Consequences of smoking

introduction

Smoking cigarettes or other tobacco products is still one of the most common luxury foods in Germany, despite their clearly harmful influence.

Approx. 30% of Germans smoke regularly, despite the knowledge of the harmful effects of smoking in every respect.

The consequences of smoking include health restrictions that directly affect the smoker. In addition to lung damage with a greatly increased risk of developing chronic lung diseases and Lung cancer the blood vessels are also damaged, leading to Heart attack and stroke can lead.

The general efficiency decreases. In addition, the consequences of smoking are clearly visible from the outside, such as premature skin aging or yellowing of fingers and teeth.

But not only the smoker himself can suffer from the consequences of smoking, people living in the same environment can also get through Passive smoking be harmed, which is especially tragic for children. Especially during pregnancy or breastfeeding, the unborn child or infant can be severely affected, so that smoking is absolutely irresponsible, especially during pregnancy.

General consequences of smoking

General consequences of smoking can be observed not only in the lungs, but in the whole body and in almost all organs. The smoke directly damages the lungs, but the substances dissolved in the smoke are absorbed into the blood and distributed throughout the body.

Lungs and airways:

General effects of smoking can be seen primarily on the lungs and airways. The smoke directly damages the lung tissue, which over the years leads to chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This causes severe breathing difficulties and frequent infections. In addition, the risk of lung cancer is dramatically increased, with 90% of the deaths caused by smoking. Tumors can also develop in the rest of the airways as a general consequence of smoking.

Read more on the topic: Symptoms of vocal cord inflammation

Cardiovascular system:

Smoking increases blood pressure and damages blood vessels. This is particularly important in the coronary arteries and the cerebral vessels, since calcifications and vascular occlusions can lead to heart attacks or strokes as direct consequences of smoking. Other blood vessels are also affected. Smokers suffer more from the as Intermittent claudication known peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAD).

Further information on this topic can be found at: The smoker's leg - the peripheral arterial occlusive disease

Cancers:

In addition to the lungs, many types of cancer are strongly associated with smoking as general consequences of smoking. These include above all tumors of the gastrointestinal tract such as gastric or colon cancer. However, tumors of the pancreas, kidneys or urinary bladder also show smoking as a main risk factor.

Other consequences of smoking:

However, general consequences of smoking go well beyond the above. In addition, smoking causes the skin to age prematurely and discolor the teeth and fingernails yellow. The consequences of smoking are known to be reduced bone density, which can lead to osteoporosis, and a general weakening of the immune system.
In the oral cavity there is also inflammation and shrinkage of the gums.

The libido and sperm quality are also negatively influenced by smoking.
In the event of injuries, smoking delays wound healing.

In addition to physical characteristics, psychological dependence in particular is one of the most serious consequences of smoking, as it makes it much more difficult to quit.

Please also read: Illnesses related to smoking

Consequences for children of passive smoking

Consequences of smoking affect the person who smokes as well as those around them, especially Children.

These are usually exposed to the tobacco smoke in a parental home where people are smoked, because on the one hand they cannot escape the pollutants and on the other hand cannot assess the dangers and consequences of smoking.

As a result of their parents' smoking, children who smoke passively are ill more often than children of the same age from non-smoking households.
According to current studies, the occurrence of allergies, otitis media, pneumonia and above all is observed more and more asthma.

This can be explained by the damaging and respiratory irritant effects of the toxins contained in tobacco smoke, which are present to a large extent in the indoor air of a smoking household. These can also be deposited in furniture and carpets and can thus be inhaled by children even after they have been aired.

In addition, these children complain more often a headache and sleep disorders. The long-term consequences of parents' smoking are an increased risk of ulcers and cancer and an increased likelihood of chronic lung disease in the children.

In addition to the direct damage to health, the long-term consequences of smoking for children cannot be assessed. For example, children who passively inhale tobacco smoke have a significantly higher risk of being a smoker in adulthood. These are therefore brought on an extremely unhealthy path at a young age, virtually without their control.

Consequences of smoking during pregnancy

Special attention must be paid to the consequences of smoking when pregnant women. They are not only responsible for their own well-being, but also and above all for the well-being of the unborn child, which can have significant health problems through smoking during pregnancy.
The mother supplies the child with blood via the placenta, which also contains the pollutants absorbed by smoking. The consequences of smoking during pregnancy can lead to complications during pregnancy and to malformations and risks for the baby. Overall, the likelihood of a miscarriage is higher.

