image Cigarettes’ harmful claim to fame isn’t limited to your lungs or your heart. How does smoking hurt your body? Let us take a look at the ways cigarettes attack the body and you’ll have a better idea. Smoking not only cuts lives short, but greatly decreases quality of life as well.

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Cancer

Most cigarettes contain around 4,000 chemicals, including “human-friendly” ones like cyanide and formaldehyde. Sixty of these chemicals are known to cause cancer. The list of smoking-related cancers keeps growing, and includes:

Heart and Blood Vessels

Blood carries cigarette poisons throughout the circulatory system. Among other effects, these poisons damage and narrow blood vessels, increasing the heart rate while decreasing the flow of oxygen to the rest of the body. These are a few of the cardiovascular conditions smoking contributes to:

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Lungs

Chemicals in cigarettes irritate air passages and lungs. They slow—and eventually stop—the cleansing action in the lungs, so poisons can remain there. Lungs become vulnerable to problems like these:

Bones, Joints, and Muscles

By reducing blood supply, smoking weakens both muscles and bones. It also slows the production of bone-forming cells and keeps your body from absorbing calcium. Here are some of the effects:

  • Increased risk for bone fractures, which also take longer to heal
  • Higher complication rate after surgeries
  • Increased risk of overuse injuries, such as ]]>bursitis]]>; greater chance of ]]>sprains]]>
  • Negative impact on sports performance—slower pace and shortness of breath
  • Association with ]]>low back pain]]> and ]]>rheumatoid arthritis]]>—a progressive disease causing swelling in joints

Digestive System

Smoking hurts the digestive system, which means the body doesn’t get the nutrients it needs. Smoking does this by:

  • Injuring the esophagus, allowing stomach acids to flow back (called ]]>heartburn]]>) into the esophagus, and by making stomach acids more harmful
  • Increasing acidity, increasing the risk for an infection that leads to open sores in the stomach or small intestine (called ]]>peptic ulcers]]>)
  • Leading to inflammation in the lining of the intestine (called ]]>Crohn’s disease]]>)
  • Changing the way the liver handles drugs and alcohol

Brain

Smokers notice the change in their brains almost the minute they light up. Smoking quickly changes brain chemistry, affecting mood and often leading to addiction. Brain chemistry changes, as well as decreased blood flow, increase the risk for:

Other Effects

Need to hear more? Smokers are at increased risk of developing the most common type of ]]>diabetes]]>. These are a few of smoking’s other effects:

  • Reduced sense of smell and taste
  • Premature skin aging from reduced blood flow and vitamins
  • Increased risk for gum disease
  • Increased risk for cloudy lens in the eye (called ]]>cataract]]> )—a leading cause of blindness
  • Increased risk for ]]>impotence]]>, ]]>infertility]]>, and problems during pregnancy and delivery
  • In babies of smoking mothers—increased risk for low birth weight, reduced lung function, and ]]>sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)]]>
  • ]]>Menopause]]> at an earlier age; increased number of menopausal symptoms

And Now for the Good News

The benefits of quitting begin almost immediately. Heart rate drops within minutes. Circulation and breathing improve within months. And, among other improvements, your risk of ]]>stroke]]> much lower after five years of quiting. Although it’s best to quit when you’re younger, you can benefit at any age.