Smoking - Effects on the body

The reason that smoking is so addictive is due to the presence of nicotine in tobacco. Nicotine is an addictive drug, and as such smokers will feel a need to inhale smoke (thus nicotine) to feel 'normal'. The amount that a smoker needs to smoke will depend on the amount of nicotine they need in their system, and not the type of cigarette that they smoke.

However, it is not just nicotine that smokers inhale when they light up a cigarette. Tobacco contains around 4,000 other chemicals. A lot of these compounds are still very much chemically active and as such are highly damaging to the body. Over 60 chemicals that are present in tobacco smoke are known to cause cancer. Smoking will harm nearly every organ in the body and will cause many diseases and ill health.

As mentioned above: many of the compounds in tobacco are highly damaging to the body and to human health. Below is a breakdown of just a few of them:

Tar - this is actually a collective term and refers to all the particles that are suspended in cigarette smoke. These particles contain chemicals and these chemicals are known to have cancer-inducing properties. The tar is sticky and brown and will coat fingernails and teeth and lung tissue.

Carbon Monoxide - is an odourless gas. It can be fatal as it will take the place of oxygen in the blood. Red blood cells in the body contain haemoglobin, which Oxygen attachs itself to and is then transported around the body to the vital organs. Carbon Monoxide however, actually attaches itself to the haemoglobin better than Oxygen. Eventually this will mean the oxygen will be prevented from reaching the vital organs.

Hydrogen Cyanide - In the lungs of the human body, there are tiny hairs known as Cilia. These hairs help to clean foreign substances out of the lungs. However, hydrogen cyanide which is found in tobacco smoke prevents this process from working properly. This means that the other harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke are allowed to build up in the lungs.