptives, there is a significantly increased risk of stroke or heart attack if they are smokers. Men, experience lower sperm count, more abnormal sperm with decreased motility. There is also an effect on the man’s level of sex hormones. Decrease circulations also predisposes male smokers to impotence as a result of overall compromised circulation and damage to the blood vessels in the penis. .
Smoker’s immune systems are impaired, leaving the smoker vulnerable to a host of minor infections. A smoker needs more time to recover from infections than a non-smoker. Coupled with diminished circulation, a smoker’s risk of infection from minor cuts or abrasions to the arms or legs skyrockets.

Cigarette smoking decreases bone density, promoting osteoporosis. Skin becomes dry and loses it’s elasticity as a result of poor circulation. Premature wrinkling is common. Irritation and inflammation of the stomach and intestines is frequently seen, including painful ulceration of the entire GI tract.

Even more serious are the risks to an unborn child if the mother smokes. Miscarriage is more common in women who smoke. Infants of smoking mothers are at increased risk of low birth weight, prematurity, cleft lip and palate, infections and SIDS.