¡@¡@According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every ten seconds someone dies from smoking related diseases. There are many hidden toxins in a smoker's body. These toxins not only cause lung cancer and cardiovascular disease, their damage could be found from head to toe!

The side effects of smoking can be found from head to toe.

The side effects of smoking can be found from head to toe.(Picture from WHO)

 

(1) Hair Loss
Smoking will weaken the immune system, making the body more prone to diseases, and will result in hair loss.

 

(2) Glaucoma
Smoking will stimulate the eyes by releasing chemicals into the lungs, which then travel to the eyes, causing worsening of eye diseases. For someone who smokes more than 20 cigarettes a day, there is a two-fold chance for them to have glaucoma. Glaucoma is a condition in which the aqueous fluid in the eyeball becomes cloudy, impeding the passage of light into the retina. In severe cases, blindness could result.

 

(3)Wrinkle
Smoking will damage the elastin in the skin, consume the Vitamin A in the skin, restrict blood flow, and cause the skin to age prematurely, especially around the lips and the eyes.

 
(4) Hearing Loss
Smoking will cause a decrease of blood flow into the inner ear, causing the smokers to lose hearing more prematurely than non-smokers. The smokers are also more likely to lose their hearing due to ear infection and noise.
 
(5) Skin Cancer
Because smoking will damage the immune system, smokers have a 50% greater chance of having squamous cell carcinoma.
 
(6) Cavities
Smoking will cause excessive amount of stain on the teeth, as well as dental cavities and premature tooth loss.
 
(7) Lung Discomfort
Smoking will cause many different lung diseases, such as emphysema, which causes the alveoli to swell and burst, reducing the lung's capacity to carry oxygen and release carbon dioxide. Another example is chronic bronchitis, which is caused by the accumulation of thick mucus, making breathing difficult and results in painful cough.
 
(8) Osteoporosis
Carbon monoxide is the main toxic gas in the cigarette smoke. It combines with the hemoglobin more readily than oxygen, thereby reducing the oxygen content of the blood by 15%. This causes the bone density of smokers to decrease, making them more susceptible to fracture. Smokers require ten times as much healing time for a fracture compared to a non-smokers.
 
(9) Heart Disease
Smoking causes the heart rate and the blood pressure to go up, increasing the chance of having high blood pressure and clogged arteries.
 
(10) Stomach Ulcer
Smoking causes the resistance to stomach ulcer virus to decrease, as well as damaging the ability of the stomach to neutralize the stomach acid after a meal. This acid will erode the wall of the stomach. Stomach ulcer in a smoker is harder to treat, and they have a high recurrence rate.
 
(11) Discolored Fingernails
The tar in the tobacco products will accumulate on the fingers and fingernails, giving them a yellow-brown appearance, which is not very attractive.
 
(12) Cervical Cancer
Besides increasing the risk of cervix and uterine cancers, smoking will also cause infertility and complications during pregnancy and delivery. Smoking will also result in decreased progesterone, accelerating the onset of menopause.
 
(13) Sperm Mutation
Smoking will cause mutation of the sperm, damaging its DNA, which will result in miscarriage or congenital defect of the fetus, even giving birth to an infant with cancer. Smoking will also reduce the sperm count, as well as decreasing blood flow to the penis, causing impotence.
 
(14) Psoriasis
Because smoking will alter the white blood cells and release a large amount of toxins, the smokers have a two- to three-time better chance of having psoriasis. This is a non-communicable inflammatory skin disease that makes the entire body itch, break out in hives.
 
(15)Guerger's Disease
Smoking will damage the wall of the blood vessels, making it more difficult for the heart to pump enough blood to the periphery of the body. Severe cases will result in Buerger's disease, in which necrosis of body tissues occur, often resulting in limb amputation.
 
(16) Cancer
In the cigarette smoke, there are at least 60 chemicals that are confirmed to be carcinogenic. Based on some research, the longer a person smokes, the better chance of that person of having various types of cancers, including cancers of nose, tongue, mouth, salivary glands, pharynx, throat, penis, and rectum.