Smoking: what are the
effects?
Effects
of tobacco
The effects of any drug (including tobacco) vary from person to person.
How tobacco affects a person depends on many things including their size,
weight and health, also whether the person is used to taking it. The effects of
tobacco, as with any drug, also depend on the amount taken.
In Australia, tobacco use is responsible for approximately 15,000 deaths
each year. In 2004–2005 approximately three-quarters of a million hospital
bed-days were a result of tobacco use. (Collins & Lapsley, 2008)
There is no safe level of tobacco use. Use of any drug
always carries some risk—even medications can produce unwanted side effects. It
is important to be careful when taking any type of drug.
·
nitial stimulation, then reduction in activity of brain and
nervous system
·
increased alertness and concentration
·
feelings of mild euphoria
·
feelings of relaxation
·
increased blood pressure and heart rate
·
decreased blood flow to fingers and toes
·
decreased skin temperature
·
bad breath
·
decreased appetite
·
dizziness
·
nausea, abdominal cramps and vomiting
·
headache
·
coughing, due to smoke irritation.
Higher
doses
A high
dose of nicotine can cause a person to overdose. This means that a person has
taken more nicotine than their body can cope with. The effects of very large
doses can include:
·
an increase in the unpleasant effects
·
feeling faint
·
confusion
·
rapid decrease in blood pressure and breathing rate
·
seizures
·
respiratory arrest (stopping breathing) and death.
60 mg of
nicotine taken orally can be fatal for an adult.
Long-term
effects
Tar in
cigarettes coats the lungs and can cause lung and throat cancer in smokers. It
is also responsible for the yellow–brown staining on smokers’ fingers and
teeth.
Carbon
monoxide in cigarettes reduces the amount of oxygen available to the muscles,
brain and blood. This means the whole body—especially the heart—must work
harder. Over time this causes airways to narrow and blood pressure to rise,
which can lead to heart attack and stroke.
High
levels of CO, together with nicotine, increase the risk of heart disease,
hardening of the arteries and other circulatory problems.
Some of
the long-term effects of smoking (Quit Victoria, 2010) that may be experienced
include:
·
increased risk of stroke and brain damage
·
eye cataracts, macular degeneration, yellowing of whites of eyes
·
loss of sense of smell and taste
·
yellow teeth, tooth decay and bad breath
·
cancer of the nose, lip, tongue and mouth
·
possible hearing loss
·
laryngeal and pharyngeal cancers
·
contributes to osteoporosis
·
shortness of breath
·
coughing
·
chronic bronchitis
·
cancer
·
triggering asthma
·
emphysema
·
heart disease
·
blockages in blood supply that can lead to a heart attack
·
high blood pressure (hypertension)
·
myeloid leukaemia, a cancer that affects bone marrow and organs
that make blood
·
stomach and bladder cancers
·
stomach ulcers
·
decreased appetite
·
grey appearance
·
early wrinkles
·
slower healing wounds
·
damage to blood vessel walls
·
increased likelihood of back pain
·
increased susceptibility to infection
·
lower fertility and increased risk of miscarriage
·
irregular periods
·
early menopause
·
damaged sperm and reduced sperm
·
impotence.
Other effects of tobacco use
Passive
smoking
Passive
smoking occurs when a person who is not smoking breathes in the smoke from
people who are smoking. Passive smoking can irritate the eyes and nose and
cause a number of health problems such as heart disease and lung cancer.
Tobacco smoke is especially harmful to babies and young children.
Using
tobacco with other drugs
Nicotine
can affect the way the body processes many different drugs. This can affect how
these drugs work. For example, nicotine can decrease the effectiveness of
benzodiazepines. Smoking while taking the contraceptive pill increases the risk
of blood clots forming.
Check
with your doctor or other health professional whether nicotine might affect any
medications you are taking.
Pregnancy
and breastfeeding
Read
about the effects of tobacco use on pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Many
drugs can cross the placenta and affect an unborn child.
In
general, using drugs when pregnant can increase the chances of going into
labour early. This can mean that babies are born below the normal birth weight.
If a
mother uses drugs while breastfeeding, they may be present in her milk, and
could affect the baby.
Check
with your health professional if you are taking or planning to take any drugs
during pregnancy, or while breastfeeding.
Tolerance and dependence
People
who use tobacco regularly tend to develop a tolerance to the effects of
nicotine. This means they need to smoke more tobacco to get the same effect.
They may
become dependent on nicotine. Dependence can be psychological, physical, or
both. People who are dependent on nicotine find that using the drug becomes far
more important than other activities in their life. They crave the drug and
will find it very difficult to stop using it.
People
who are psychologically dependent on nicotine may find they feel an urge to
smoke when they are in specific surroundings or socialising with friends.
Physical
dependence occurs when a person’s body adapts to the nicotine and gets used to
functioning with the nicotine present.