Top 5 immediate effects of smoking you should know: A write up from Daniel A. Harper

We all know that smoking is bad for your health. You've seen health reminders about the dangers of smoking over and over again and almost everywhere. But most of the time you also get to come up with excuses over and over again so you can smoke. One of the excuses I've heard is that smoking will only affect you if done after a long time. This, of course, is absolutely wrong. So before you start lighting up that cigarette, read the top five immediate effects of smoking to your body.

• Stress. Most people believe that smoking can reduce stress but in fact it actually makes things worse for you. What actually relaxes you is the deep, slow breathing. What ruin the whole thing are the harmful chemicals you're breathing when smoking. Studies have shown that smokers have higher levels of stress than non-smokers. Smokers are more likely to feel anxiety, irritation, depression and boredom. In other words, the more you smoke, the more you'll experience behavioral problems.


• Weaker respiratory system. Since smoke passes through your nose and mouth down to your lungs, your respiratory system will immediately get affected. Coughing and increased phlegm production happens right away as the lungs try to protect itself from the toxic substances of smoke. This could lead to tightening of the airways similar to what a person with asthma experiences. Not coughing when smoking? That's because your lungs are probably not perfectly healthy enough to protect you.
  


• Decreased physical performance. No wonder you're out of breath each time you take the stairs. Smoking can immediately take its toll to the body. It damages the respiratory system which means less oxygen circulating in the body, making you tired easily. It also increases blood pressure, requiring the heart to pump harder and faster. This means that when you smoke, your heart works twice as hard, wearing it out faster. On top of that, your high blood pressure can cause organ damage such as the kidneys where your blood is filtered.


• Damage to the digestive system. Your digestive system is responsible for making sure that you get as much nutrients from the food you eat. This system is easily affected by tobacco smoke. When you smoke, your stomach tends to increase acid production which can result to painful heart burns and ulcers. Cigarette smoke can also decrease your appetite and weakens your digestive system's ability to absorb nutrients from the food you eat, leaving your body with deficiencies.


• Weakens the immune system. The immune system is our main line of defense against diseases and infections. Since harmful chemicals in cigarettes travel inside our body through our bloodstream, our immune system is immediately affected by slowing down the production of antibodies and other cells that protect the body from sickness. If you're a smoker, have you noticed that you easily catch a cold or influenza and it takes you longer to recover compared to those who do not smoke?

We cannot elaborate further how bad smoking is for your body. Some of the effects of smoking are reversible but studies have shown that many are not. If you keep on smoking, you are literally digging up a hole you won't be able to get out of. Quit while you still can and while you still have a chance to be healthy.

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