7 Reasons Why you should Quit Smoking Now!

Tobacco is very harmful to your health. There is no healthy way to smoke. By using a cigar, pipe, or hookah instead of a cigarette, you cannot avoid the health risks associated with tobacco products. Cigarettes contain around 600 ingredients and when they burn, they produce more than 7,000 chemicals. A lot of those chemicals are poisonous and harmful; at least 69 of them can cause cancer. Most of the same ingredients are also found in cigars and in tobacco used in pipes and hookahs. When you use a hookah pipe, you’re likely to inhale more smoke than from a cigarette. Hookah smoke contains a lot of toxic compounds and exposes you to more carbon monoxide than cigarettes do. Reasons to Quit Smoking There are many drawbacks to smoking cigarettes but majorly it’s the damages it causes to your body and health. Some of the effects are listed as follows:- It causes cancer Smoking Causes Cancer | ConnectedH We all know for sure about the fact that cigarette smoking causes cancer. But cigarette smoking does not just lead to lung cancer. Smoking can lead to cancer of the nose, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, cervix, bone marrow, mouth, voice box, trachea, esophagus, stomach, and blood. When you smoke, right from when you light up your cigarette to when you exhale, leads to many disastrous effects in the body. A large percent out of the 7,000 chemicals in cigarettes is known to be cancer causing. These chemicals, when combined with the heat of the smoke, leads to mutations in your cells causing them to multiply in an uncontrolled manner which leads to cancer. It damages Skin, Hair, and Nails Smoking damages Skin, Hair, and Nails |ConnectedH Smoking leads to the appearance of fine lines, age spots, and puffy eyes. The reason it happens is that the chemicals in cigarettes cause the fine capillaries under your skin to contract and restricts the blood flow to your skin. The lack of blood and oxygen causes your skin to look dull and lifeless. So much so that it leads to permanent damage to connective fibers like elastin and collagen, which in turn leads to the formation of permanent lines and wrinkles. Also, your fingernails and the skin on your fingers may have yellow staining from holding onto cigarettes. Smokers mainly develop yellow and brown stains on their teeth. Even your hair holds onto the smell of tobacco long after you put your cigarette out. It damages the cardiovascular system Smoking damages the cardiovascular system|ConnectedH Smoking damages your whole cardiovascular system. When nicotine is inhaled, it gives your blood sugar a boost. After a while, you feel tired and craving for more. Nicotine makes your blood vessels to tighten, which restricts the flow of blood. Smoking decreases good cholesterol levels and increases blood pressure, which can cause stretching of the arteries and a buildup of bad cholesterol. Smoking can increase the risks of forming blood clots. Weakened blood vessels and blood clots in the brain raise a smoker’s risk of stroke. Smokers who have had a heart bypass surgery are at high risk of recurrent coronary heart disease. In the long term, smokers are also at huge risk of blood cancer. A smoker is 2-4 times more likely to suffer from coronary artery disease and stroke than a non-smoker. And also people who smoke have 25 times higher risk of suffering from lung cancer. There are risks to nonsmokers as well. Breathing smoke has an effect on the cardiovascular system and it increases your risk of stroke, heart attack, and coronary heart disease. It affects your respiratory system Smoking affects your respiratory system |ConnectedH Cigarettes have plenty of chemicals which leave a lot of residue in your lungs, airways and your entire body. This residue clogs your lungs leading to breathing problems and bad lung function. This causes lack of fresh oxygen and blood to various parts of your body and therefore, causes fatigue and breathlessness. After a while, your lungs aren’t able to filter harmful chemicals. Coughing can’t help to clear out the toxins effectively, so these toxins get trapped in the lungs. In emphysema, the air sacs in your lungs get destroyed and in chronic bronchitis, the lining of the tubes of lungs become inflamed. Smokers increase their risk of developing these forms of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) over time. Long-term smokers are also at high risk of getting lung cancer. Smoker parent’s children are more prone to coughing, asthma attacks and wheezing than children whose parents don’t. They also have more ear infections and have higher rates of getting pneumonia and bronchitis. It damages your nervous system Smoking damages nervous system| ConnectedH One of the main contents of tobacco is a mood-altering drug called nicotine. Nicotine travels to your brain in mere seconds. It’s a central nervous system stimulant which means that it makes you feel more energized for a little while, but as the effect fades, you feel tired and crave more. It messes with your nervous system and causes a lot of problems. Smoking raises the risk of macular degeneration, cataracts, and cause poor eyesight. It can also hamper with your sense of taste and sense of smell so food may become less appetizing. Your body contains a stress hormone known as corticosterone. It lowers the effects of nicotine and so, if you are under a lot of stress, then you’ll need more nicotine to get the calming effect. It affects your sexuality and reproductive system Smoking causes problems to reproductive system | ConnectedH The chemicals in cigarettes alter the way the blood vessels flow around your penis expand and can cause a formation of blocks in the arteries decreasing the amount of blood that rushes to the penis when aroused. Nicotine especially is known to affect the blood vessels supplying the penis directly which makes it difficult for you to have and even maintain an erection, Premature ejaculation is quite often seen in younger men who smoke. That is due to the habit of smoking leads to a lack of blood flow, lowered sensation in the penis, heart disease and lack of stamina. These factors contribute to premature ejaculation problems in males. Men, as well as women who smoke, may have problems in achieving orgasms and are at higher risk of infertility. Women who smoke may experience menopause earlier than non-smoking women. Smoking also increases a woman’s risk of getting cervical cancer. Smoking can cause more complications in pregnancy; including miscarriage, problems with the placenta and also premature delivery. Babies of mothers who smoke during pregnancy are at greater risk of low birth weight, have birth defects and are prone to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Newborn babies who breathe secondhand smoke suffer from ear infections and asthma attacks. It stains your teeth and causes bad breath Smoking stains your teeth and causes bad breath |ConnectedH Tar: a chemical in cigarettes coats your teeth lending them a yellowish tinge. This is difficult to clean through brushing and usually forms permanent stains. The habit also kills the good bacteria in your mouth, increasing the amount of saliva secreted and causing a larger amount of tartar formation on your teeth. This not only relates to the phrase ‘smoker’s breath’, but in some cases may cause severe and persistent bad breath. Apart from killing the good bacteria in your mouth, smoking causes problems regarding digestion, throat infections and build up of chemicals in the oral cavity. Smoking also causes conditions like oral thrush and leads to a condition called ‘smoker’s palate’, where the roof of the mouth is coated with cigarette residue, and causing small red spots on the palate.