“Effect of smoking on human body”

Bio 103 Assignment

Partial Requirement for Course

Summer 2013

Submitted to:Dr. S.M. Mostafa Kamal Khan

Associate professor, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology,

North South University

Submitted by:

Group-5 K.A.M Siraj 073 529 530

Shakawat Hossain Patwary 103 0350 030

Navid Imtiaz Zaman 103 0423 030

Salman Ahmed 103 0509 030

18 August 2013

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Introduction

Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco, is burned and

the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practiced as a route of administration

for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such

as nicotine and makes them available for absorption through the lungs. It can also be

done as a part of rituals, to induce trances and spiritual enlightenment.

The most common method of smoking today is through cigarettes, primarily

industrially manufactured but also hand-rolled from loose tobacco and rolling paper.

Other smoking implements include pipes, cigars, bidis, hookahs, vaporizers, and

bongs. It has been suggested that smoking-related disease kills one half of all long

term smokers but these diseases may also be contracted by non-smokers. A 2007

report states that, each year, about 4.9 million people worldwide die as a result of

smoking.

Smoking is one of the most common forms of recreational drug use. Tobacco

smoking is today by far the most popular form of smoking and is practiced by over

one billion people in the majority of all human societies. Less common drugs for

smoking include cannabis and opium. Some of the substances are classified as hard

narcotics, like heroin, but the use of these is very limited as they are often not

commercially available.

Tobacco is the single greatest cause of global death. Smoking is a bad habit, which

plagues the young, as well as the old. It can start out of curiosity, peer pressure,

watching others etc. Once started, smoking can prove hard to quit, and it starts

causing terrible problems for the human body. The symptoms start to show at a

different pace for different people, as endurance factor comes into action. Smoking

may lead to serious life threatening diseases like cancer, and can affect renal, oral,

pulmonary and cardiovascular parts of the body. It can also affect a person’s

psychology, as it causes the deterioration of brain function and cognitive skills as

well.

Smoking cigarettes has been proven to be extremely dangerous to one’s health, which

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causes various forms of cancer and other life threatening diseases. There are over

4,000 chemicals in cigarettes and 200 of those are known poisons. Smoking cigarettes

for as few as a couple of years can have permanent effects on the body. Smoking can

affect the heart and lungs; mouth and throat; arms, legs, skin and the mind.

The primary and most affected areas, where smoking harms the body most are the

heart and lungs. Smoking causes your 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.

Even though the heart is beating much faster, Effects on the Body it is not able to

fully circulate the blood and can result in congestive heart failure. Because the lungs

have to handle so much smoke, the bronchial lining must thicken for protection. This

thickening can lead to a greater chance of lung cancer. Effects on the body, as the

lungs continually push smoke toxins through the body; they will lose the ability to add

oxygen to the blood, which can cause difficulty in breathing (emphysema).

Historical BackgroundThe history of smoking dates back to as early as 5000 BC in shamanistic rituals. With

the arrivals of the Europeans in the 16th century, the consumption, cultivation, and

trading of tobacco quickly spread. With the modernization of farm equipment and

manufacturing bore the cigarette following reconstruction in the United States. This

method of consumption quickly expanded the scope of consumption, which grew until

the scientific controversies of the 1960s, and condemnation in the 1980s.

Cannabis was common in the Middle East before the arrival of tobacco, and is known

to have existed in at least 2000 BC. Early consumption of cannabis was a common

social activity involving the type of water pipe called a Hookah.

Previously eaten for its medicinal properties, opium smoking became widespread

during the 19th century from British trade with China. This spawned the many

infamous Opium dens. In the latter half of the century, opium smoking became

popular in the artistic communities of Europe. While Opium dens continued to exist

throughout the world, the trend among the Europeans abated during the First World

War, and among the Chinese during the Cultural Revolution.

