What Nicotine Does to the Body... Recommend this page to a friend. When you smoke a cigarette, the chemical nicotine causes a number of immediate responses in the body. In the short-term, blood pressure and heart rate rise and the arteries supplying the heart narrow. When these arteries narrow, the combination of nicotine and carbon monoxide spell double trouble to the heart since carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen that the blood can carry.In addition, smoking causes abnormalities in the way that the body handles various fats (causing a rise in the bad cholesterol LDL and a decrease in the good cholesterol HDL). It also affects various hormones in the body, as well as the handling of blood sugar. Cigarette smoking harms both the heart and the arteries. The carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke appears to damage the walls of arteries and encourages the buildup of fat inside these walls. Nicotine may also contribute to this process. In addition, chemicals in cigarette smoke make platelets more sticky and thereby increase the likelihood that the blood will clot. All these effects combined increase the risk of heart disease significantly. The Nose KnowsWith practice, you can hone your senses of smell and taste. Food and wine connoisseurs can pick up subtle distinctions in flavor and distinguish between vintages of a wine; they can tell how long a roast has been marinated and in what kind of sauce. You can also devolve these senses. Continued exposure to toxic chemicals such as tar, nicotine, and the other constituents of tobacco erodes the sense of smell and taste over the course of years. The good news is that after you quit smoking, your sensitivity and receptivity make a comeback. Your awareness of the world of odors around you rebounds. This may seem like a small matter, but once you get a hint of the banquet of fragrances and flavors that you may have let slip over the years, you're likely to want more. And we return to ... Navigator ... heart of this website.
A QUICKIE LESSON ON CIGARETTES HOPING YOU NEVER TOUCH ONE For more information, you too can visit Wikipedia. And if you smoke, you can also visit a head doctor. A cigarette (French "small cigar", from cigar + -ette) is a small roll of finely-cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in the mouth. Most modern manufactured cigarettes are filtered and include reconstituted tobacco and other additives. Cigarettes are sometimes smoked with a cigarette holder. The term cigarette, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette but can apply to similar devices containing other herbs, such as cannabis. A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its smaller size, use of processed leaf, and paper wrapping, which is normally white, though other colors are available. Cigars are typically composed entirely of whole-leaf tobacco. Rates of cigarette smoking vary widely. While rates of smoking have leveled off or declined in the developed world, they continue to rise in developing nations. Nicotine, the primary psychoactive chemical in cigarettes, has been shown to be addictive. Statistically each cigarette smoked shortens the users lifespan by 11 minutes, and smokers who die of tobacco-related disease lose 14 years of life, on average. And cigarette use by pregnant women has also been shown to cause birth defects, including mental and physical disabilities. Cigarettes are the most frequent source of fires in private homes, which has prompted the European Union to attempt to ban cigarettes that are not fire-safe by 2011. Secondhand smoke from cigarettes has been shown to be injurious to bystanders, which has led to legislation that has banned their smoking in many workplaces and public areas. |