Why Is Smoking Harmful to the Lungs?
- Alveoli are tiny air sacs in the lungs that help the body absorb oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide. Tar in cigarettes plugs the bronchial tube near the air sacs. Moisture in the lungs makes tar cling to the tubes, and when the lungs can't get rid of it, air sacs collapse. Alveoli are unable to stretch and can't take in as much oxygen as needed, causing shortness of breath. The heart has to work harder to get oxygen to the body, and the smoker becomes tired.
- Cilia are tiny, hair-like structures that help clean and repair the lungs. They line the airways along with a thin layer of mucus. The mucus traps dirt and toxins that are breathed in, and the cilia brush them away before they get trapped in the lungs. Smoking destroys cilia, making the lungs unable to clean and repair themselves. Smokers can develop a chronic cough and health conditions that can destroy their lungs.
- Smoking causes diseases that keep oxygen from reaching blood vessels and organs. These include bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The immune system tries to eliminate chemicals from the smoke in the lungs and airways, but eventually it stops working. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 90 percent of COPD deaths are from smoking.
- According to the CDC, cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States, and lung cancer is the type of cancer that causes the most deaths. Smoking causes 90 percent of male lung cancer deaths and nearly 80 percent of female lung cancer deaths. Over 40 chemicals in tobacco smoke are known to cause cancer, including carbon dioxide, arsenic, ammonia, mercury, formaldehyde, lead, urethane and radioactive chemicals. These chemicals cause cells to mutate, and abnormal cells begin to line a smoker's bronchial tubes. More smoke causes more abnormal cells, and some form tumors and become cancerous.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 3,000 U.S. nonsmokers a year die of lung cancer from secondhand smoke. The EPA that babies' lungs are too small to tolerate smoke and being around smokers makes breathing difficult for them. SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and respiratory illness are more likely in children exposed to smoke.
