Patient's question:
How great are the harms of women smoking to the body? From the perspective of endocrine, respiratory, skin, and so on..Doctor's answer:
What are the harms of smoking to the body?Smokers inhale a mixture of gases, vapors, and particles produced by the incomplete combustion of tobacco leaves. When lit at temperatures as high as 900°C, it generates various decomposition and synthesis products, most of which are toxic: such as nicotine, benzene, carbon monoxide, acetaldehyde, and more. Smoking is actually a chronic poisoning behavior!
### 1. Appearance/Body:
Tartar/Bad Breath: Smokers' teeth are stained with tobacco tar, which is difficult to remove. Their breath smells unpleasant, and their hair quality becomes extremely poor.
Premature Aging: Smoking can cause women to enter menopause earlier, advancing it by 1–3 years!
Wrinkles: Nicotine destroys collagen, making the skin drier and leading to more wrinkles!
Female Hormones (Estrogen): Nicotine inhibits the secretion of female hormones (estrogen and progesterone), disrupts certain enzymes in the body, delays the onset of menstruation in teenagers, and causes menstrual disorders and dysmenorrhea.
Chest: Due to the reduction in estrogen, a woman's secondary sexual characteristics do not develop fully, and her bust size may shrink.
Dark Circles Under Eyes: Smoking causes poor blood circulation, preventing the eyes from receiving adequate oxygen, leading to dark circles.
Enlarged Pores: Poor blood circulation and the shrinkage of capillaries result in larger pores!
Conclusion: Smoking makes women look at least 5 years older.
### 2. Health:
Unfortunately, women who smoke have a much higher risk of cancer and heart attacks than men. Additionally, the incidence of heart disease in smoking women is four times higher than in non-smoking women.
Lung Cancer: Women who smoke are more prone to lung cancer, with a risk 1.5 times higher than men.
Respiratory System: Smoking is one of the main causes of chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and chronic airway obstruction.
Digestive System: It increases stomach acid secretion (about 90% more than non-smokers), inhibits pancreatic secretion, increases acid load, and induces ulcers.
Cardiovascular Diseases: Smoking causes tissue and myocardial hypoxia, triggers coronary spasm, increases blood viscosity, disrupts lipid metabolism, promotes cholesterol deposition; reduces serum antioxidant effects, and significantly increases the risk of various cardiovascular diseases.
Low Libido and Reproductive Ability: Smoking women have about a 50% lower chance of conception compared to non-smoking women. It also reduces the likelihood of having a son.
Reproductive Risks: Smoking increases the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, placental abruption, and placenta previa.
Eye Damage: Vascular hardening and increased platelet adhesiveness lead to local hypoxia, causing retinal diseases and increasing the risk of cataracts.
### 3. Mental/Emotional:
Does smoking boost energy? In reality, it can temporarily energize, but high doses actually suppress the central nervous system. Long-term nervous inhibition leads to poor sleep quality, making people look exhausted and affecting mental health. Insufficient oxygen supply due to poor blood circulation makes women prone to irritability, wild speculation, and extreme behavior.
### 4. Financial:
This doesn’t need to be explained further! Think about it—saving the money spent on cigarettes each month could buy how much skincare or beauty treatments for your face! It reduces the harm of tobacco to beauty while increasing beauty investment.
Some say, "A cigarette after a meal is better than immortality." Therefore, some people, especially young ones, often indulge in "smoking clouds and exhaling mist." Unaware, as they enjoy themselves, the various toxins in tobacco launch a brutal attack on them.
Analysis shows that tobacco contains about 1,200 compounds, most of which are toxic to the body, especially nicotine, which is particularly harmful. A single cigarette contains enough nicotine to kill a mouse, and 20 cigarettes can kill a cow. If a person smokes 20–25 cigarettes daily, they inhale 50–70 mg of nicotine, which is enough to be fatal. However, because it is gradually inhaled and the body has some detoxification capabilities, they survive.
Tobacco contains many carcinogens, as well as many promutagens and ciliary toxic substances that reduce the body’s ability to expel foreign substances. These toxins adhere to tiny particles in cigarette smoke, reach the alveoli, accumulate, and further enhance their carcinogenic effects.
People who smoke 10 cigarettes or more daily have a lung cancer mortality rate 2.5 times higher than non-smokers. Additionally, smoking can cause laryngeal cancer, oral cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, etc. Smoking exacerbates cardiovascular diseases, accelerates atherosclerosis and thrombus formation, causes irregular heartbeat, and even sudden death. Some studies have found that smokers have a 4.5 times higher risk of sudden death from coronary heart disease compared to non-smokers.
Smoking damages the nervous system, causing memory loss and premature aging. It also harms the respiratory system, leading to chronic coughing, phlegm, and respiratory diseases like bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchiectasis. Smokers are more prone to gastric ulcers because nicotine in cigarette smoke disrupts the acid-base balance in the digestive system.
In summary, smoking poses significant harm to health. According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 1 million people worldwide die prematurely each year due to smoking. The report also provides startling statistics: 90% of lung cancer patients and one-third of all cancer patients are caused by smoking. Additionally, 75% of chronic bronchitis patients and 25% of heart disease patients are due to smoking.
Smoking not only harms the smoker but also harms others by forcing them to "passively smoke." In fact, passive smokers are just as likely to suffer from the diseases caused by smoking. Adolescents, who are in their growth and development stages, are more easily absorbed by harmful and toxic substances and suffer deeper harm. Smoking also affects the moral development of adolescents.
Controlling smoking has become a concern in countries worldwide. Smoking is seen as an uncivilized habit, and developed countries have implemented more restrictions, leading to a gradual decrease in the number of smokers. Many governments have issued strict anti-smoking laws, prohibiting smoking in public places.
In 1979, China’s State Council approved the Ministry of Health’s notice on "Publicizing the Harm of Smoking and Controlling Smoking." Many health experts strongly called for attention to the issue of adolescent smoking, emphasizing that it is a matter of improving national quality and fostering a positive social atmosphere.