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Cause of SmokingSmoking creates an environment for people to relax or relieve stress. This is due to

the effect of Nicotine. Nicotine is the primary compound found in tobacco, which

basically is the agent responsible for smoking addiction. Nicotine initially causes a

rapid release of adrenaline, the "fight-or-flight" hormone. Adrenaline also tells your

body to dump some of its glucose stores into your blood. This makes sense if you

remind yourself that the "fight-or-flight" response is meant to help you either defend

yourself from a hungry predator or escape a dangerous situation - running or brawling

both require plenty of energy to fuel your muscles.

Effects of smoking onMouth:

Smoking can affect the health of your mouth and throat.

The obvious effects such as unsightly stains on your teeth and bad breath,

smoking is the major cause of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus,

pharynx, larynx (voice box), tongue, lips and salivary glands. The longer you

smoke, and the more you smoke, the greater the risk of these cancers.

More than 80% of cancers of the mouth, nose and throat occur in people who

smoke cigarettes, cigars or pipes. Someone who has ever smoked is up to nine

times as likely as a non-smoker to develop one of these cancers.

Smokers of one pack a day are 16 times more likely than non-smokers to

develop cancer of the larynx.

Smoking can also lead to gum disease (periodontal disease) and increased

tartar on the teeth, which harbors plaque.

This can cause serious destruction of the tissues around the teeth, which can

result in tooth loss as well as pain.

Smoking can also delay the healing of any injured tissues in the mouth, such

as ulcers, or following oral surgery.

Brain:

• The brain is connected to the heart and the lungs through arteries. These arteries

supply oxygen and other chemicals to the brain. So, when a person smokes

cigarette, the chemicals inhaled are sent to the brain.

• The chemicals, particularly nicotine, reach the brain ten seconds after the smoke is

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inhaled and remains active for 20-40 minutes.

• After reaching, nicotine affects, changes and controls the specialized receptor cells

(responsible for regulating the well-being, mood and memory) in the brain. This,

in turn, changes the chemistry of the brain, which finally affects the smoker’s

mood.

• Withdrawal of nicotine leads to mood changes, irritability, and anxiety. When the

situation becomes severe, the smoker feels uncomfortable because of intense

yearning for more nicotine.

• Smoking blocks the carotid artery. So, blood supplies to the brain cells are cut off.

• This results in stroke, called cerebral thrombosis. Smokers’ risk of having a

stroke is 1.5 times more than non-smokers.

• Smoking also leads to thickening and clotting of the blood.

• Smoking causes oxidative stress.

Heart:

• The heart needs a steady supply of oxygen-rich blood to function effectively.

Coronary heart disease (also known as coronary artery disease or ischemic

heart disease) is a general term that describes conditions caused by an

interrupted or diminished blood flow through the coronary arteries to the heart

muscle.

• The most common way that this flow of oxygen-rich blood becomes reduced

is by the buildup of fatty deposits (atherosclerosis) or the formation of a blood

clot (thrombosis) in the arteries.

• When the blood supply to the heart is interrupted, it sometimes causes chests

pain known as angina. When the blood supply is cut off completely, a

myocardial infarction or heart attack occurs, which may cause permanent

damage to the heart muscle.

Research into the link between smoking and CHD has found that:

• Smokers are more likely to die of a heart attack: according to the British Heart

Foundation, mortality is 60% higher in smokers (80% higher in heavy

smokers) compared to non-smokers.

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• People under the age of 40 had a five times greater risk of a heart attack if they

smoked.

• If the other main risk factors for CHD are also present then the chances of

having a heart attack can be increased eight times.

• Even light smokers are at increased risk of CHD. A large Danish study found

Mortality from cardiovascular diseases is higher amongst smokers who started

smoking at an earlier age, regardless of the number of smoking years.

Lungs:

• Smoking damages the lungs' natural cleaning and repair system and traps

cancer-causing chemicals in your lungs. Smoking destroys the tiny hairs

(cilia), which line the upper airways and protect against infection.

• Normally, there is a thin layer of mucous and thousands of these cilia lining

the insides of your breathing tubes.

• The mucous traps the little bits of dirt and pollution you breathe in, and the

cilia move together like a wave to push the dirt-filled mucous out of your

lungs. Then you cough, swallow, or spit up the mucous, and the dirt is out of

your lungs.