Also the premature detachment of the placenta and clinical pictures like that (Pre-eclampsia can be consequences of smoking. The newborn is often smaller than its peers by chance and suffers from slow growth in further development.

Birth weight is also lower as a result of smoking during pregnancy, which can lead to infections and developmental disorders more frequently. In addition, as consequences of smoking during pregnancy are an increased risk for Cleft lip and palate and systemic diseases known as diabetes, allergies, asthma, and cardiovascular disease.

So it can be said that smoking during pregnancy must be avoided absolutely and without exception. This is especially true for active smoking, but passive smoking can also cause the above-mentioned consequences of smoking.

Please also read: How dangerous is smoking during pregnancy?

Consequences of smoking while breastfeeding

After pregnancy, the question arises whether smoking should also be avoided while breastfeeding. It must be said that the pollutants and nicotine produced by the burn also get into breast milk so that they can be fed to the baby. Even if the consequences of smoking during breastfeeding are less dramatic than during pregnancy, they should not be underestimated.

The concentration in the milk during breastfeeding is as high as in the mother's blood, so that especially heavy smokers can cause nausea, vomiting and colic in babies as the consequences of smoking. It sucks less and becomes restless, the development of the child can be delayed. There are also consequences of smoking while breastfeeding, which influence the breastfeeding behavior of mothers.

The milk entry comes later in smokers and the amount produced is also lower. It should be noted that smoking should be avoided completely while breastfeeding, never smoking in the presence of the child.

Consequences of smoking during puberty

A crucial period in a person's life is adolescence or puberty. In this phase of life, the risk of starting smoking is particularly high and the consequences of smoking in adolescence are more serious than in adults.

This is due to the fact that in adolescence and especially in puberty one is more susceptible to the harmful influences, since the body is in an important development phase. All organs and the central nervous system are in constant restructuring and growth, so that particularly far-reaching consequences of smoking can be seen here. The brain is more prone to damage. The occurrence of depression and Attention Deficit Disorders are more often diagnosed in people who smoked in adolescence. Teenagers are also more susceptible to nicotine and become addicted more quickly than adults.

The physical consequences of smoking can also be observed more strongly in teenagers and children during puberty. There is increased high blood pressure, decreased performance in sports and poor lung capacity and function, as the tender lung tissue cannot develop well. Consequences of smoking during puberty can lead to chronic bronchitis and even at a relatively early age COPD be.

In general, all the consequences of smoking occur earlier in people who started smoking in adolescence or puberty than in late beginners, since the total dose of cigarettes smoked plays a major role in the development of the consequences.

Risks for diseases of the cardiovascular system and cancer are greatly increased. Another consequence of tobacco consumption, which is more difficult in adolescence, is the reduction in bone density, which can in some cases be objectively proven in 18-year-old smokers. Smoking in adolescence and puberty causes the bone substance to decrease steadily and so leads to an early supply osteoporosis and possibly growth or development disorders.

Last but not least, smoking has been shown to cost years of life; the earlier you start, e.g. in adolescence or puberty, the more so. It was thus possible to calculate that people who started smoking at the age of 14 live up to 20 years less than non-smokers.

This is all the more tragic because young people between the ages of 14-18 are often not yet able to reflect on their own decisions well enough and assess the consequences. Prevention by parents, schools and society therefore plays an important role in avoiding the consequences of smoking.

Consequences of smoking in combination with alcohol consumption

Besides smoking, the most commonly consumed luxury food in Germany is alcohol. In many cases, both are consumed at the same time, often in excessive quantities.
The harmful effects of smoking and alcohol do not add up, but they do exponentiate themselves.

Typical effects of smoking with alcohol affect the mouth and esophagus, stomach and pancreas. It happens more and more Stomach ulcer and inflammation of the overlying mucous membranes in the mouth and esophagus. Smoking and alcohol are also the main risk factors for tumors at this point.

In addition, the development of a Reflux disease, in which gastric juice flows back into the esophagus as well as inflammation and also the appearance of Cancer of the pancreas. Oral cancer is almost always related to smoking and alcohol. In addition, the consequences of smoking or alcohol consumption can of course still occur alone, so that frequent consumption of nicotine and alcohol is a particularly risky lifestyle.

Please also read: Consequences of alcohol