One of the Harmful Effects of Smoking – Second Hand Smoke

The side effects of smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products are very harmful, and among the harmful effects of smoking are cancer, heart and lung disease. The damage caused by smoking most frequently occurs in the respiratory tract and the circulatory system.

However, the smoker is not the only one who suffers from the harmful effects of smoking. Any one, including non-smokers who find themselves in close proximity to the smoker, is also at risk. Other people are exposed to “second hand smoke” or “environmental tobacco smoke”.

Cigarette smokers inflict second hand smoke on others who are nearby. The non-smoker is compelled to inhale this smoke, which either comes from the cigarette the smoker is using or is exhaled by the smoker himself. This is called passive smoking and is very harmful to the non-smoker.

Second hand smoke is usually relatively less harmful than actually smoking a cigarette, particularly if the exposure is inconsistent and infrequent. However, one wonders whether this is still the case when the smoker frequently smokes indoors, trapping the smoke and exposing others in the room to the smoke.

This is all too often the case when a family member smokes consistently in the presence of the rest of the family. The harmful effects of smoking that beset smokers will show themselves in the passive smokers if they are frequently exposed to second hand smoke.

In particular, children can succumb to the effects of smoking through second hand smoking. Their body is still developing and they have a faster heart rate than adults. Many children, as well as adults, subjected to second hand smoke, fall victim to cancers as well as diseases of the heart and lungs. Should the harmful effects of smoking not manifest themselves in passive smokers, this can only be due to their inconsistent exposure to the second hand smoke.

Smoking in enclosed or insufficiently ventilated rooms is discouraged in many places of business. There is now a growing awareness of the effects of smoking not just on the smokers, but on non-smokers who are around them. Thus, many establishments have strict rules in place, specifically that smokers smoke outdoors instead of indoors.

The implementation of protective measures for non-smokers reduces risk of involuntary passive smoking among workers. However, should these measures not be in place, the risk to non-smokers remains and should be brought to attention of the responsible supervisor.

Janet is writing articles for many years. Visit her current website at http://www.stopsmokingprogram.org/ where she covers interesting aspects with regards to quit smoking naturally and related smoking issues.

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The Effects of Smoking During Pregnancy

Let me start by saying that some activities you should avoid during your pregnancy. The effects of smoking during pregnancy showed by studies are definitely one on those activities. Smoking during pregnancy is a very bad choice. You risk the nightmare of having a stillborn baby, to suffer a miscarriage, or to deliver a low birth-weight baby. Sudden death syndrome referred to as SIDS is a condition whereby a perfectly healthy baby dies unexpectedly during sleep. This is possibility is doubled for babies whose mom smokes. The effects of smoking during pregnancy far out weigh any benefit. Actually no benefit has ever been found for the mother, father, and baby.

It is a proven fact that cigarette smoking can increase the risk of a wide variety of pregnancy complications including premature rupture of membranes, vaginal bleeding and premature placental detachment just as a few examples. One of the effects of smoking during pregnancy is smoking interferes with your absorption of vitamins B and C and folic acid. Neural tube defects results because of lack of folic acid which is caused by smoking.

The problem with smoking is the cigarette itself. The smoke from the cigarette and even the second hand smoke contain very dangerous chemicals. The chemicals that are really dangerous to the baby and the mom such as carbon monoxide and nicotine are toxins that move through the bloodstream and harm your developing baby. Your baby is contained in a smoke-filled womb and this reduces the flow of oxygen to your baby. The effects of smoking during pregnancy are too risky at best. Nicotine can cause your baby’s heart rate to increase, and can decrease your baby’s supply of nutrients because of your increased blood pressure and blood vessel constriction. This is just the start for the baby’s complications as they continuously grow with each trimester.

It is always best to quit smoking before you become pregnant, however, if you are already pregnant please quit during the first trimester. In the early part of the pregnancy it is sometimes easier to quit smoking as the distaste for cigarettes begins now. If you stop your smoking in the early part of the pregnancy you can avoid many of the alarming birth defects your child may suffer. Effects of smoking during pregnancy can cause miscarrying this is avoidable by not smoking. In the first trimester is important for your baby’s development. That is why it is very serious matter that you quit smoking. I know you do not want to stop your baby’s development so stopping now could help to insure that you have a healthy baby.

The second trimester of your pregnancy is very vital to the baby’s health. The effects of smoking during pregnancy become more acute during this time. You can decrease your chances of developing such complications as placenta previa going into pre term labor and even stillbirth. Every cigarette that you do not smoke increases the baby’s chance for life itself. If you have not been able to stop during your first trimester please cut down on the amount you are smoking until after the baby is born.

Smoking in the third trimester is not advisable at all. It is not too late to stop smoking now. If you do decide to stop now you still have a chance to improve your delivery of a healthy, full-term normal birth-weight baby. Smoking is directly the cause of decreased birth-weight. This is a lot to think about and so little time to do it. The effects of smoking during pregnancy are such a great risk that this is something no mother should avoid. An impaired fetal growth has a direct connection with smoking during the pregnancy. One thing perhaps that you had not considered is if you quit smoking by now you have better odds of not loosing your baby to SIDS. The effects of smoking during pregnancy can affect the baby even after the child is born. You can preserve the oxygen flow to your baby during delivery by quitting. Your baby is prone to having breathing problems after birth such as Asthma, Bronchitis, and other breathing disorders. The child may not be as healthy as could be because of suffering from being born premature. Smoking presents many risks for your baby that you can prevent if you only stop “SMOKING”.

