What does cigarettes do to your body

An older study found it increases hair loss , balding, and graying. Smoking increases the risk of mouth, throat, larynx, and esophagus cancer. Smokers also have higher rates of pancreatic cancer. Nicotine affects blood flow to the genital areas of both men and women. For men, this can decrease sexual performance.

For women, this can result in sexual dissatisfaction by decreasing lubrication and the ability to reach orgasm. Smoking may also lower sex hormone levels in both men and women.

This can possibly lead to decreased sexual desire. Quitting smoking is difficult, but your doctor can help you make a plan. Ask them for advice. There are a variety of nonprescription and prescription medications that can help you quit. You can also turn to our smoking cessation resource center , which has advice, stories from others, and more.

There are both short and long-term benefits to quitting smoking. Since smoking affects every body system, finding a way to quit is the most important step you can take to living a longer and happier life.

But that doesn't make it easy to quit. Our readers sent us their tips on how to quit…. Do you know all the leading causes of death in the United States? The fourth cause in our list may surprise you.

The top 12 causes of death in the…. Let us help you find the right products to help you quit smoking. Read about aids, medications, and therapies to help you succeed in your plan to quit smoking.

New research suggests smokers make an average of 30 attempts before they successfully quit smoking. Is it better or worse to know this? Nicotine dependence causes an addiction to tobacco products. You may experience fatigue, headache, dry mouth, or other symptoms when you stop smoking.

The FDA is investigating whether cigarettes could be made 'nonaddictive' and if the lack of nicotine would encourage or discourage people from smoking…. Snuff is a dried form of tobacco that can raise your risk of health problems.

Learn how to quit, starting today. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. This buildup narrows the arteries and blocks normal blood flow to the heart, brain, and legs. Blocked blood flow to the heart or brain can cause a heart attack or stroke. Blockage in the blood vessels of your legs could result in the amputation of your toes or feet. Smokers' lungs experience inflammation in the small airways and tissues of your lungs.

This can make your chest feel tight or cause you to wheeze or feel short of breath. Continued inflammation builds up scar tissue, which leads to physical changes to your lungs and airways that can make breathing hard. Years of lung irritation can give you a chronic cough with mucus. Smoking destroys the tiny air sacs, or alveoli, in the lungs that allow oxygen exchange. When you smoke, you are damaging some of those air sacs.

When enough alveoli are destroyed, the disease emphysema develops. Emphysema causes severe shortness of breath and can lead to death. Your airways are lined with tiny brush like hairs, called cilia.

The cilia sweep out mucus and dirt so your lungs stay clear. Smoking temporarily paralyzes and even kills cilia. This makes you more at risk for infection. Smokers get more colds and respiratory infections than non-smokers. Every single puff of a cigarette causes damages to your DNA. Your body tries to repair the damage that smoking does to your DNA, but over time, smoking can wear down this repair system and lead to cancer like lung cancer. One-third of all cancer deaths are caused by tobacco.

Need another reason why smoking is bad for you? Bigger belly. Smokers have bigger bellies and less muscle than non-smokers. Smoking also makes it harder to control diabetes once you already have it. Diabetes is a serious disease that can lead to blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, and amputations. Low estrogen levels can cause dry skin, thinning hair, and memory problems.

Women who smoke have a harder time getting pregnant and having a healthy baby. Smoking can also lead to early menopause, which increases your risk of developing certain diseases like heart disease. For some people, quitting smoking is one of the biggest journeys they take. Let us help you with our Smokefree Text programs. Fact: The cilia in your lungs are one of the first things in your body to heal when you quit smoking.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease more common in women that affects the joints in your hands and feet. It causes painful swelling that can eventually result in bone loss and joint deformity. Smoking is one of the causes, and is also associated with developing the disease at an earlier age.

Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have babies with orofacial clefts. Moms-to-be take note: Smoking can affect your ability to conceive. It causes reduced fertility in women and can contribute to other problems during pregnancy. Smoking contributes to periodontis —a gum infection that destroys the bone that supports the teeth. It is a major cause of tooth loss in adults.

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