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The Effects of Smoke

According to the National Cancer Institute, cigarette smoke contains at least 250 known toxins, including carbon monoxide and cyanide. While these chemicals inflict much of their damage on the lungs, exposure to these chemicals affects nearly every organ in the body, whether the exposure comes from smoking or by breathing secondhand smoke. The American Cancer Society notes that while smokers are cognizant of these danger, nicotine's effects on neurochemistry are similar to heroin's, creating physical and psychological dependencies that are extremely difficult to break.

  1. Cancer Incidence

    • The American Cancer Society reports cigarette smoking causes about 30 percent of cancer fatalities, with lung cancer the most common among smokers. The National Cancer Institute reports smoking cigarettes marketed as "light" or "low-tar" carries as much risk as smoking ordinary cigarettes. In 1996, researchers at Los Angeles' City of Hope Medical Center discovered that benzopyrene, a component within cigarette tar, is instrumental in promoting lung cancer, damaging the p53 gene that inhibits tumor formation. People who take deep drags from low-tar cigarettes expose themselves to the same benzopyrene concentrations as smokers of regular cigarettes and consequently, expose themselves to the same risks for cancer.

    Cardiovascular Effects

    • Cigarette smoke's nicotine and carbon monoxide wreak the most havoc on the cardiovascular system. Nicotine elevates blood pressure over the short and long terms, and carbon monoxide adheres to hemoglobin, reducing the amount of oxygen red blood cells can ferry throughout the body. Cigarette smoke's toxins can also cause blood cells and vessels to adhere to each other and to the walls of veins and arteries. This increases the risk of developing atherosclerosis, a condition in which blockage restricts blood flow to potentially cause heart attacks and strokes. The toxins in cigarette smoke act in concert with other factors such as obesity, high blood cholesterol and genetic predisposition to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

    Immune System Impact

    • The chemicals within cigarette smoke, particularly nicotine, hinder the capability of the lungs' alveolar macrophages to attack pathogens. Macrophages produce proteins called cytokines, which trigger the immune system's response to disease-causing agents within the body. Because pathogens frequently enter the body through the respiratory system, cigarette smoke's role in inhibiting the lungs' ability to fight off biological intruders leads to a higher general risk of disease in smokers. In 2007, "Pediatric Research" published a study demonstrating newborns born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy had compromised immune systems. The cigarette smoked inhibited the fetuses' abilities to create leukocytes, the white blood cells crucial to fighting viruses and bacteria, making the children more susceptible to disease after birth.

    Respiratory Effects

    • Cigarette smoke's toxins scar breathing passages and damage the lungs' alveoli, the air sacs that handle gas exchange. Smoke also causes respiratory passages to narrow, while also inflaming the larynx and trachea. The Environmental Protection Agency reports secondhand smoke can cause pneumonia and bronchitis in young children, as well as trigger asthma attacks, even in children who have never shown symptoms of the condition.

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