Author – Kitty Barker who often writes for and with Pregnancy Information where there is far more information, news and resources. She also writes for Pregnancy Weight Gain If that link is inactive, you can paste this link into your browser – http://pregnancy-and-baby-tips.com/

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The Ugly Effects of Smoking

Tobacco or cigarette smoking is an addictive habit which is quite popular among teenagers and young adults these days. Because cigarettes have large amount of nicotine (highly addictive drug) in order to get users hooked up. So there is no surprise that the millions people worldwide finding it really hard to quit smoking. Although the effects of smoking on our bodies are quite well known to both smokers and non-smokers people still getting hooked on smoking, and this addiction to nicotine and in many cases long term habit makes quitting really hard to most people.

Smoking is known to be a norm with in some social circles, especially among teenagers and young adults, and generally socially accepted this habit has no benefits to both smokers and non-smokers. Not only smoking is highly addictive and hooks you in spending lots of money on cigarettes, but also it can result in serious life threatening diseases and also it will result in less serious but still quite disgusting problems like bad breath, yellow teeth and fingers, bad skin etc. Also smoking effects not only the smoker but the people around the smoker as well because the smoke which getting emitted from your lungs contains huge amounts of poisonous chemicals which are quite bad for human health and the biggest problem of second-hand smoke is that in most cases it affects children around you.

The Ugly Effects of Smoking

Statistics shows that smoking is the most common reason for premature death among smokers. Statistics also shows that every year due to illnesses and diseases caused by smoking more than 400000 people die in the United States alone. And the really disturbing part of it is that fatalities also include children who are merely exposed to second-hand smoke from their parents or relatives. How would you feel if you knew that your smoking killed your child, think about it for a minute?

Did you know that when you smoke, every time you inhale, you actually inhaling more than 4800 different harmful chemicals, 69 of which are shown to trigger different cancer related diseases? Smoking is shown to be responsible for more than 90 percent of lung cancer fatalities in United States and also smoking is responsible for about 80-90 percent of fatalities from other respiratory diseases. If you manage to quit smoking the chances of lung cancer or other respiratory disease is dramatically reduced.

Also smoking does not only affect your respiratory system, smoking also attributed as a major cause of strokes, heart illnesses, and a number of other life threatening diseases. Statistics shows that every year a huge number of people are being diagnosed with life threatening diseases due to inhalation of smoke and what is quite alarming that the number includes both smokers and non-smokers so this is clearly shows that second-hand inhalation of cigarette smoke is nearly as bad as smoking itself.

Another alarming statistics shows that every year there are more and more young kids are treated for respiratory and coronary diseases as the result of second-hand smoke inhalation. Kids are more likely to have things like asthma, allergies, poor immune system and other nasty diseases in families where one or more parent or relative smokes then in a smoke free families. Also in smoking families it is much more likely that kids will start smoking as well when they get a bit older.

Also if you are a pregnant woman surrounded by smokers or a smoker yourself, your baby most probably will develop one or more of the following conditions, which will affect him for the rest of his/her life, weak heart and lungs with curtailed lung function and narrow air passages. In some cases smoking can also lead to premature birth or even death of a child. Do you want to kill your own baby or damage him/her for the rest of the life?

Other Negative Effects of Smoking

Aside from high risk of developing serious life threatening diseases as well as negative short term effects from smoking, you exposing yourself to other serious consequences when you smoking. These consequences include dental problems, hygiene problems etc.

You may think that smoking looks cool, but in reality smoking is very unhygienic. When you smoke your teeth tend to become yellow or even brown because of the tar deposits from cigarette smoke stay on your teeth. Also smoking results in higher risk of developing gum diseases and plague. And this can result in expensive procedures to get your mouth and teeth back into good condition.

Also smoking significantly increases the risk of losing your teeth. Medical statistics shows that the average tooth damage among smokers range 1.5 to 2.9 percent every 10 years. This means that if you were to start smoking when you 18 you are quite likely to lose about five teeth by the time you turn 35.

In addition to the above smoking shown to slow down healing process after injury or medical procedure. So not only you will have longer in a hospital or out of work but it will also cost you more.

And if everything mentioned above is not enough, smoking has a potential to ruin not only your health but also your physical appearance. Smoking tends to speed up the aging process which in turn makes your skin and hair look dull and aged. As a smoker you also tend to have more wrinkles but the worst part of smoking is that over time your hair and your body start to smell of smoke. And it takes a long time to get rid of that smell even if you quit smoking. Also as you can see all this will make you less attractive to the other gender and will highly reduce the chances of finding a partner.

It is your choice if you want to smoke or not but remember one thing in a long run there is a very high chance of causing serious damage to your body and I can relate to it as I was there. The good thing is I managed to quit in time.

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