Smoking can cause long-term negative effects on the body, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Whether smoked or chewed, tobacco is dangerous to your health. Tobacco products contain unsafe substances, from acetone and tar to nicotine and carbon monoxide. The inhaled substances can affect your lungs and the other organs in your body.

Smoking can lead to ongoing complications and long-term effects on your body systems. While smoking can increase your risk of certain health conditions over years, like glaucoma, cancer, and issues with blood clotting, some of the bodily effects happen immediately.

But quitting smoking can reverse many of these effects on your body.

Learn more about the symptoms and overall effects of smoking on the body below.

Smoking poses numerous dangers to health, impacting nearly every organ of the body. Some of the most significant risks include:

Lung Disease - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Smoking is the leading cause of COPD, a condition that causes breathing difficulties due to damage to the airways and lungs.

Lung Cancer: Smoking is responsible for about 85-90% of lung cancer cases, making it the most significant risk factor.

Heart Disease - Smoking damages blood vessels and makes them thicken and narrow, leading to conditions like coronary artery disease, heart attacks, and strokes. It raises blood pressure and lowers good cholesterol (HDL), increasing the risk of heart-related conditions.

Cancers Beyond the Lungs - Smoking also significantly increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, pancreas, bladder, kidney, cervix, and stomach.

Weakened Immune System - Smoking weakens the immune system, making the body more vulnerable to infections and slowing down recovery from illnesses.

Respiratory Infections - Smokers are more prone to infections like pneumonia, bronchitis, and the common cold, due to damage to the respiratory system.

Reduced Fertility and Pregnancy Complications - Smoking can impair fertility in both men and women. It increases the risks of complications during pregnancy, including preterm birth, low birth weight, and miscarriage.

Strokes - Smokers are more likely to have a stroke due to damage to the blood vessels in the brain. Strokes can result in brain damage, disability, or death.

Premature Aging - Smoking accelerates the aging process, leading to early wrinkles, skin discoloration, and other signs of aging.

Second-hand Smoke - Even non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke are at risk for many of the same health issues, including lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory infections.

Addiction and Nicotine Dependence - Nicotine is highly addictive, making it difficult to quit smoking. Prolonged smoking increases exposure to other harmful chemicals in cigarettes.

In summary, smoking remains one of the leading causes of preventable diseases and deaths worldwide, and quitting can significantly reduce the risk of developing many of these serious health issues.