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How Can Smoking Hurt You?

Submitted by Serena Mason on July 21, 2010

Smoking is one of the most common habits all around the world and, rather unfortunately, also one of the hardest habits to break. While it is easy to criticize people that fall into the trap of being addicted to smoking, one should not ignore the fact that most smokers caught on to the habit while still in their teens and rather ignorant of the far reaching effects of the practice. Moreover, the fact that the condition not only affects the person that is smoking, but also people in close proximity means that a smoker should acknowledge that the health of close friends and family is also at stake. The nicotine, which is the primary addictive agent in the cigarette, is odorless and colorless while varying in concentration from one brand of cigarette to another. Once the nicotine has entered the bloodstream together with tar, it reaches the brain in under 12 seconds and will then spread throughout the entire body in less than a single minute – leading to an increase in blood pressure and heart rate – leading to a sense of heightened alertness and rather calm reactions.

However, studies have shown that in under a period of 30 minutes, this nirvana effect will usually be lost and urge the addict to reach for another cigarette to satisfy the addiction. Smoking is a direct cause of a number of conditions that will usually end in the demise of the affected individual. Some of the more well known conditions caused by the habit include lung cancer, respiratory problems, and a number of heart ailments.

Medical complications such as a thickening of the arteries as well as blood clots, cancers of the lungs, cervix, mouth and pancreas are also very likely outcomes while on a very prominent physical level, the affected individual is likely to suffer from a decreased stamina as well as poor athletic performance. Recent surveys show that almost about 33% of the entire planets male population smoke cigarettes and on an average about 7 people die every minute as a result of smoking. More than 90% of all lung cancer deaths are directly linked to smoking while the actual cigarette also contains about 49 known carcinogenic compounds and about 4000 other toxic substances, all of which are harmful to the body to some degree or the other.

When attempting to break the habit’s hold on you, it is important to be extremely focused and sure of what you want to achieve. The fact that a single cigarette seems like a rather small expense combined with its easy availability will convince you to have that one last cigarette, indulging in your desire is only likely to make the entire process much harder to fight.