Smoking and the Risk of Disease

Question 1

When tobacco leaves are smoked how many chemicals are inhaled and how many are linked to disease?

Answer 1

4000 different chemicals are inhaled and at least 150 are linked to disease.

Question 2

What is nicotine?

Answer 2

Nicotine is the addictive but relatively harmless drug found in tobacco smoke that produces a sensation of calm.

Question 3

What is carbon monoxide?

Answer 3

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas found in cigarette smoke. After smoking a cigarette up to 10% of the blood carries carbon monoxide rather than oxygen, resulting in a shortage of oxygen.

Question 4

How does smoking impact pregnancy?

Answer 4

Instead of carrying oxygen for the fetus, the parent carries carbon monoxide leading to developmental issues and even stillbirths.

Question 5

How does smoking effect the cilia?

Answer 5

The cilia are tiny hairs that move mucus bacteria and dirt away from the lungs. Some of the chemicals from the cigarettes anaesthetise the cilia and stop them from working causing a build up of dirt and pathogens and increasing the risk of infections and causing coughing due to built up mucus.

Question 6

What is tar?

Answer 6

Tar is a sticky, black carcinogen what accumulates in the lungs and turns them grey. It can cause bronchitis as well as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease by breaking down the structure of the alveoli. This reduces the surface area to volume to volume ratio of the lungs, leading to severe breathlessness and eventually death.

Question 7

How does smoking effect the heart?

Answer 7

Smoking narrows the blood vessels in your skin, aging it.
Nicotine raises the heart rate and damages the lining of the arteries, increasing the chance of coronary heart disease and clot formation.
Increased blood pressure.