Smoking effects on brain,Smoking ,cerebral thrombosis,ophthalmopathy,macular degeneration

Brain

Smoking effects on brain are highly dangerous. Blockage of carotid artery may cut off the blood supply to the brain cells, which results in stroke (cerebral thrombosis). Blood thickening and clotting are also serious smoking effects and smokers are 1.5 times more likely to have stroke as compared to non-smokers.

Eyes

Dangerous smoking effects on eyes include common eye diseases such as Graves' ophthalmopathy, age- related macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataract. The worst smoking effect on eyes can be permanent blindness.

Nose

Smoking effects on your nose can rob you of your sense of smell.

Teeth and Gums

Do you ever wonder why your teeth are so yellow and stained? Do your gums bleed every morning you wake up? Well, it's because of the direct smoking effect on your teeth. Also smoking effects are not limited to the appearance of your teeth but also results in plaque, loose teeth, gum disease and gingivitis.

Mouth and Throat

All cancers associated with the larynx, oral cavity and esophagus are fatal smoking effects. The less dangerous smoking effects are reduced sense of taste, sore throat and smelly breath.

Hands

Poor blood circulation which leads to cold fingers, tar stained fingers, peripheral vascular disease and amputation due to gangrene are some of the heart-wrenching smoking effects.

Lungs and Respiratory System

The most dreaded lung cancer, feeling out of breath, colds and flu, pneumonia, asthma, cough and sputum, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, phew... are all smoking effects which will more or less make your life hell.

Heart

Two immediate smoking effects on heart and circulation are an increase in your heartbeat rate and a sharp rise in blood pressure.

Long term smoking effects are increase in the blood cholesterol and fibrinogen levels and increase in chances of having a heart attack. Smoking effects on your heart leads to coronary heart disease, aneurysm, peripheral vascular disease, stroke etc.

Digestive System

Smoking effects are heartburn, peptic ulcers, Crohn's disease, gallstones and stomach cancer.

Skin

Wrinkles, capillaries and premature ageing and scarring are few smoking effects on skin.

Legs and Feet

Beurger's disease, leg pain and gangrene are painful smoking effects.

As a part of the study, Dr. Nakamura and his colleagues studied data on 563,144 people (82 percent Asian, 35 percent women, and average age 47) in the Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration (APCSC) to examine whether smoking increased the risk of stroke and coronary heart disease in people with high blood pressure.

37 percent of the participants were smokers at the start of the study.

During a median of 6.8 years of follow-up, 746 of the 210,961 smokers and 899 of the 352,183 nonsmokers suffered a hemorrhagic stroke.

Based on this, the researchers concluded that for every 10 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure, smokers faced an 81 percent increase in hemorrhagic stroke risk, while nonsmokers faced a 66 percent increase in risk — a 15 percentage point increased risk in smokers than nonsmokers.

Systolic blood pressure (SBP) is the pressure when the heart beats. Normal blood pressure is defined as SBP below 120 mm Hg and DBP below 80 mm Hg.

This effect of smoking on blood pressure was specific to hemorrhagic stroke as there was no evidence to indicate a similar effect on the risk of coronary heart disease or ischemic stroke, researchers said.

The researchers suggest that a reason why smoking may exacerbate the risk of hemorrhagic stroke is because smoking may damage blood vessels in the brain that are already weakened by high BP.

Weakened blood vessels are prone to rupture and bleeding and hence are particularly susceptible to hemorrhagic stroke.