Smoking Facts

    Smoking, as a definition, is the inhalation of the smoke of burning tobacco encased in cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. A smoking habit is a physical addiction to tobacco products. Many health experts now regard the habitual smoking as a psychological addiction too, and one with serious health consequences. Nevertheless, the number of people who still smoke is alarming.

    Lets see how smoking affects our bodies:

• According to the brain, smoking increases the risk of having a stroke by at least 50%, which can cause brain damage and death. Also, it doubles the risk of dying from a stroke. One way that smoking can increase the risk of a stroke is by increasing the chances of developing a brain aneurysm. This is a swelling in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the blood vessel wall.
• One big area of where smoking harms the body is the heart. Smoking causes the heart to work much harder and faster than normal, meaning tremendous stress on that area. Smokers have a greater chance of developing irregular heartbeats than non-smokers. Blood pressure levels increase as well as the chance of a heart attack or stroke because the blood vessels are constricted.
• Smoking causes unattractive problems such as bad breath and stained teeth, and can also cause gum disease and damage the sense of taste. The most serious damage smoking causes in mouth and throat is an increased risk of cancer in lips, tongue, throat, voice box and gullet. 
• Smokers have an increased chance of getting stomach cancer or ulcer. Smoking can weaken the muscle that controls the lower end of gullet (oesophagus) and allow acid from the stomach to travel in the wrong direction back up the gullet, a process known as reflux. It is a significant risk factor for developing kidney cancer.
• Smoking affects the reproduction and fertility. It can cause male impotence, as it damages the blood vessels that supply blood to the penis. It can also damage sperm, reduce sperm count and cause testicular cancer.
• Smoking does not just harm the people who smoke but it harms also the people who are near and breathe the smoke, including fetuses (unborn babies still inside their mothers) and small children.

Effects of smoking are endless..  There are more bad and dangerous effects. They are uncountable!

"Smoking kills" is the phrase enough to define the dangers of smoking. As a conclusion, smoking is extremely detrimental to one's health in numerous ways.