Ask the Doctor: Dangers of smoking
<b>Is there a safe way to smoke?</b> <br>No. All cigarettes can damage the body. Any amount of smoke is dangerous. Research has found that even smoking one to four cigarettes a day can have serious health consequences.
Is there a safe way to smoke?
No. All cigarettes can damage the body. Any amount of smoke is dangerous. Research has found that even smoking one to four cigarettes a day can have serious health consequences. Let no advert confuse you: ‘Light’ or ‘mild’ cigarettes do not necessarily mean a lower health risk.
What, in cigarette smoke, is harmful?
Cigarette smoke is a complex mixture of chemicals produced by burning tobacco and other additives. That smoke contains tar, which has more than 4,000 chemicals, including over 60, known to cause cancer.
Some of these substances cause heart and lung diseases and all of them can be deadly. There is cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol (wood alcohol), acetylene (fuel used in welding torches) and ammonia in cigarette smoke. Poisonous gases include nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide. The main active ingredient, nicotine, is an addictive drug.
Is there any danger if I do not inhale?
Yes. Whenever smoke touches living cells, it does harm. Even if you breathe in the smoke as a second-hand smoker, you are still at risk for lung cancer. Pipe and cigar smokers, who often do not inhale, are at an increased risk for lip, mouth, tongue and several other cancers.
How does smoking affect pregnant women and their babies?
Pregnant women who smoke risk their health and that of their unborn babies. They are prone to miscarriages, premature deliveries, stillbirths, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome.
Up to 10% of infant deaths would be prevented, if pregnant women did not smoke. When a pregnant woman smokes, all the harmful drugs enter her bloodstream.
They go into the baby’s body and prevent the baby from getting essential nutrients and oxygen for growth.
According to research, children whose mothers smoked while pregnant or who have been exposed to second-hand smoke, may be stunted or become slow learners in the classroom. They are also more likely to smoke when they grow older.
Is Sweet Menthol safer than other brands?
Menthol cigarettes may even be more dangerous. The added menthol produces a cooling sensation in the throat, decreases the cough reflex and covers the dry throat that smokers often get. A recent study showed that people who smoke menthol cigarettes are less likely to quit and are less likely to be successful even when they do.
It is more dangerous. The amount of nicotine absorbed is usually more than the amount emitted from a cigarette. Chewing exposes you to the most harmful cancer-causing substances, the tobacco-specific nitrosamines.
Tobacco juice is absorbed directly through the lining of the mouth, leaving sores and white patches that often lead to cancer of the mouth. Chewing also increases the risk of cancer of the throat, gives you a chronic bad breath, stained teeth, gum disease, tooth decay, tooth loss, tooth abrasion, and loss of bone in the jaw. You may also get high blood pressure and be at increased risk for heart disease.
When is it too late for a smoker to quit?
It is never too late to quit. Within minutes of smoking the last cigarette, the body begins to restore itself. Some benefits are noticeable immediately and some develop gradually.
Write to Dr. Paul Semugoma emugoma@hotmail.com or
Ask The Doctor, Box 9815, Kampala Or health@newvision.co.ug
No. All cigarettes can damage the body. Any amount of smoke is dangerous. Research has found that even smoking one to four cigarettes a day can have serious health consequences. Let no advert confuse you: ‘Light’ or ‘mild’ cigarettes do not necessarily mean a lower health risk.
What, in cigarette smoke, is harmful?
Cigarette smoke is a complex mixture of chemicals produced by burning tobacco and other additives. That smoke contains tar, which has more than 4,000 chemicals, including over 60, known to cause cancer.
Some of these substances cause heart and lung diseases and all of them can be deadly. There is cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol (wood alcohol), acetylene (fuel used in welding torches) and ammonia in cigarette smoke. Poisonous gases include nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide. The main active ingredient, nicotine, is an addictive drug.
Is there any danger if I do not inhale?
Yes. Whenever smoke touches living cells, it does harm. Even if you breathe in the smoke as a second-hand smoker, you are still at risk for lung cancer. Pipe and cigar smokers, who often do not inhale, are at an increased risk for lip, mouth, tongue and several other cancers.
How does smoking affect pregnant women and their babies?
Pregnant women who smoke risk their health and that of their unborn babies. They are prone to miscarriages, premature deliveries, stillbirths, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome.
Up to 10% of infant deaths would be prevented, if pregnant women did not smoke. When a pregnant woman smokes, all the harmful drugs enter her bloodstream.
They go into the baby’s body and prevent the baby from getting essential nutrients and oxygen for growth.
According to research, children whose mothers smoked while pregnant or who have been exposed to second-hand smoke, may be stunted or become slow learners in the classroom. They are also more likely to smoke when they grow older.
Is Sweet Menthol safer than other brands?
Menthol cigarettes may even be more dangerous. The added menthol produces a cooling sensation in the throat, decreases the cough reflex and covers the dry throat that smokers often get. A recent study showed that people who smoke menthol cigarettes are less likely to quit and are less likely to be successful even when they do.
It is more dangerous. The amount of nicotine absorbed is usually more than the amount emitted from a cigarette. Chewing exposes you to the most harmful cancer-causing substances, the tobacco-specific nitrosamines.
Tobacco juice is absorbed directly through the lining of the mouth, leaving sores and white patches that often lead to cancer of the mouth. Chewing also increases the risk of cancer of the throat, gives you a chronic bad breath, stained teeth, gum disease, tooth decay, tooth loss, tooth abrasion, and loss of bone in the jaw. You may also get high blood pressure and be at increased risk for heart disease.
When is it too late for a smoker to quit?
It is never too late to quit. Within minutes of smoking the last cigarette, the body begins to restore itself. Some benefits are noticeable immediately and some develop gradually.
Write to Dr. Paul Semugoma emugoma@hotmail.com or
Ask The Doctor, Box 9815, Kampala Or health@newvision.co.ug