As the cigarette smoke first enters the body a multitude of noxious, harmful gasses associated with smoking (ammonia, formaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, acetone, benzene, tar, hydrogen cyanide, cadmium and carbon monoxide to name but a few from around 4000 chemicals) start to react with living tissues such as the eyes, nose and throat. These are particularly sensitive areas of the body which when damaged through time lead to what is known as a 'smokers cough'.



The natural cleaning mechanism of your lungs starts to get eroded away. Your lungs begin to function at an increased rate, all the time the harmful compounds from smoke attacking your airway's tissues. Mucous starts to build up causing you to cough. Large quantities of excess mucous act as places for pathogens, e.g. flu and bronchitis, to reproduce.

Deeper into your lungs scavenger cells, which typically remove alien particles from your lung's airways, are damaged. The protein 'elastin' which keeps your lungs flexible is weakened promoting the development of emphysema. Chronic obstructive lung disease is a possibility with smokers. This disease has been directly linked to smoking.

Once in your lungs, smoke raises your heartbeat by as much as 30% during the initial 10 minutes of smoking. Chemicals such as nicotine have produced abnormal heartbeats in many smokers.

As your heart rate heightens so does your blood pressure therefore levying pressure onto all your blood vessels and the heart its self. As a result your chances of a heart attack or stroke are more likely.

Carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless and lethal gas typical of car exhaust fumes moves straight into your blood stream via the lungs. This simple organic compound acts to combine with more force than oxygen to the hemoglobin in red blood cells. This forces away any molecules of oxygen. Never being released, the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood is lowered by up to 15%. Less than normal levels of energy providing oxygen reach your brain and other tissues, physical activity becomes more difficult.

Nicotine reaches the brain in around 10 seconds after having inhaled your first cigarette smoke. Absorbed into the blood and hitting the brain, the central nervous system is affected resulting in an increase in heart beats which in turn increases your hearts requirement for oxygen.

Smoke promotes your skin's blood vessels constricting, giving the appearance of more wrinkles. Smoking also has the affect of drying out skin. What you may end up with after many years addicted to smoking is a pale weak complexion, grey skin that is wrinkled as well as heavy lines around the mouth and eyes.

With all this horrible information above saying how a smokers situation really is why not start and persevere with a quit smoking program. Contrary to popular belief health improvements happen quicker than you may think! You'll save a whole heap of cash, food will taste better and you'll feel and look healthier.