The Effect of Smoking on the Lungs
The toll of cigarette smoke on lungs can be measured in the hundreds of thousands of deaths and other countless breathing diseases suffered by smokers every year. Essential to human life, your lungs are not equipped to withstand constant exposure to smoke without developing life-threatening conditions.
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Considering the Toxins
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Cigarette smoking coats the lungs with a toxic particulate matter known as tar. This process occurs in much the same way that soot coats chimneys from log fires. But unlike chimneys, which often are crafted from stone or brick, human lungs are made of very thin, delicate tissue not intended for toxic smoke intake. Cigarette smoke contains as many as 250 chemicals known to be toxic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Resulting Health Effects on Lungs
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The constant irritation of tar-producing smoke in the lungs can lead to a breathing disease known as emphysema. Emphysema interferes with normal breathing, often belaboring the process or leading to shortness of breath, according to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The CDC reports that smoking also causes about 90 percent of lung cancer-related deaths in men and nearly 80 percent of such deaths in women. The cancer results from the constant irritation of lung tissue by the toxins in cigarette smoke. Cedars-Sinai concludes that the risk of lung cancer is 30 times greater in smokers than in nonsmokers and that one in seven people who smoke two packs or more per day will die from lung cancer.
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Final Results of Smoking
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Smoking diseases cause about 430,000 U.S. deaths per year, or about one out of every five deaths in the country, according to the CDC. Smoking claims more lives than HIV/AIDS, illegal drug and alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and homicides combined.
Misconceptions
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Cigarette manufactures produce "light" cigarettes as an answer to industry critics who contend that its products contain unsafe tar levels. Smokers of light cigarettes may believe the products impart less of a health impact on the lungs. However, the CDC and a study published by Turkish researchers in 2007 contend that the supposed lower-tar cigarettes take as high or higher a toll on health because the users of these products tend to draw more heavily on cigarettes, pulling the toxins more deeply into their lungs.
Benefits of Quitting
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The CDC reports that smokers who kick the habit lower their risk for lung and other types of cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke and vascular diseases. Smokers who quit often experience fewer respiratory illnesses and conditions, such as coughing and shortness of breath. Women who quit reduce the risk of infertility or of having children with low birth weights or other birth defects.
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