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Facts on Tobacco Smoking Hazards

Smoking cigarettes allows your body to inhale over 3000 chemicals, including rat poison and nicotine, from just one cigarette alone. A hard habit to break, smoking kills nearly half a million U.S. citizens each year from lung-related diseases, according to Disease.com, such as cancer and other smoking-related illnesses such as heart disease. Smoking health hazards are not limited to fatal diseases, as it can also cause users to show physical signs and symptoms as well.

  1. Physical Symptoms

    • Although smoking causes illnesses and death, it also affects your physical appearance and the body's overall health. Smoking causes wrinkles on the skin, bad breath, and yellow fingernails and toenails when the habit is continued over time. Smoking also causes users to develop arthritis, causing pain throughout the body's joints when moving around. Smokers also may experience hearing and vision loss over time, reducing the body's reaction time and senses. Decreased circulation in the toes and fingers is also a common occurrence for smokers, causing them to be cold much more often than normal.

    Respiratory Problems

    • Over time, smoking tobacco will cause a chronic cough that is unhealthy for your lungs. The coughing is your body attempting to get rid of the chemicals and tar in cigarettes. Smoking can also induce asthma. Lung capacity may decrease over time, making it difficult to compete in physical activities or sports, as it will be even more difficult to breathe.

    Cancer and Illness

    • Smoking is a leading cause of lung cancer as well as other diseases and illnesses, such as cancer of the mouth and gum disease. Smoking can also cause yellow staining of the teeth along with tooth decay as the habit increases. It also can cause mouth cancer. Throat cancer as well as esophageal disorders also occur in long-term smokers, resulting in fatalities and long-term medications to sustain life. Bladder cancer and pancreatic cancer have also been linked with smoking.

    Organ and Digestive Damage

    • Other risks smokers take when indulging in the habit includes developing peptic ulcers, or kidney or liver damage. Smokers may find they frequently have heartburn and diarrhea, depending on how much the user smokes and how often. Smoking also contributes to bacterial infections developing and to reproductive problems and risks, such as experiencing infertility as well as increasing the risk of a miscarriage when pregnant.

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