The Real Deal: The Effects Of Smoking

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No matter how you look at it, smoking is bad for you, the people around you, and the environment. There is no safe way to smoke tobacco because there is no safe substance found in it. And, don't delude yourself into thinking that it only affects your lungs because it can harm your entire body.

Effects Of Smoking On The Body

Yes, you're still young and you probably still don't feel the harmful effects of smoking. But, you won't be young forever. Sooner or later, the long-term effects of prolonged smoking will catch up with you--and only then will you regret how you neglected your health while still young. Smoking has always been associated with various diseases. Some symptoms manifest themselves immediately while some only show up after a few years of abuse to the body. Here are just some of the health issues caused by smoking.

• Lung cancer
• High cholesterol
• Heart disease
• Compromised immune system
• Infertility
• Early menopause
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Persistent coughing
• Constricted blood vessels
• Autoimmune disorder
• Premature death
• Type 2 diabetes
• Bronchitis
• Poor vision
• Yellow fingers and teeth
• Anxiety and irritability
• Smelly hair
• Poor sense of taste and smell

Under no circumstances should pregnant women smoke or be subjected to secondhand smoke because it puts them at a higher risk of developing complications during birth. It may even affect the child and cause congenital disorders.

Effects Of Smoking On The Environment

Smoking does not just affect you, it also does a lot of damage to the environment. What do you think happens to the smoke you exhale and the cigarette butts you carelessly throw away--and, not to mention, the ashes from the cigarette. It all goes to the air, land, and water--polluting them. In some cases, a casually thrown cigarette butt in a bush can cause a wildfire that can kill an entire ecosystem.

What Is Secondhand Smoking?

If you really can't stop smoking and want to kill yourself, do it alone. No need to poison the people around you, as well. Did you really think that the people around you who get to inhale the smoke from your cigarette will not suffer? Secondhand smoking is a very real and lethal thing. It can cause various kinds of cancer to someone, even if he or she has never smoked. It can also cause various health problems to children such as severe asthma attacks, chronic coughs, ear infections, respiratory infections, and even sudden infant death (SIDS) in very young children. It may also adversely affect pregnant women and cause congenital disorders to the child upon birth. If your wife is pregnant or you have young children at home, don't smoke in front of them or anywhere near your home--unless you want to kill them prematurely.

Final Words

I know some people who only quit smoking because they are already experiencing health issues. For some of them, it was already too late. The others--let's just say they survived but barely. You need to ask yourself if a moment of bliss is really worth your and your family's suffering later on? Yes, your family will suffer with you. My former colleague's father had to undergo operation after operation in an effort to save his life. He's fine now, but his daughter was left with a mountain of medical bills that I think she is still paying for up to this day.

I can write all the harmful effects of smoking all I want but, at the end of the day, it is still your choice and decision to look after your own health and those around you. Quitting is a hard decision and equally hard to stick to. You will experience nasty withdrawal symptoms that you will want to quit quitting. It is an addiction, after all. However, you need to bear with it. No pain, no gain.

If you don't value your life, at least value the people who love you and will be devasted if you suddenly leave them on this Earth.

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