533671 Smoking & Poison

In no surer way could such a serious derangement of that delicate mechanism known as the parasympathetic nervous system, be affected than to subject it continuously and excessively to the injury caused by those products of combustion we know as “a smoke.” Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. Many adults die as a direct result of smoking each year and in fact smoking is the biggest cause of preventable death in the worlds. Most people know that smoking can cause lung cancer, but it can also cause many other cancers and illnesses. Blood clots in the heart and brain are the most common causes of sudden death. Also major diseases caused by smoking - Cardiovascular disease, and Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death due to smoking. Smoking kills around 114,000 people in the UK each year. Of these deaths, about 42,800 are from smoking-related cancers, 30,600 from cardiovascular disease and 29,100 die slowly from emphysema and other chronic lung diseases. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, and cigarette smoking causes most cases. Compared to nonsmokers, men who smoke are about 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer and women who smoke are about 13 times more likely. Smoking causes about 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and almost 80% in women. In 2003, an estimated 171,900 new cases of lung cancer occurred and approximately 157,200 people died from lung cancer. Tobacco smoking, by introducing into the system nicotine, a narcotic drug, and other poisons, is one very important cause of blood vessel spasms. Such spasms occur not only in the stomach but also in the heart, the blood vessels, the fingers, and the toes. More and more people are suffering gangrene of the feet because of chronic tobacco poisoning. This often necessitates amputation. Also Cardiovasular disease can take many forms depending on which blood vessels are involved, and all of them are more common in people who smoke. Smoking contains poisonous materials, such as nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, arsenic, benzopyrene, etc., that the smoker swallows in small proportions. Their harm accumulates with time to result in a gradual killing of the human organs and tissues. And it is the Fact. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of developing mouth cancers. This risk also increases among people who smoke pipes and cigars. Reductions in the number of people who smoke cigarettes, pipes, cigars, and other tobacco products or use smokeless tobacco could prevent most of the estimated 30,200 new cases and 7,800 deaths from oral cavity and pharynx cancers annually in the United States. The hazards of smoking to the health are hard to enumerate. Cancer, tuberculosis, heart attacks, asthma, coughing, premature birth, infertility, infections in the digestive system, high blood pressure, nervousness, mouth and teeth diseases, etc., are among the many health hazards that have been strongly linked to smoking. Smokers are more likely to get cancer than non-smokers. This is particularly true of lung cancer, throat cancer and mouth cancer, which hardly ever affect non-smokers. Ninety percent of lung cancer cases are due to smoking. If no-one smoked, lung cancer would be a rare diagnosis - only 0.5 per cent of people who've never touched a cigarette develop lung cancer. One in ten moderate smokers and almost one in five heavy smokers (more than 15 cigarettes a day) will die of lung cancer. Other types of cancer that are more common in smokers are: bladder cancer cancer of the oesophagus cancer of the kidneys cancer of the pancreas A single cigarette can reduce the blood supply to your skin for over an hour. Smokers tend to develop coronary thrombosis 10 years earlier than non-smokers, and make up 9 out of 10 heart bypass patients. Blood clots in the heart and brain are the most common causes of sudden death. Coronary thrombosis: a blood clot in the arteries supplying the heart, which can lead to a heart attack. Around 30 per cent are caused by smoking. Cerebral thrombosis: the vessels to the brain can become blocked, which can lead to collapse, stroke and [login to view URL] the kidney arteries are affected, then high blood pressure or kidney failure results. Blockage to the vascular supply to the legs may lead to gangrene and amputation. The harm done by this powerful action on the small capillaries is the reason people who are addicted to the tobacco habit lose their youthful looks, since complexion is directly dependent upon the state of the skin capillaries, the very fine branches of the big arteries. This is the place where the veins begin to form, in other words, the most delicate part of the entire structure of our heart and blood vessel system. Smoking raises blood pressure, which can cause hypertension (high blood pressure) - a risk factor for heart attacks and stroke. Smoking also affects your looks: smokers have paler skin and more wrinkles. This is because smoking reduces the blood supply to the skin and lowers levels of vitamin A. