|  | Public Health Safety | Smoking

Complications From Smoking

No matter what age or how healthy you are, smoking causes complications and harmful effects. Three main components of cigarettes --- nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide --- pollute your body and cause you to become addicted. Many complications derive several years after smoking, but there are several other immediate complications.

  1. Respiratory Complications

    • Coughing, excess phlegm and tightened airway to the lungs are several immediate complications from smoking, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Tightened airways lead to wheezing and can severely worsen asthmatic conditions. Excess phlegm gets trapped in your lungs, and your body's reaction will be to cough to rid of the irritants. Breathing complications make it difficult to be physically active.

    Cardiovascular Complications

    • More immediate complications include increased blood pressure and heart rate. Your heart rate can increase within 30 minutes after smoking a cigarette. This increased blood pressure and heart rate causes the heart to work harder, which weakens the heart faster and will make you more prone to strokes and heart attacks.

    Cancer

    • Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer, according to the American Lung Association. Men are more prone to acquire lung cancer than women, and over half die within a year of being diagnosed with lung cancer. Other cancers related to smoking include those in the larynx, esophagus, bladder, stomach, cervix, kidney and pancreas.

    Infertility

    • Research indicates that smoking causes the prevalence of infertility to be higher and that smoking cigarettes is harmful to a woman's ovaries. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, it takes more time to conceive for a smoker and appears to accelerate the loss of eggs. The risk of spontaneous miscarriage also increases.

Smoking - Related Articles