I couldn't find any good research articles today to bring to you, so I dug into my article bag. I found this article I wrote detailing the negative effects smoking has on your lungs. I call it, "Smokers Lungs" - enjoy.
Smokers Lungs
Twenty percent of all Americans smoke. The World Health Organization describes smoking as an epidemic around the world. Smoking has become a blight on those in the lower socio-economic cultures of the world. Tobacco companies have revenues in the billions. All this without advertisement on television or radio. So why?
This type of economic juggernaut must not impose very bad side-effects on its customers, right? If smoking were bad for you, then why do so many people do it?
All these are pretty good questions. The tobacco business goes all the way back to our founding fathers. Remember from history class what a cash crop was? That's right: tobacco was the king of cash crops. It wove it's way throughout the economic fabric of our bourgeoning country and it hasn’t looked back.
So here we are, 200 plus years later and we’re having to answer the question of whether tobacco is really that bad for you. Physicians and healthcare professionals can tell you the answer to the question. Yes, smoking is bad for you. Lets look at the statistics for a moment.
Roughly 90% of all lung cancers are attributable to smoking. Emphysema (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in the US. Smoking is listed as a primary risk factor in over 70 diseases. It’s also a contributing risk factor in hundreds more. But what about the smokers’ lungs.
COPD is the single largest preventable disease, they just have to quit smoking. COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There is no cure. It is chronic and progressive which means the symptoms will begin to worsen over time. The only way to slow it down, is to stop smoking.
Lets go over 3 physiologic changes that take place in the lung after someone smokes.
1. The fine cilia in the throat begin to die off
2. The muscle that forms the airways loose their rigidity and spasm or narrow
3. The cellular walls in the tiny air sacs of the lung begin to tear apart
These 3 changes then result in the following symptoms:
1. Chronic coughing
2. Difficulty in removing secretions
3. Elevated risk of pneumonia
4. Shortness of breath
5. Wheezing
6. Poor oxygenation
These symptoms then need to be treated with medicines like expectorants, anti-biotics, inhalers, nebulizers and supplemental oxygen. Not quite the glamorous retirement you envisioned for yourself is it? Relying on inhaled steroids, nebulizers and oxygen can really put a damper on your visit with the grandkids.
So take smoking seriously. You know it’s bad for you. There are just so many great stop smoking benefits available to you if you’d only take a look. You’re a smart person and you can make this decision. But get the valuable stop smoking information you need, so you can be informed. The more educated you are, the better your chances of success.
