Smoking has prominent negative adverse effects on the health of the smoker. Though there are various types of substances people smoke, tobacco is considered the top priority due to its adverse side effects on human health. This is because tobacco contained many harmful chemicals that adversely affect the health. Tobacco for instance is the sole major cause of preventable deaths around the world because nearly half of smokers die as a result of smoking.

Effects of Smoking

Some of the adverse effects of smoking include but not limited to:

1.Cancer:
Tobacco is known to be a major cause of several cancers in the human body targeting and affecting a significant number of the human organs which include intestine, esophagus, gallbladder, lungs, head and neck, larynx, stomach, pancreas, cervix, liver, colon etc. This made smoking a major cause of concern that causes multiple cancers in the human body. As a result, there is a high risk percentage of smokers dying of cancer than non smokers. And an increase rate of cancer being evident in smokers than non smokers.

  1. Cardiovascular Effects:
    The cardiac organs respond to smoking as a result of the inhaled smoke and thereby producing abnormal changes within the heart. There is an increased heart rate due to smoking and a reduction in the blood’s ability to exercise it’s function of oxygen transportation. Smoking thus leads to several diseases of the heart due to the contents of the smoke. For instance, rate of diseases like heart attack is increased in smokers than non smokers due to tobacco contents which have the effect of narrowing blood vessels that ultimately leads to the blockage of the vessels which subsequently results in heart attack.

    Other heart diseases which tobacco increases the risk of getting include stroke and other vascular diseases. Thus, smoking has adverse negative effects on the cardiovascular system and functions by its direct influence on the cardiac organs in terms of altering it’s function of blood and oxygen transportation due to narrowing of blood vessels and direct damage to the heart organs.

    This at the long run can adversely leads to inflammation and other conditions affecting the arteries and the veins in the human body. Other cardiovascular adverse effects of smoking include the increase in also blood’s cholesterol level, increase blood pressure and weakening of the blood vessels.

  2. Infectious Diseases:
    Smoking increases the chances of being infected by infectious diseases in smokers than non smokers. It leads to oral cancer as well as other pulmonary and respiratory tract infections. This is because smoking causes damage in structures of the pulmonary and respiratory tracts and also affects the immune system adversely.
  3. Psychological Effects:
    Smokers often consider lighting up a major reliever of stress, anxiety and depression. Smoking is therefore regarded as a means of mood control in smokers when faced with mood changes in certain conditions of anger, stress etc. In smokers who are much addicted, smoking remains the sole and ultimate reliever of such bad moods thereby making it hard for them to quit the habit. Hence, smoking remains their sole alternative remedy for mood control. This is evident in smokers who are addicted so much that they find relief and relaxation when smoking while experiencing negative moods in periods between smoking.
  4. Cognitive Dysfunction:
    Smoking is also known to affect the cognitive function of smokers. This is because lighting up leads to reduction in cognitive abilities and memory in young smokers as well as its adverse effects on the brain size. This can also be attributed to the effects of nicotine due to its addictive characteristics in smokers. Smoking leads to several disorders in anxiety.
    6. Effects on Pregnancy: Pregnant mothers who smoke are on the risk of having pregnancy issues like miscarriages as well as impact on the fetus as a result of the health threats smoking posed on the pregnancy. It also has negative effects on the conditions in which the fetus will be delivered such as weight, disorders and behavioral changes.
  5. Stress Issue:
    Smokers are often exposed to stress on daily basis than non smokers. This is because addiction to smoking makes it hard for smokers to live stress-free in moments of abstinence as smoking has become the sole reliever of mood swings and anxiety to them. Thus smokers live on more stress on daily basis than their counterparts non smokers.
  6. Female Infertility:
    Smoking is known to have effects on the ovaries in females thereby affecting fertility. However, this depends on the addiction and how often a female smoker smokes. The more frequent a female smoke the higher the potentiality of the effect of smoke on the female fertility.

    Fertility is affected by smoking in females due to the effects of nicotine and other harmful chemicals in tobacco. And this alters the processes of ovulation, thereby preventing pregnancy. Smoking also affects other processes of transportation within the female’s reproductive organs thereby causing damages which can also leads to miscarriages.

  7. Behavioral and Social Changes:
    It is evident that lighting up have a direct effect on behavioral and social aspects of the human health due to the impacts it exerts on the human brain and mental senses. The rate of behavioral abnormalities and other social vices is much higher in smokers than non smokers. Behavioral changes and problems such as anger, anxiety, emotional swings and sudden mood changes are more frequent in smokers than non smokers.

    Also, social vices that lead to crime, dispute and conflicts such as fights, quarrels, rebellious acts, divorce, domestic violence, child abuse in society are associated with and occurred more frequently in smokers than non smokers. This leads to unwanted events in families and society in general thereby giving rise to issues like family breakdown and societal disputes.

  8. Drugs Interactions and other Harms:
    Smoking is known to interfere with the actions and reactions of certain drugs especially in patients with chronic health issues like hepatitis. Lighting up is also known to cause decrease in appetite and body weight, as well as increased risk of having injuries and premature deaths. Smoking is also considered to be one of the major causes of accidents.

    In a nutshell, the habit exerts a negative influence and has various adverse effects on the human health ranging from cardiovascular diseases to cancer, infectious diseases, stress, infertility, behavioral and social changes, stress, cognitive dysfunction and psychological problems. And that smokers are at higher risks of injuries and injuries-related premature deaths.