Passive smoking: harm and risks for the body

Medical Director of LabQuest, PhD, clinical laboratory diagnostician

“Tobacco smoke and its associated habit – smoking – is the most obvious cause of harm to the body, but it does not lose its relevance.”

What are the harms of smoking

Most people start smoking at an age when the harmful effects of tobacco are not realized and the body’s reserves are still high.

According to WHO, smoking is the leading cause of premature death – more than 8 million people die each year from tobacco-related diseases – and the cause of most chronic non-communicable diseases.

For those who start smoking regularly during adolescence, the risk of dying from tobacco use increases by up to 50%. Death occurs in middle age, which corresponds to 22 years of lost life expectancy.

Smoking is responsible for 90% of lung cancer cases. Given comorbidities such as chronic bronchitis, early radiologic changes may be missed, leading to diagnosis of tumors in late stages.

Clinical protocols for the evaluation and management of patients with lung cancer always take smoking status into account, which will determine the extent of tumor tissue examination, the prognosis of aggressiveness, and the choice of therapy.

The carcinogenic properties of smoke also extend to the organs that interact with it, such as the larynx, esophagus, throat, tongue, and oral cavity. Cancer of these localizations is very aggressive: treatment involves mutilation and appearance-changing surgery.

Smoking status is also taken into account when assessing cardiovascular risks – the longer the smoking history, the higher the risk group for the development of formidable cardiovascular complications, thrombosis. At the same time, sudden smoking cessation can reduce the risk group, but not significantly.

Nicotine itself and carbon monoxide contained in tobacco smoke damage the endothelium – the inner wall of blood vessels – blood flow is disturbed, cholesterol level rises, and these factors together contribute to the formation of atherosclerotic plaque. Accordingly, the risk of stroke increases.

Chronic smoking is characterized by more active reactions associated with adrenaline and noradrenaline, and faster reaction of vessels – myocardial infarction associated with smoking-induced vasospasm gives less time for the possibility of resuscitation.

Vascular reaction to smoking provokes the development of arterial hypertension, and the reaction of blood vessels under the influence of smoke becomes faster, which increases the risk of stroke and its consequences.

Why passive smoking is no less dangerous

The pernicious habit jeopardizes the lives of people around the smoker – passive smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease by five times, also increases the risk of lung cancer. After all, tobacco smoke contains not only nicotine and tar, but also about 76 metals, including nickel, copper, zinc, cadmium, mercury, chromium, lead.

Passive smoking is a frequent cause of asthma development in children, and if the harmful habit of parents does not stop, the child has difficulties with mental and physical development.

Tobacco smoke disrupts the digestive system, gastrointestinal motility, and increases the risk of ulcerative lesions of the gastric mucosa.

Exposure of the skin to combustion products affects the protective properties of the epidermis and collagen and leads to premature aging. In addition, smoking nullifies the effect of most cosmetic procedures.

Tobacco smoke adversely affects the nervous system, putting a person in chronic oxygen deprivation, which affects nerve cells, especially the cerebral cortex. Constant spasm of blood vessels deprives them of oxygen, nutrients and does not allow them to remove toxic products.

Smoking is a psychological addiction, which puts a person in a state of irritation, searching for another dose of smoke, and the realization of their addiction affects self-esteem and social qualities. If you can not overcome the addiction on your own, seek help from a specialist.