One way that stroke can cause brain injury is through a brain aneurysm , which occurs when the wall of a blood vessel weakens and creates a bulge.
This bulge can burst and cause a subarachnoid hemorrhage , which can lead to a stroke. Smoking causes atherosclerosis , which is when plaque builds up in the blood and sticks to the artery walls. This makes them narrower, reducing blood flow and increasing the risk of blood clots. Smoking also damages the blood vessels, making them thicker and narrower.
This makes it harder for blood to flow, and also increases blood pressure and heart rate. Even smokers who smoke 5 or fewer cigarettes a day may develop early signs of cardiovascular disease.
Carbon monoxide and nicotine make the heart work harder and faster. This means that smoking makes it more challenging to exercise. A lack of exercise further increases the risk of health problems. According to the National Institutes of Health NIH , smoking reduces bone density, making the bones weaker and more brittle.
Smoking can also impair bone healing after a fracture. Researchers find it difficult to say whether this is a direct effect of smoking, or due to other risk factors prevalent in people who smoke. These include lower body weight and doing less physical exercise. This may affect females more than males. Females are more prone to osteoporosis and broken bones. According to one study , smoking reduces immune function and causes inflammation in the body.
This can lead to autoimmune conditions, including:. Smoking also has links with type 2 diabetes. It often takes many years before a person notices any symptoms of smoking-related lung disease. This means that people may not receive a diagnosis until the disease is quite advanced. Smoking can impact the lungs in several ways. The primary reason is that smoking damages the airways and air sacs — known as alveoli — in the lungs. Other lung diseases caused by smoking include pneumonia , asthma , and tuberculosis.
Smoking irritates the gum tissues. One of the ingredients in tobacco is a mood-altering drug called nicotine. Nicotine reaches your brain in mere seconds and makes you feel more energized for a while. But as that effect wears off, you feel tired and crave more. Nicotine is extremely habit-forming, which is why people find smoking so difficult to quit.
Physical withdrawal from nicotine can impair your cognitive functioning and make you feel anxious, irritated, and depressed. Withdrawal can also cause headaches and sleep problems. Over time, this damage leads to a variety of problems. Along with increased infections, people who smoke are at higher risk for chronic nonreversible lung conditions such as:.
Withdrawal from tobacco products can cause temporary congestion and respiratory discomfort as your lungs and airways begin to heal. Increased mucus production right after quitting smoking is a positive sign that your respiratory system is recovering. They also tend to have higher rates of pneumonia and bronchitis.
Smoking damages your entire cardiovascular system. Nicotine causes blood vessels to tighten, which restricts the flow of blood. Over time, the ongoing narrowing, along with damage to the blood vessels, can cause peripheral artery disease.
Smoking also raises blood pressure , weakens blood vessel walls, and increases blood clots. Together, this raises your risk of stroke. Exposure to secondhand smoke carries the same risk to a nonsmoker as someone who does smoke.
Risks include stroke, heart attack, and heart disease. The more obvious signs of smoking involve skin changes. Substances in tobacco smoke actually change the structure of your skin. A recent study has shown that smoking dramatically increases the risk of squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer. Smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs alveoli found in your lungs.
Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body: 1,2. Smoking also increases the risk of dying from cancer and other diseases in cancer patients and survivors. If nobody smoked, one of every three cancer deaths in the United States would not happen. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link.
Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking. Minus Related Pages. On This Page. Smoking and Death. This is nearly one in five deaths. Addiction Nicotine is the main addictive substance in cigarettes and other forms of tobacco. Patterns Smoking can become connected to other activities of your day-to-day life—like watching TV, talking on the phone, hanging out with friends, going certain places, or taking a break to relax.
Quit Notes. Finding out how much you depend on nicotine can help you as you choose quit smoking strategies. Take the Quiz. Rewards—no matter how small—can help keep you motivated to stay quit for good. More for you. Your Reasons to Quit. Knowing why you want to quit smoking can keep you motivated to stay smokefree. What are you reasons for being smokefree?
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