• When the lungs' natural cleaning and repair system is damaged, germs, dirt

and chemicals from cigarette smoke stay inside the lungs. This puts a person at

risk for chronic cough, chest infections, lung cancer and .

• Also, smoking permanently damages the alveoli (air sacs) in the lungs, making

it hard to breathe. The alveoli, little air sacs at the tips of the lungs, are built

like tiny, stretchy balloons.

• As a person breathes in, the alveoli helps to absorb oxygen into the body, and

as a person breathes out, alveoli helps to get rid of the waste gas carbon

dioxide. (Carbon dioxide is a harmful gas that's also found in car exhaust

fumes.) Smoke damages the lungs so much that the alveoli become less

stretchy. This means it's harder for the lungs to take in the oxygen needed and

harder to get rid of carbon dioxide.

• When the alveoli are damaged like this, a person will feel shortness of breath

and will get tired often. The heart has to pump much harder to give the body

the oxygen it needs.

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Remedies

As discussed above smoking holds no positive results for one’s body, but in fact the

act of smoking contributes to the slow and systematic destruction of crucial parts of

the human body, leading to various complications.

So, an individual should try to stop or at least try to cut-down on their daily smoking

habits. Some recommendations to help people control their smoking habits are as

follows:

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is a type of treatment that uses special

products to give small, steady doses of nicotine to help stop cravings and relieve

symptoms that occur when a person is trying to quit smoking. These products include

nicotine gum, nicotine inhaler, nicotine nasal spray, nicotine lozenges, and nicotine

patch.

Cutting down gradually (tapper method): Some smokers have quit successfully by

cutting down gradually.

For example, you might start by cutting down to five cigarettes a day or less or

delaying the first cigarette by an hour each day. Eventually however, a point must be

reached where smoking is stopped altogether (as in the cold turkey method above).

If this approach is to work for you it is suggested that your final quit date is no more

than two weeks after you start cutting down. Nicotine replacement therapy

(mentioned above) may also be an option to consider as part of any such plan.

Counseling: Help in and support in the form of counseling or stop smoking

programs should not be underestimated. In fact NRT manufacturers and National

Health Service professionals recommend support as an integral part of any attempt to

quit smoking.

Alternative therapies: Alternative therapies such as acupuncture, laser therapy or a

quit smoking shot (injection) are other avenues you can explore

Conclusion

People who have kept on a habit of smoking have found it hard to quit the

habit.

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This may be because of the strongest addiction nicotine adds to humans who

have been in contact with it. Nicotine addiction is considered to be worse than

heroin or cocaine as per the recent studies.

The questions that most tobacco smokers first should ask themselves is can an

electronic cigarette help in quitting smoking and how effective are they?

Electronic cigarette UK was considered to be a new marketing tool.

The cigarettes that were available at that time had been given a misconception

that they contained with almost no nicotine and that the cigarettes were 100%

nicotine free. But this was not true since the manufacturers had to put the four

different levels of nicotine.

In this case, electronic cigarettes are not an easy remedy to quit smoking but

an easy remedy to quit the use of tobacco, prevent one’s hands from turning

black, and prevent the smoke produced from burning tobacco.

However, a person addicted to smoking can take an electric cigarette of a

lower level of nicotine. Reducing the levels of nicotine in the body is all a

smoker needs in order to quit smoking. Nicotine is considered to be addictive

and the more nicotine in the body, the more a smoker will spend in buying an

electronic cigarette.

References

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/26/smoking-rots-the-brain-study-

aging_n_2193236.html

http://healthable.org/the-effects-of-smoking-on-the-brain/

http://science.howstuffworks.com/nicotine3.htm

http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/tobaccostatistics/a/CigaretteSmoke.htm

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/

Smoking_effects_on_your_body

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http://www.quit.org.au/about/frequently-asked-questions/how-does-smoking-

affect-my-body/mouth-eyes-nose.html

http://www.girlshealth.gov/substance/smoking/tobaccotext.html

http://www.stop-smoking-programs.org/ways-to-quit-smoking.html

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