The 10 Scariest Things About Smoking
The growing cases of people suffering from lung diseases are on a significant rise. Since many people plan on doing the impossible, quit smoking, for some, it might not work correctly. Even being on the fences of stopping can give rise to many further issues. But, with the current situation of the pandemic crisis, several users globally have moved to consume cannabis in the form of smoking. While most of their reasons might resort to therapeutic properties, others simply wish to carry on with their nicotine or tobacco addiction. And also, apart from smoking nicotine, people resort to smoking budget buds.
As a smoker, smoking cessation is one of the crucial thoughts that cross your mind. In order to lead a healthy life, it is not only essential to quit smoking but also to understand the consequences of committing to such an activity. Making an informed choice before you make a considerable decision is the first nail in the coffin. So, let’s do a quick rundown of ten scariest things that smoking could do.
1. Alarming Statistics
If we follow the statistics laid down by the World Health Organization, the world has over 1.1 billion smokers. If such an alarming tren does not break, by the end of 2025, the number can reach a staggering figure of 1.6 billion. Moreover, the CDC, back in 2016, stated that the United States alone has over thirty-seven million smokers. Around fifteen million American citizens are suffering from a smoking-bound disease. One of the common disorders among these smokers is the COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder).
2. Smoking and Cancer
If you think that lung cancer is the only type of cancer a sufferer can experience after years of vigorous smoking, you’re wrong. Organs like bone marrow, colon, larynx, liver, pancreas, stomach, rectum, throat, bladder, and cervix can also accommodate cancer. Moreover, the habit of smoking can also lead to an increase in you experiencing a stroke or coronary heart disease, putting your health’s wellbeing at severe risk.
3. Harmful Chemicals
A human being is well aware of the harmful chemicals that are present in the burning cigarette. But, do you know that the cigarette has toxic chemicals such as cadmium and arsenic. When these chemicals burn in a cigarette, they transform into carbon monoxide. In a collective figure of around seven thousand chemicals, over seventy of them can cause cancer and other health-related diseases. So, one should be aware of the impact of harmful substances.
4. Smoking and Stress
Several smokers think that smoking helps them in reducing stress. However, one study conducted on smoking and stress states that smokers tend to experience more stress than those who do not smoke. The increased level of stress and anxiety caused by smoking can lead to a rise in blood pressure, which can also result in a heart attack. Smoking helps create additional brain receptors, so when a smoker doesn’t smoke, the depleted nicotine level makes them feel more anxious and stressed.
5. Smoking Damages Lungs and Heart
Since COPD is one of the leading causes of death in the US, around eight people out of ten die because of smoking. Such a disorder helps in damaging your lungs that further paves the way for breathlessness. But over a certain period, the cough and breathlessness could increase severely and lead to asthma later on. Moreover, smoking increases the level of plaque in the heart’s arteries, leading to further complications.
6. Nicotine Content
A regular smoke comprises around 8-9 milligrams of nicotine. However, in a cigar, the nicotine content can lie between a staggering figure of 100-400 milligrams. A study found out that five cigarettes contain enough nicotine to kill the average adult.
7. Secondhand Smoke Effects
Secondhand smoke is a combination of a burning cigarette’s smoke and smoke exhaled by another smoker. It is essential to know that the smoke of burning tobacco has more harmful chemicals than the inhaled one.
8. Smoking can accelerate the aging process.
If you are not aware of the harmful effects of smoking, know that smoking can accelerate the aging process by reducing the amount of transported oxygen in the human body. This particular change can affect your skin and speed up the aging process considerably.
9. Decreased Fertility Rate
Smoking can affect the fertility rate, be it any gender. While males can have erectile dysfunction, female smokers can experience severe complications in pregnancy. Doctors believe that tobacco can affect the placenta and the baby’s lungs and brain.
10. Early Teen Addiction
The first cigarette is where everything begins. Usually, in early teens, youngsters tend to try their hands on the smoking experience under specific circumstances or just because of the adrenaline rush. Since more than three thousand adolescents and teens undergo this experience daily, about seventy percent of them are likely to become regular smokers.
Conclusion
Smoking can not only harm your physical and mental wellbeing but can also make you develop an addictive pattern of an increasing amount of nicotine intake. Some of the frightening effects and impacts of smoking are mentioned above, and thus it is for sure that smoking can only cause harm. If you are a smoker and want to quit smoking, adhere to specific guidelines provided by the American Lung Association.
You can refer to these resources to see what else people are trying all over the world apart from smoking, as an alteration click here.