Health Effects of Smoking Tobacco

Abstract

Smoking tobacco is one of the prevalent drugs legalized and used globally. Despite these

regulations, its effects on an individual's health affect differently depending on the period one

has been using and the amount one consumes. Consumption of tobacco affects different parts of

the body. First, the heart and blood circulation are affected. Cigarettes thicken the blood making

its flow difficult causing heart illnesses. This makes the condition of a smoker dangerous as it

causes other conditions such as stroke, heart attack, damaging arteries that supply blood to the

brain. Blood circulation is crucial in human bodies as it circulates oxygen in the body. According

to HHS (2014) research, smoking can also lead to chronic illnesses such as cancer, which is the

leading cause of at least thirty percent of cancer-related deaths in America. Lungs and throat

cancer are among the twelve different types of cancer that are linked to. Despite its negative

effects, one of the positive effects to be discussed is how it reduces ulcerative colitis and Crohn's

disease, as argued by scholars. Another positive effect is how smoking lowers the risk of

Parkinson's disease by regulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptor levels of various parts of the

brain.

Introduction

Besides the quest for achieving basic needs, evolutionary studies have illustrated human

beings' fascination with altered states of mind. It is profound how common it is for individuals to

use drugs for non-medical purposes, and the desire for mind-altering substances increases with

regulations as established during the prohibition era. Smoking Tobacco is among the most

prevalent form of drug abuse and its prevalence has warranted interventions such as regulation of
cigarette advertising and the use of e-cigarettes. Despite such measures, smoking tobacco is

associated with diverse health outcomes and the effects of smoking inform the purpose of this

paper. It postulates that while smoking is legal in many countries its detrimental health effects

warrant interventions to promote healthy well-being.

Negative Effects of Smoking Tobacco

Vulnerability to Cardiovascular complications

Smoking tobacco is associated with aggravated risks of coronary and ischemic heart

diseases. According to Ali & Jawad (2017) smoking tobacco causes narrowing or blockage of

arteries through clots or plaque which alter vascular hemodynamics causing coronary heart

disease. Movement of blood occurs through venous and pulsatile blood flow and smoking affects

pulsatile flow by altering capacitance and viscosity. Smoking exacerbates barriers to effective

blood flow by increasing the acceleration due to blood mass and elasticity of vessel walls.

Narrowing of arteries affects the expansion of non-rigid vessels during systole, vessel

contraction during diastole, and forward flow at the end of diastole causing coronary heart

disease. Cigarette smoke also thickens blood causing more resistance to blood flow through

viscosity therefore forcing the heart to pump blood harder. Additionally, thickening of blood and

accumulation of clots leads to Ischemic heart diseases which affect the supply of blood to the

heart; aggravating the vulnerability to heart attack, arrhythmias, and death.

Smoking tobacco is also associated with Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) and

Peripheral Vascular Diseases (PVD). Like in coronary heart diseases PAD and PVD feature

narrowing of blood vessels, however, unlike coronary and ischemic heart diseases, narrowing of

vessels alters the supply of blood to the extremities. Poor supply of blood deprives tissues and
cell oxygen causing symptoms such as leg pain, particularly when walking, difficulty in healing

of sore and wounds, and immobility. If PAD and PVD are not treated immediately extreme

symptoms occur as captured by the death of tissues which may warrant an amputation. Ceasing

smoking, changing diet regimen and regular physical exercises can help alleviate the symptom of

peripheral vascular and arterial diseases. Lifestyle changes have profound effects on promoting

healthy well being therefore indicating how PAD and PVD can easily be prevented.

Tobacco smoking is also associated with higher risks of stroke. According to Katan &

Luft (2018) stroke occurs because of the disruption of blood to the brain leading to a loss of brain

function because of the inability to get oxygen and nutrients. Death of brain cells occurs within a

minute thus the need for a prompt intervention to reduce brain damage and subsequent

complications. Carbon monoxide is produced during cigarette smoking and its binding with

hemoglobin inhibits oxygen-binding, therefore, reducing oxygen availability in the brain.

Additionally tobacco smoke contains compounds that thicken the blood and greater resistance to

flow reduces the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the brain. Studies have established that

smokers are at higher risks of strokes and death compared to non-smokers, and the amount of

cigarettes consumed per day increases the risk of smoking. For example, individuals who smoke

more than twenty sticks per day area six time more vulnerable to strokes than healthy non-

smoking adults.

Tobacco and cancer

Cigarette smokers are at higher risk of developing cancers the practice is linked with

twelve different types of cancer. According to HHS(2014), smoking is responsible for causing

thirty percent of cancer-related deaths in the United States of America. Carcinogenic compounds

in smoke trigger inflammatory responses which not only cause lesions but also compromise
immune responses by reducing the production of killer T-cells which are the body’s primary

defense against free radicals. Immuno-suppression from smoking also triggers metastasis of

existing cancers which further compromise immune functioning(Kocyigi et al 2011).

Identification Friend or Foe( IFF) becomes ineffective as the body can also begin to attack

healthy cells. Chemicals in tobacco smoke also alter genetic coding and in damaging the

deoxyribonucleic acid carcinogenic elements alter normal function and growth, creating a cancer

tumor.

According to the CDC cigarette smoking in the United States of America is associated

with nearly eighty to ninety percent of lung cancer deaths (Williams, 2019). The over seven

thousand chemicals in tobacco smoke compose the immune functioning of the lungs. Studies on

lung tissue of non-smokers and their exposure to chemical compounds in tobacco indicate that it

triggers the release of inflammatory cytokines which affect normal cell activities, therefore,

causing cancer. Another way that carcinogenic elements in tobacco cause cancer are through

damage to the pseudostratified columnar epithelium lining with goblet cells. Additionally,

smoking releases tar which elevates the risk of developing lung cancer; exposure of alveolar cells

to chemical compounds in tar affects cell growth and altering chromosomal balance causing cell

cycle arrest and subsequent lung cancer development. The severity of smoking and vulnerability

to lung cancer manifest through statistics that smokers are fifteen to thirty times more likely to

develop tumors than non-drug users.

Rebrrutal

Positive Effects of Smoking

 Smoking reduces the likelihood of developing ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

According to Berkowitz et al, (2018) ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are metabolic

interstitial conditions with ambiguous etiology which, despite having similarities in some aspects

their manifestation exhibits contradictory features. Although smoking is associated with

triggering inflammation that worsens Crohn’s disease epidemiological studies have established

protective effects of smoking against ulcerative colitis therefore unlike smokers, non-smoker is

at higher risk of developing the conditions compared to smokers. Additionally, patients with the

condition who quit smoking experience greater inflammation and worsening of the condition

whereas that ulcerative colitis who continued or began smoking often recorded better clinical

outcomes. While randomized controlled studies using nicotine gum provided inconclusive

results, nicotine continues to be identified as the active substance in tobacco that has a potential

therapeutic role of relieving ulcerative colitis.

Smoking and Parkinson’s diseases

Tobacco use lowers the risk of Parkinson’s disease by regulating nicotinic acetylcholine

receptor levels in various parts of the brain. Upregulation of the neural receptors in the basal

ganglia and the substantia nigra, areas that are associated with PD cause a lower incidence of the

condition. According to Guttuso (2019) smoking tobacco enhances the functioning of the

ubiquitin-proteasome system that is tasked with the removal of damaged proteins from cells

therefore inducing protective effects on the brain.

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