The International E-Magazine on Adolescent Health; Nutrition & your Circulatory & Respiratory Systems Volume ll | Page 4

Smoking
 and
 your
 circulatory
 system

Annually smoking is the activity most done around the world. It is also one of the biggest causes of
illnesses and even death around the world, speaking in millions annually. Since the moment it
becomes a daily activity, smoking starts deteriorating your body, including your organs and your
respiratory and circulatory systems. Many people start smoking since they are in their teen years,
and this contributes to an early death and diseases in their not so late years. 1 out of every 3
adults are smokers according to the World Health Organization. People decide to smoke even
when they become aware of the risks smoking has not because they ignore them, but because of
the addictive substances found in those death sticks that force them to be consumed in larger
quantities every time.
In a single cigarette there are over 4,000 chemicals identified, including gases that are
breathable. Out of this 4,000 more than 70 have been found to be carcinogenic; this means that
they can help toward the formation of cancerific molecules in our bodies. There are many cancers
that smoking cigarettes cause, for example lung, mouth, nasal, liver, pancreatic, throat, and bone
cancers. A long exposure to many chemicals can lead to cancer, and many of the ones found in
cigarettes are very likely to cause after some time of smoking (several years). The worst
carcinogens found are benzene, formaldehyde, arsenic, cadmium, ammonia, carbon monoxide,
hydrogen cyanide, polonium, and lead. Benzene increases your chances of getting leukemia a
disease that affects the blood and bone marrow, responsible for the creation of blood cells. The
excess of carcinogenic chemicals in cigarettes is incredibly alarming, for they are the number one
reason for cancers all over the world. Over 8 million people will die annually at the hands of
cigarette-induced illness. 16 million live with an illness caused by smoking.
Oxygen is an essential part of life that living things needs in order to survive, and it passes through
the circulatory system, that consists of passing food and oxygen to all of our cells in the body and
that keeps us alive and smoking it starts degenerating the work of the process but in the lungs and
it won't stop unless you stop smoking and it can’t generate again. In the respiratory system the
very first time that you start smoking it starts slowing down the beating of the cilia and with time
the process of cilia paralyzes and that is when the cough of smokers starts and with that
happening cilia stops removing mucus and you cough it out, normally in the morning you will have
more mucus because it accumulates when you sleep and then pathogenic organisms that
normally removed have more chances to enter the respiratory surface and you get sick, this is the
reason that smokers get illness more often than nonsmokers.
Smoking is in its best description, the worst thing you can ever plan to do. There are just too many
illnesses that are caused by something that seems so harmless as a cigarette. The numbers are
unbelievable and shocking. As to how many chemicals are actually on one cigarette is
outrageous; and out of those how many cause cancer is mind-blowing. There are reasons why
there are ads on the packs themselves on what smoking can do and people still choose to ignore
it. Smoking harms all your body and leaves you in a very bad state. It is very important that we
become conscious of all this problems and try to stay away from cigarettes for our health and
those around us.

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