Impact of Smoking on Organs other than the Lungs

The first thing that comes to our minds when we think cigarettes, is Nicotine. A lot of people are not aware that along with Nicotine, a smoker inhales 7,000 other chemicals – and some of these chemicals can have harmful effects on the body.

While the damaging results of nicotine on our lungs is known to us, the chemical also affects the circulatory system spiking your blood pressure and heart rate. Similarly, it impacts many other organs in your body, resulting in a gradual slow-down of your system.

YOUR SKIN

Smoking damages the skin in more than one way. With continuous and prolonged smoking, you may notice bags under the eyes, skin toughening, wrinkles, and stretch marks — all because of your skin losing its elasticity. Some hard-hitting impact later in life may be warts, slower wound healing, psoriasis and skin cancer.

YOUR UTERUS

For women, this might be something more of a concern because it impacts their reproductive health. Cigarettes significantly increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy. Some research has shown that cigarettes may lead to failures in vitro fertilization and other adverse reproductive outcomes.

YOUR EYES

Some cases of prolonged smoking have been attributed to vision loss, cataracts, glaucoma, dry eye syndrome and diabetic retinopathy. Smoking affects blood flow, which stops the optic nerve from receiving enough antioxidants. As a result, the chemicals in cigarette smoke pollute the blood and famish the ocular organs.

YOUR LIVER

Smoking increases the risk of liver cancer dramatically. Smoking induces three major adverse effects on the liver - direct or indirect toxic effects, oncogenic effects, and immunological effects.

YOUR EARS

The other effect of smoking is reduced oxygen supply to the cochlea, which is a snail-shaped organ in the inner ear. This may permanently damage the cochlea resulting in mild to moderate hearing loss.

YOUR MOUTH

Smoking takes a toll on your mouth too. Certain oral health problems like ulcers, mouth sores, and gum disease can be more predominant with smoking. One is also more likely to have cavities and teeth loss at a younger age. Mouth and throat cancer is also not uncommon because of smoking.

YOUR HEART

Smoking raises your blood pressure and stresses on your heart. Over time, this can weaken your heart, making it difficult to pump blood to other parts of your body. Carbon monoxide from inhaled cigarette smoke increases the risk of heart disease, including heart attacks.

By: Healthcare Job Portal | Perzue.com