Effects of the various components of tobacco

More than 4,000 different substances have been identified in tobacco smoke, including major carcinogens and powerful irritants such as dioxin, lead, mercury, ammonia and cyanide. The toxicity of several hundred additives contained in cigarettes has not yet been studied. However, three substances with well-known effects alone make up 90% of tobacco smoke :

Nicotine

Through its action on the nervous system and thechemical and biological changes it provokes in the brain, it is primarily responsible for tobacco addiction.

Nicotine has unpleasant effects; indeed, most people feel dizzy and nauseous on their first cigarette. Unfortunately, the body quickly gets used to it, and these unpleasant effects soon disappear, giving way to a dependency at least as strong as heroin addiction.

A series of research studies have demonstrated some of nicotine's positive effects (pain relief, anxiolytic, etc.), but these remain minimal compared with its harmful effects.

Tar A person who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day absorbs the equivalent ofone cup of tar a year. It attaches itself to the mucous membranes of the respiratory and digestive tracts, and its effects on the body are only felt over the long term. It is the main cause of chronic bronchitis (very incapacitating respiratory insufficiency) and cancer.

Carbon monoxide

This highly toxic gas passes into the bloodstream, where it binds to red blood cells, preventing them from carrying oxygen to all the body's cells.

The effects of smoking on quality of life

Tobacco is responsible:

• general weakening of the immune system (smokers are sick more often because they are less able to defend themselves against infections)
• shortness of breath
• reduced resistance to physical effort
• reduced sexual performance
• reduced fertility in women
• increased risk for the baby of a smoking mother (low birth weight, prematurity, sudden death, etc.)
• digestive problems (heartburn, nausea, etc.)
• loss of sense of smell and taste
• dulling, yellowing and premature aging of the skin
• yellowing, weakening and even loosening of teeth
• yellowing of fingers and nails
• unpleasant breath

The health effects of tobacco

Regular exposure to tobacco smoke directly promotes three major types of disease:

Cancer

Lung cancer (90% of lung cancers are attributable to smoking), but also mouth, lip, tongue, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, pancreas, bladder, cervix, etc.

Chronic lung diseases

Chronic bronchitis (resulting in persistent coughing, sputum production, breathing difficulties and even respiratory failure), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pulmonary emphysema (progressive destruction of the alveoli, "air retention in the lungs" due to a reduction in the caliber of the bronchial tubes, resulting in breathing difficulties, fatigue and respiratory failure), etc...

Cardiovascular diseases

Atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries due to damage to their walls) with inflammation and hardening of the arteries, resulting in angina pectoris, heart attacks, strokes, etc.