Every 6.5 seconds someone dies from tobacco use, says the World Health Organization. Research suggests that people who start smoking in their teens (as more than 70 percent do) and continue for two decades or more will die 20 to 25 years earlier than those who never light up. It is not just lung cancer or heart disease that cause serious health problems and death. Below, some of smokings less publicized side effects from head to toe.
1. Hair loss Smoking weakens the immune system ,leaving the body vulnerable to lupus erythematosus, causing hair loss, ulcerations in the mouth and rashes on the face, scalp and hands.
2. Cataracts Smokers have a 40 percent higher rate of cataracts, a clouding of the eyes lens that blocks light and may lead to blindness. Smoke causes cataracts in two ways: by irritating the eyes and by releasing chemicals into the lungs that then travel up the bloodstream to the eyes.
3. Wrinkling Smoking prematurely ages skin by wearing away proteins that give it elasticity, depleting it of vitamin A and restricting blood flow. Smokers skin is dry, leathery andetched with tiny lines, especially around the lips and eyes.
4. Hearing loss Because smoking creates plaque on blood vessel walls,decreasing blood flow to the inner ear, smokers can lose their hearing earlier than non-smokers and are more susceptible to hearing loss caused by ear infections or loud noise.
5. Skin cancer "Everybody realizes that sun exposure is a risk for skin cancer, but almost no one knows that smoking is also an important, and independent, risk factor. The researchers found that smoking was only associated with development of squamous cell carcinoma, not basal cell carcinoma or melanoma.
6. Tooth decay Smoking interferes with the mouths chemistry, creating excess plaque and yellowing teeth.
7. Emphysema In addition to lung cancer,smoking causes emphysema, a swelling and rupturing of the lungs air sacs that reduces the lungs capacity to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.
8. Osteoporosis Carbon monoxide, the main poisonous gas in car exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke, binds to blood much more readily than oxygen, cutting the oxygen-carrying power of heavy smokers blood by as much as 15 percent. As a result, smokersbones lose density, fracture more easily and take up to 80 percent longer to heal.
9. Heart disease Smoking is one of the biggest risk factors for developing cardiovascular diseases. Smoking makes the heart beat faster, raises blood pressure and increases the risk of hypertension and clogged arteries and eventually causes heart attacks and strokes.
10. Stomach ulcers Smoking reduces resistance to the bacteria that cause stomach ulcers. It also impairs the stomachs ability to neutralize acid after a meal,leaving the acid to eat away the stomach lining. Smokers ulcers are harder to treat and more likely to recur.
11. Discoloured fingers The tar in cigarette smoke collects on the fingers and fingernails,staining them a yellowish-brown.
12. Cervical cancer and miscarriage Besides increasing the risk of cancer of the uterine cervix, smoking can lead to fertility problems for women and complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of low weight babies and future ill health consequences. Miscarriage is 2 to 3 times more common in smokers, as are stillbirths due to fetal oxygen deprivation and placental abnormalities induced by carbon monoxide and nicotine in cigarette smoke. Sudden infant death syndrome is also associated with smoking. In addition, smoking can lower estrogen levels causing premature menopause.
13. Deformed sperm Smoking can deform sperm and damage its DNA, which could cause miscarriage or birth defects.Smoking also diminishes sperm count and reduces the blood flow to the penis, which can cause impotence. Infertility is more common among smokers.
14. Psoriasis Smokers seem to be more likely to develop psoriasis, a noncontagious inflammatory skin condition that leaves itchy, oozing red patches all over the body.
15. Buergers disease Buerger's disease, also known as thromboangitis obliterans, is an inflammation of the arteries, veins, and nerves in the legs, principally, leading to restricted blood flow.
16. Cancer Smokers are some 20 times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers and according to many studies, the longer one smokes, the greater the risk of developing cancers at several sites, including cancer of the nasal and paranasal cavities ,oral cavity,nasopharynx ,oro and hypopharynx, oesophagus , stomach ,pancreas and kidney .
Thanks for the great article. I hope to be back to read it again. Please write to me so I like this article. I feel much better and more knowledgeable. Thank you.
ตั้งใจจะมาแวะทักทายคนรักน้องเอ็มซะหน่อย...
ดั๊นนน ... มาเจอรูปน่ากลังจัง ค่า...
แต่ยังไง
ภาพโฆษณาตัวนี้
ดูกี่ครั้งก็ยังน้ำตาซึมค่ะ
แล้วเพลงประกอบก็เพลงโปรดของแจงซะด้วย
cats in the cradle ... จำได้แม่นเลย