How Does Smoking Effect Your Physical Appearance?
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Chemical Exposure
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When a person smokes a cigarette, he is inhaling over 4,000 dangerous chemicals, reports the American Lung Association. These chemicals include acetone, ammonia, nicotine, formaldehyde, cyanide and tar. While all those chemicals are potentially harmful, tar is the substance that contributes the most to damaging the physical appearance, states the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Tar is a dark brown or black sticky material that ends up leaving behind a yellow residue on light colored items that are in the vicinity of cigarette smoke. Since the tar is so close to a smoker's mouth, her teeth often become yellowed. The substance can also affect the fingertips and nails, especially on a smoker's dominant cigarette holding hand, and result in discolored stains.
Blood Vessel Constriction
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After regularly smoking for an extended period of time, a person's skin may age prematurely and be wrinkly or covered with creases, reports the United States Department of Health and Human Services. People who smoke regularly for approximately 10 years will usually begin experiencing irreversible skin damage, according to the Mayo Clinic. When a person inhales smoke, it constricts the skin's blood vessels and makes it more difficult for blood to properly reach the skin's surface. Blood contains oxygen and vitamin A, two essential nutrients for maintaining skin health and appearance, states the Mayo Clinic. Skin's smoothness and firmness relies on its collagen and elastin amounts. While wrinkles or drooping facial skin is a normal part of the aging process, smoking causes harm to collagen and elastin, which causes skin to look prematurely older.
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Heat Contact
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While a person is smoking, her mouth is in close contact with a direct source of heat from the lit end of the cigarette. Being in such close proximity to heat can also contribute to premature wrinkles, according to the Mayo Clinic. The physical act of smoking, combined with the heat exposure, can result in wrinkles in areas where a smoker naturally makes an expression while she's smoking. One of the most common wrinkle areas is directly around the lips and mouth due to smokers tightening their lips around cigarettes, reports the Mayo Clinic.
Prolonged Injuries
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Smokers expose themselves to high heat from their cigarettes, making them more susceptible to burns. Even if they only have minor injuries, smokers will typically have to deal with unattractive wounds for longer periods of time. Since smoking narrows the blood vessels and prevents the maximum amount of oxygen and nutrients from reaching the skin, it can take longer for the skin to repair itself, according to the American Lung Association. If a smoker sustains a cut, scrap or deep wound, it will take longer to heal than for a nonsmoker.
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