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified environmental tobacco smoke as a Group A carcinogen. This means that there is more than enough evidence to prove that tobacco smoke, whether it is inhaled by the smoker or the non-smoker, can cause cancer in humans. For example, cadmium, a known lung cancer causing substance, is found in concentrations that are six times higher in the smoke that is inhaled by passive smokers as opposed to the smoke that is inhaled directly by the smoker through the cigarette. Chemicals In Cigarettes The chemicals in cigarettes and tobacco smoke make smoking harmful. A cigarette contains about 4000 chemicals, many of which are poisonous. Many of these chemicals are extremely dangerous, not only for the smoker but also for those people nearby. At least 50 are known carcinogens (cause cancer in humans) and many are poisonous. Every time you inhale smoke from a cigarette, small amounts of these chemicals get into your blood through your lungs. They travel to all the parts of your body and cause harm. Chemicals in cigarettes, some of the worst ones are: Tar - particulate matter drawn into lungs when you inhale on a lighted cigarette. Once inhaled, smoke condenses and about 70 per cent of the tar in the smoke is deposited in the smoker's lungs. Benzene - a colourless cyclic hydrocarbon obtained from coal and petroleum, used as a solvent in fuel and in chemical manufacture - and contained in cigarette smoke, (Known carcinogen associated with leukaemia). Formaldehyde - a colourless liquid, highly poisonous, used to preserve dead bodies - also found in cigarette smoke, (Known to cause cancer, respiratory, skin and gastrointestinal problems). Ammonia - used as a flavouring, frees nicotine from tobacco turning it into a gas Often found in dry cleaning fluids. Creosote - a component of tar. If inhaled it can cause irritation of the respiratory tract. Formaldehyde - a preservative substance used in forensic labs. It causes cancer in humans and in animals. Acetone - fragrant volatile liquid ketone, used as a solvent, for example, nail polish remover, (Found in cigarette smoke). Other irritant toxins that are found in cigarette smoke are: Acrolein - an extremely toxic substance used to manufacture acrylic acid. It is considered a possible human carcinogen and it irritates the lungs and is the cause of emphysema. Hydrogen cyanide - deadly toxic poison used to kill rats. If breathed in in small doses, it can cause headaches, dizziness and weakness. Toluene - used to manufacture paint, paint thinners, nail varnish and adhesives. Low - moderate levels can provoke tiredness, weakness, loss of appetite and memory loss. Carbon monoxide - a deadly gas if inhaled in enclosed spaces. Faulty and leaking gas heaters, boilers, stoves and tobacco smoke all produce this gas. Polonium 210 - a radioactive substance that requires special handling techniques when studied in labs. It can cause cancer of the liver and bladder, stomach ulcers, leukaemia amongst other diseases. Also: Cadmium and nickel: used in batteries; Arsenic: used in rat poison; Methane: a component of rocket fuel; Butane: lighter fluid. Smoking during pregnancy Smoking while pregnant exposes a woman and her unborn child to an increased risk of health problems. A woman who smokes while pregnant is at increased risk of a wide range of problems including ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage and premature labour. Women who smoke are twice as likely to give birth to a low weight baby compared to non-smokers. Protecting your baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things you can do to give your child a healthy start in life. It's never too late to stop smoking. Every cigarette you smoke in pregnancy harms your unborn baby. Cigarettes restrict the essential oxygen supply to your baby, so their heart has to beat harder every time you smoke. Cigarettes also contain over 4,000 chemicals. Like drinking too much alcohol or doing drugs, smoking is also very harmful to your health. It can cause serious health conditions including cancer, heart disease, stroke and gum disease. It can also cause eye diseases that can lead to blindness. Smoking can make it harder for a woman to get pregnant. Not only is smoking harmful to you, it's also harmful to your baby during pregnancy. When you smoke during pregnancy, your baby is exposed to dangerous chemicals like nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar. These chemicals can lessen the amount of oxygen that your baby gets. Oxygen is very important for helping your baby grow healthy. Smoking can also damage your baby's lungs. Smoking in pregnancy results in serious risks for both the woman and the fetus. Compared with women who do not smoke Women who smoke prior to pregnancy are about twice as likely to experience a delay in conception and have approximately 30% higher odds of being infertile. Women who smoke during pregnancy are about twice as likely to experience premature rupture of membranes, placental abruption, and placenta previa during pregnancy. Babies born to women who smoke during pregnancy Have about 30% higher odds of being born prematurely. Are more likely to be born with low birth weight (less than 2500 grams or 5.5 pounds), increasing their risk for illness or death. Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have: An ectopic pregnancy Vaginal bleeding Placental abruption (placenta peels away, partially or almost completely, from the uterine wall before delivery) Placenta previa (a low-lying placenta that covers part or all of the opening of the uterus) The risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS, or 'cot death') is increased in babies of mothers who smoke during pregnancy or after birth. Keep baby safe by asking smokers to always go outside your home and car to smoke. Many of the 4,000+ chemicals the mother inhales are passed on to the baby through breast milk and through passive smoking. Babies of smokers are more likely to suffer from asthma and other respiratory infections. Children exposed to tobacco smoke have more middle ear infections. Breast milk protects your baby against infection, but if you smoke, you are likely to have reduced production of breast milk and some harmful substances may be absorbed by the baby through the breast milk. If you are having difficulty quitting smoking, try not to smoke just before or during feeds, and always go outside to smoke. If you can't give it up completely, keep working on it. Remember, even if you do smoke, breastfeeding is preferable to bottle-feeding because of the important nutrients and protective factors in breast milk. Babies born to women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to be born: With birth defects such as cleft lip or palate Prematurely At low birthweight Underweight for the number of weeks of pregnancy Also babies born prematurely and at low birthweight are at risk of other serious health problems, including lifelong disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation and learning problems), and in some cases, death. Children are at greater risk of being exposed to secondhand smoke than adults. During the period 1999--2002, almost 40 million children, aged 3-19 years, or about 58% of children in this age group, were exposed to secondhand smoke. Infants who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to die of SIDS compared to children not exposed. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections, more severe asthma, respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth. The 'side-stream' smoke that comes off a cigarette between puffs carries a higher risk than directly inhaled smoke. Babies whose parents smoke are more likely to be admitted to hospital for bronchitis and pneumonia during the first year of life. More than 17,000 children under the age of five are admitted to hospital every year because of the effects of second-hand smoke. Children who grow up in a home where one or both of their parents smoke have twice the risk of getting asthma and asthmatic bronchitis. They also have a higher risk of developing allergies. Infants under two years old are more prone to severe respiratory infections and cot death. Smoking and impotence The British Medical Association estimates that up to 120,000 men have ED because of smoking. For men in their 30s and 40s, smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) by about 50 per cent. Smoking can damage the blood vessels and cause them to degenerate: nicotine narrows the arteries that lead to the penis, reducing blood flow and the pressure of blood in the penis. Erection can't occur unless blood can flow freely into the penis, so these blood vessels have to be in good condition. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Cigarette smoking causes about 1 of every 5 deaths in the United States each year. 443,000 deaths annually (including deaths from secondhand smoke) 49,400 deaths per year from secondhand smoke exposure 269,655 deaths annually among men 173,940 deaths annually among women No one can deny the harm of smoking to the human body. The medical evidence for this is well established and overwhelming. Because of this, the law in the United States and many other countries requires including a warning on any smoking advertisement. Cigarettes are one of few products which can be sold legally which can harm and even kill you over time if used as intended. There are ongoing lawsuits in the USA which aim to hold tobacco companies responsible for the effects of smoking on the health of long term smokers..