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1. Cerebral Vascular Disease (Stroke)
Smoking can stop oxygen from going to your
brain causing brain cells to die (cerebral infraction). It can also
cause hemorrhage (bleeding) in your brain. These lead to stroke.
2. Coronary Heart
Diseases (Heart Attacks)
Nicotine in tobacco causes the blood vessels
in the heart to narrow. This makes the heart work harder resulting
in high blood pressure. Smoking can block the arteries by causing
blood clots to form in the inner walls of the arteries resulting
in heart attacks. When these clots break and reach the brain, they
cause stroke.
3. Peripheral Vascular
Diseases
(Decreased blood supply to the limbs) Smoking
causes narrowing of the arteries of the feet and hands. This occurs
over a shorter period of time if you have diabetes or high blood
pressure. It can result in tingling feeling of the hands and feet
and difficulty in healing of scratches and sores.
4. Lung Cancer
Tar from cigarette builds up in your lungs,
causing it harder to breathe. You can develop an on going cough
and over a period of time, your lungs can develop cancer.
5. Laryngeal Cancer
(Cancer of the voice box)
Your vocal cords can become cancerous, resulting
in hoarseness voice, cough, pain and having blood in your spit.
The chance of getting laryngeal cancer increases if you drink alcohol
as well.
6. Oral Cancer (Cancer
of the mouth)
This refers to the cancers of the mouth and
throat. You can have lumps, pain and bleeding around the mouth and
throat area. It may become difficult to swallow.
7. Oesophageal Cancer
(Cancer of the food passage)
This is a cancer of your gullet (food passage)
resulting in difficulty in eating and swallowing.
8. Pancreatic Cancer
Your pancreas is needed to produce digestive
juices and insulin for controlling the blood sugar level. Cancer
of the pancreas results in jaundice, apin and weight loss.
9. Renal Cancer
Renal cancer is cancer of your kidneys. Your
kidneys help to remove waste products from your body through the
urine and passage of blood in the urine.
10. Urinary Bladder
Cancer
Your urinary bladder collects and stores
urine until it is passed out from the body. Urinary bladder cancer
can result in painless bleeding when passing urine.
Other effects of smoking
1. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
This refers to permanent loss of lung function
in some smokers resulting in shortness of breath, inability to exercise
and frequent need for air (oxygen).
2. Peptic Ulcer Disease (Commonly known
as Ulcer and Gastric)
A mucus lining protects your stomach and
duodenum (the upper part of the intestine). Smoking can interfere
with this protection causing ulceration, pain and bleeding.
3. Skin and Hair
Smoking causes the skin to wrinkle and hair
o gray at a younger age.
4. Muscle and Joints
Smoking prevents oxygen from reaching your
muscles and joints. This makes you weak and increases the chances
of getting rheumatoid arthritis.
5. Eyes and Ears
Smoking can cause eye problems (thickening
of blood vessels in the back of the eye) leading to blindness. Smoking
is also related to loss of hearing.
6. Mouth and teeth
Smoking makes teeth yellow and gives bad
breath. You can also get gum disease.
Tobacco or Health
The type of disease you can and when you
get the disease depends on:
- when you started smoking
- how deeply you breathe in the cigarette
smoke (inhaling)
- the number of cigarettes you smoke per
day
- the number of years since you gave up
smoking
- exposure to other risk factors of the
diseases e.g. lack of exercise or being overweight.
Healthy Body to
keep healthy
- If you are a non-smoker, Be Smart, don't
start
- quit if you are a smoker. Studies show
quitting reduces the chances of getting the above diseases
- Stay away from second hand smoke this
is breathing other people's smoke. That can also cause problems
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