People smoke for many reasons; either to look mature or to be like their friends or maybe just to see what it feels like: but while many people who engage in smoking don’t know this; that smoking has many effects which are not beneficial to their health, some of them who know this still engage themselves in this addictive act.

Smoking has been said to be the largest leading factor responsible for premature death in most developed countries and yes, a large percentage of cancer in the United States hasbeen attributed to cigarette smoking. The major cause of cancer deaths in the United States and across the globe,both in men and women, which is the cancer of the lungs, has been said to be mostly caused by cigarette smoking.

Smoking adversely affects every part of the human bodies both internal; from the heart, to the lungs and even the bones; and the external; the fingers, the lips, the forehead, to name a few; even the smoker’s fertility is not left out.

Smoking is largely associated with premature ageingand a number of skin disorders; besides its known links to heart and lung diseases and cancer; and these skin disorders are made manifest either immediately or with time.

The dangers of smoking aren’t news, but how exactly does this smoking cause injury to the smoker’s health, and especially on the outward appearance?

Why don’t you read on so you can find out?

EFFECT OF SMOKING ON HUMAN HEALTH

“Smokers are liable to die young”. This is a warning which appears written on every cigarette pack. “But Mr. A has been smoking for a while now, and he looks quite healthy”, you might think. Smoking does not kill the smoker instantly per say; it’s dangerous effects take time and then gradually take life away from the smoker. That Mr. A looks healthy physically does not mean that he looks healthy on the inside.

Smoking launches nicotine, among other chemical substances into the lungs, the blood and other organs of the human body, these chemical substances includes the cancer causing chemicals.

When smoking, one takes in these harmful substances which destroys the air sacs in the lungs and this increases the risk of non-reversible lung infections and lung cancer.

Smoking increases the blood pressure of thesmoker;this it does by thickening and damaging the blood vessels and makes them to become narrow and this causes the heart to beat faster, thereby causing clots to form and the blood pressure to go up. When these clots are formed, it can block the flow of blood to some parts of the brain and this can cause stroke to occur.

Smoking can impair chances of getting pregnant, increase risk of birth defects in pregnant women and can also cause miscarriage too.Smoking also can reduce a man’s sperm count and this affects fertility.

The eyes are not left out: smoking can cloud the eye lens, and this makes it hard for one to see clearly, thereby increasing the risk of cataracts, an eye defect.

These are quite a few harmful effects of smoking on human health, but how does it affect thelargest organ of the body, the human skin;let us look at the several ways smoking can affect the skin:

EFFECT OF SMOKING ON THE HUMAN SKIN

Asides the internal dangers posed to the health which includes but not limited to: lung cancer, heart disease, impaired erection in male and estrogen hormone imbalance in female; every cigarette contains toxic chemical substances which damages the tissuesresponsible for elasticity of the skin. These toxic chemical substances are introduced into the body system of smokers upon each inhalation.

Smoking hurts the skin in more ways than one.

Asides the obviousfact that smoking darkens the lips color and the gum of the smokers’ teeth; it also darkens the skin complexion of the smoker. This is so because smoking robs the skin of oxygen and necessary nutrients which are responsible for toning the skin color. The skin would lose its healthy glow and texture, leaving the smoker looking pale and most times, grayish/yellowish.

Smoking changes the skin in ways that can add years to the looks. This is why smoke chronic smokers may look a little older than their actual year.Itaffects the elastic tissues of the skin and this can cause wrinkles to start appearing on the forehead and these wrinkles progressively becomes permanent as the fibers which gives the skin its elasticity and strength,the collagen and the elastin, becomes damaged. Wrinkles usually starts much earlier in people who smoke than in those who do not smoke. These wrinkles are not limited to the forehead; vertical wrinkles tend to appear around the mouth as a result of squeezing the lips around a cigarette. Thesewrinkle damages are not limited to the face as every other part of the skin that were once firm may start sagging; the breast, the arm, the cheeks; all starts sagging with progressive smoking.

Smoking reduces blood flow; this can deplete the skin’s protective tissues, depriving the skin of necessary nutrients that makes it look healthy, lowers the level of Vitamin A in the skin and also increases the production of free radicals; this causes premature ageing.This reduced blood flow can cause the skin to crack and also hinder the body’s ability to heal from wounds.It is also easier for one to develop scars from minor injuries when theyare smoke.

Smoking is a risk factor for developing a certain chronic inflammatory skin condition known as psoriasis; this is a skin condition that produces itchy and scaly patches on some areas on the skin. Nicotine, which is a substance in cigarette, affects the skin cell growth and skin inflammation and this may contribute to the development of Psoriasis. Psoriasis may appear violet or dark brown with gray patches in dark skin toned people and in light skin tones, may appear red or pink with silvery patch.

The majority of inflammatory skin diseases are most likely to affect smokers severely than non-smokers and smoking can make the symptoms of some skin conditions to become worsened. Other effects smoking has on the skin include; bad body odour, saggy eye bag, saggy jaw line, bad breath, etc.

These effects cannot be overemphasized.

Conclusion

Smoking is not good for the health: It does more harm than good to the smoker and even to the non-smoker by the side inhaling the puff, and it is a well known fact. It has been proven to enhance the very many symptoms that are associated with ageing, causing cancer in almost every part of the body; the lungs, kidney, liver, throat, tongue etc. and also impairs fertility in both male and female.However, smoking could be considered a relaxation exercise because it is usually enjoyable when you smoke in the midst of friends. Also, some of the substance that is being smoked is good for the health in one way or the other. For example, cannabis sativa serves as energizer and could be good for the memory. Indica is actually a depressant and best for relaxation. If you ever felt so relaxed and calm after smoking then it must be indica. Its therapeutic effect includes; insomnia management and stress management. It is the best type of cannabis for bed time. Many are battling with having a good rest especially at night; cannabis indica is best for the rest.

This is why amidst all the health challenges of smoking, there are some other of its health benefit which is has made it an essential part of living for some people. There are many who smoke for fun, others smoke for relaxation while some others smoke as a therapeutic remedy to some health challenge.