20/06/2022
effects of smoking and to***co
When you smoke, harmful chemicals enter your lungs and spread through your body. They can:
reach your brain, heart and other organs within 10 seconds of your first puff
go everywhere your blood flows, harming every part of your body.
Even if you don’t inhale to***co smoke, you still absorb harmful chemicals through the lining of your mouth.The ni****ne in to***co is highly addictive. It makes your brain release a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is a ‘feel good’ chemical that:
makes you feel happy
helps you to concentrate
gives you more energy.
But this effect doesn’t last long.
As the ni****ne levels in your body fade, your brain craves more dopamine. The longer you have been smoking, the more dopamine you need to feel good. You become dependent on ni****ne.
Once you are dependent on ni****ne, without it you will have withdrawal symptoms. You may find it difficult to concentrate or feel nervous, restless, irritable or anxious.
These two things — ni****ne dependence and ni****ne withdrawal — make you want to smoke more. You become addicted to to***co.
How to***co damages your body
The chemicals in to***co smoke can damage your body in many ways. For example:
Ni****ne narrows your veins and arteries. This can
damage your heart by forcing it to work faster and harder
slow your blood and reduce oxygen to your feet and hands.
Carbon monoxide deprives your heart of the oxygen it needs to pump blood around your body. Over time, your airways swell up and let less air into your lungs.
Tar is a sticky substance that coats your lungs like soot in a chimney.
Phenols paralyse and kill the hair-like cells in your airways. These cells sweep clean the lining of your airways and protect them against infections.
Tiny particles in to***co smoke irritate your throat and lungs and cause ‘smoker’s cough’. This makes you produce more mucus and damages lung tissue.
Ammonia and formaldehyde irritate your eyes, nose and throat.
Cancer-causing chemicals make your cells grow too fast or abnormally. This can result in cancer cells.