Quit smoking not for yourself but for your loved ones

Lucknow: People know that smoking is hazardous for them and also for the people around them. Unfortunately, after many warnings from their loved ones, friends, doctor's advice and negative advertisements on TV, people play with their health. Smoking affects many organs of the body. Its shocking to know that around 4000 active chemicals are present in cigarette smoke which can cause serious and sometimes fatal changes inside the body. Many harmful ingredients present in cigarette are carbon monoxide, ammonia, metal substances, and radioactive compounds.

Let us now see, how smoking affects these parts of human body:

Eyes

• Research had shown that many chemicals damage the macula of the eye, the most sensitive aspect of retina.
• The blood vessels burst the macula, which leads to the damage .
• Smoking results the structural and functional changes in the lens of the eye and retina as is causes atherosclerotic plaques that leads to thrombosis (local coagulation or clotting of the blood in a part of circulatory system).
• Atherosclerosis is a disease in which plaque builds up inside the arteries.

Circulatory system

• Smoking affects the circulation and heart function by increasing blood pressure and increasing heart rate.
• These effects occur due to nicotine present in cigarette which directly affect the nerves.
• Heart needs to pump much harder to get oxygen to the entire body because the smokers lungs is full of toxic fumes.
• It increases blood cholesterol and levels of fibrinogen in the blood which leads to cardiovascular diseases such as aneurysm, coronary artery disease, stroke etc.

Lungs

• Tar present in cigarette damage the cells within the lungs which can leads to cancer of larynx or cancer of lungs.
• The amount of cigarette smoking done by a person daily and the type of tobacco being ingested leads to the severe damage in lungs,.

Brain

• Smoking builds up cholesterol and other fatty types plaques in the carotid artery leading to the brain.
• The carotid arteries are the major blood vessels in the neck that supplies blood to the brain, neck and face.
• It decreases the flow of oxygen and haemoglobin in the brain.
• This is because carbon monoxide increases the rise of blood pressure from excess nicotine and thickens the blood that increases the risk of clotted blood.

Muscles and bones

• The poisonous chemicals found in tobacco smokes destroy the growth and development of tissue cells of muscles and bones.
• Smokers’ body do not get the adequate amount of blood supply in the tissues of the body.

"Replacing the smoke on your face with a smile today will replace illness in your life with happiness tomorrow. Quit now."