Are You Still A Smoker?

It's no secret that smoking cigarettes has a negative impact on your health, and the health of those around you. The message that smoking is bad for you is not a new one, and it's easy for us to ignore because we have been hearing it for so long.  The dangers don't seem a concern for the more than 45 million smokers who light up every day. 

 

We have all heard that cigarette smoke will lead to deteriorating heath: decreased lung capacity, emphysema, and cardiovascular problems. These health problems,that most people do not notice until it’s too late, are not the only problems caused by smoking.

 

There are a number of other side effects that we often overlook. Have you ever considered the impact that smoking cigarettes has on the rest of the body?

 

Smoking cigarettes actually has a huge impact on the brain’s neurotransmitter, dopamine. Dopamine is one of the chemicals in the brain that elevates pleasure and makes you feel good. But while the nicotine in cigarettes is making you feel good, other chemicals in cigarettes, including carbon monoxide, are affecting your brain capacity. Smoking may soothe your stress, but you are essentially damaging motor-skills and short-term memory.

 

Of course, our brain isn’t the only part of our body that we overlook when we consider the negative impact of smoking.

 

Smoking depletes your body of vitamins A, B1, B2, B5, B6, Vitamins C, and E, and the amino acid cysteine.  Some of these deficiencies are responsible for the negative skin changes in smokers and the vertical lines out from the lips. Smoking uses up about 25 mg of vitamin Cper cigarette and smokers are found to have below normal levels of vitamin C.  Smoking stains your teeth and encourages periodontal disease. Couples who smoke have decreased fertility. Smoking has also been linked to cancer in the lungs, bladder, esophagus, kidneys, pancreas, and cervix, mouth, throat.  Thomas Sellers Ph.D. , M.P.H. Associate Director, Cancer Prevention & Control at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute has stated eliminating smoking would reduce all cancer-related mortality by 30 percent. 


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