Smoking - Lung facts - Many smokers die each year from debilitating lung conditions other than lung cancer. Emphysema, a swelling and rupturing of the lungs' air sacs, reduces the lungs' capacity to take in oxygen (and expel carbon dioxide).
In extreme cases, a tracheotomy helps patients breathe, an opening is cut in the windpipe, allowing a ventilator to force air into the lungs.
Chronic bronchitis creates a build-up of pus-filled mucus, resulting in a painful cough and breathing difficulties.
83 per cent of deaths from emphysema and bronchitis in England are smoking related.
Smoking and heart disease - Smoking makes the heart beat faster, raises blood pressure and increases the risk of hypertension and clogged arteries.
Almost half of all young deaths (i.e. below age 65) from heart disease are caused by smoking.
Smokers are twice as likely as non-smokers to have a sudden cardiac arrest and also twice as likely to die from coronary heart disease. In fact, one in six deaths in the UK that are caused by heart disease, happened because the victim was a smoker.
Smoking can damage blood vessel walls, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood to the extremities. It's well known that smokers give themselves more chance of having heart problems, but nicotine is also a very strong vasoconstrictor, this means that it can restrict the blood flow to extremities and so, can often lead to tissue hypoxia/tissue death/gangrene coming to the fingers and/or toes, and if diagnosed quick enough may just mean amputating the fingers and/or toes, but if left too late, can mean losing arms and / or legs.
We're all aware of how smoking can be addictive - but aren't most of us rather fond of our fingers, toes, arms and legs as well!!!! Have you ever seen someone with one arm trying to do up their laces or buttons? How sad, especially as they could have avoided it by not smoking! Right now, right this very second, undo your laces and / or buttons, then try and do up your laces or buttons with just one hand! Then make up your mind about smoking!!!
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