When hard evidence against the harmful effects of tobacco smoking started pouring during 1920s and thereafter, the tobacco companies strongly defended their business by claiming that there was no conclusive proof that smoking caused lung cancer or any other health implications. By the late 1950s, they started fueling a scientific controversy by sponsoring and funding research projects that challenged the studies regarding harmful effects of smoking. Even today, cigarette companies spend millions of dollars to covertly oppose state initiatives like raising taxes on cigarette or making no-smoking zones. With growing awareness, people now understand that smoking is bad for their health. Unfortunately, the addictive nature of tobacco weakens the willpower of smokers, and they fail to say “No” to cigarette smoking. In this article, we will focus on why smoking is bad for ‘smokers lungs‘ when you are actively or passively smoking a cigarette. Hopefully, you will be encouraged to stay away from cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Smoking causes damage to breathing tubes and lung tissues. Smokers are more likely to develop chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chronic bronchitis is a condition where the smoker’s airways produce excessive amounts of mucus, and they persistently try to cough it out. Chronic bronchitis or the smoker’s cough is a long-lasting inflammation of the airways. Cigarette smoking can paralyze the cilia and lead to more severe lung infections like pneumonia.
Emphysema is a destruction of lung structure by persistent smoking or tissue damage from dust, cold air, bronchitis and infection. The breathing capacity of a smoker is compromised due to reduction of lung surface area. Our blood is oxygenated by flowing through a large surface area of the lung that is made up by tiny air sacs. When the tissues are damaged from prolonged smoking, the sacs break down and the overall surface area of the lung is significantly reduced. Emphysema patients struggle to breathe even when they are not working or doing any physical activity. All smokers suffer from emphysema, but its severity depends on the duration and amount of cigarettes smoked.
When chronic bronchitis, Emphysema or any combinations of these two conditions create breathing difficulties, the condition is referred as COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It’s really painful to say that COPD is one of the leading causes of deaths in the United States. COPD is mainly caused by smoking and almost 90 percent COPD deaths can be attributed to smoking. The early signs of COPD include productive coughs, shortness of breath during activities, and wheezing, rattling, or whistling noise in the chest.
There is no cure for bronchitis, emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease because the damage to smokers lungs tissues from smoking is not reversible, but you can stop further damage by quitting your smoking habits.
Smoking is one of the main triggers of asthma. When smokers suffer from hyperactive immunity, the cigarette smoke or dust particles are more likely to trigger an asthma attack. The inflamed air passage increases the risk of asthma trigger.
The greatest controversy regarding the possible health hazards of smoking pertains to lung cancer. Despite the attempts to deliberately confuse people by funding research or using other covert methods, it’s now evident that smoking cigarettes is a major cause of lung cancer. It hardly matters whether you inhaled tobacco smoke as a passive smoker; you still suffer from the risk of developing a lung cancer. However, the risk depends on how deeply, how many, and how long you have been smoking. Cigarette smoke contains many chemicals like nicotine that harm smokers lungs tissues, but tars from burning tobacco are the main carcinogenic substance. Benzpyrene is another carcinogen that is produced from tobacco combustion. In fact, there are many biologically active materials in cigarettes that are cancer causing, cancer promoting and poisonous.
Once you quit smoking, the risk of lung cancer starts declining with each passing year as a non-smoker. By the end of 10 years as a non-smoker, you benefit from almost 50 percent reduction in the risk of developing a cancer due to your past smoking habits. Many cigarette companies have acknowledged in their website that smoking is not good for smokers lungs. So, if you are a smoker, it’s time to quit.
