It is by now a well known fact that smoking is harmful to health. It is potent enough to kill if used for long. It affects the whole body in different ways. But the parts that are affected the most are the lungs. They bear the brunt of all the toxicity that is poured into the body by cigarettes.
How are the lungs affected?
Smoke that is inhaled when you take a drag of the cigarette is taken directly to the lungs by the windpipe. This inhaled smoke contains up to 4000 harmful chemicals that include nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar.
Immediate effects of smoking
One of the most harmful ingredients that enters the lungs is tar. It is a sticky substance and when it enters the lungs, it sticks to the cilia present there, making them dysfunctional. Cilia are small hair-like structures that help clear the harmful particles that enter the lungs. This prevents then from cleaning the lungs and over a period of time, they die and make the lungs even more vulnerable to harmful chemicals. In the long run, it might even lead to cancer.
Dysfunctional cilia also lead to a build up of mucous filled with all these particles. Also, cells that produce mucous become enlarged and produce greater amounts of thicker mucous. This is the reason why smokers cough constantly to get rid of this mucous. It also leads to inflammation of the respiratory passages.
Long term effects of smoking
Lungs suffer not just with such immediate effects like coughing and pneumonia but long term effects as well. Bronchitis is one such long term effect, emphysema is another. They both gradually reduce the efficiency of the lungs and eventually kill them completely.
