Smoking Damage
Ninety percent of lung cancer cases are tied directly to smoking. Additional respiratory problems, gingivitis, yellow teeth and digestive problems can all be traced to smoking. But beyond the systemic bodily harm, smoking does its worst damage to the very basic structure of human life: your cells.
Development of Cancer Cells
Whenever you smoke a cigarette, you inhale over 4,000 different chemicals with each puff. Of those chemicals, at least 40 are known to be carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents. Benzene, formaldehyde and acetone--the main chemical in nail polish remover--are included in this deadly group. The longer the cigarette smoke is held in the lungs, the more damage it can do.
Cancer cells start whenever a normal cell's DNA is damaged in some way. They usually form as a tumor on top of a body organ, sucking up the body's precious resources such as oxygen and blood. Cancer tumors start to reproduce within their own walls, eventually breaking off and entering the body's numerous systems. All of this can start just from a few drags off of a cigarette.
Tar Damage
Another way cigarettes damage cells is from the tar in the cigarette smoke, also known as condensate. When the condensate enters the blood stream, it is exposed to cells and begins to alter their DNA components. In particular, the condensate seems to target some of the repair systems of cells. In a study conducted by the University of Florida's College of Medicine, scientists exposed lung cells to different levels of condensate. The study showed that the tar could permanently change the genome structure of the lung cell's ability to repair itself, instigating instability within its system. And when cells are unstable,they can become cancerous.
Anti-Inflammatory Loss in Lungs
Proteins in lung cells are not immune to cigarette smoke, either. The Alpha1-proteinaise inhibitor (A1PAI) allows lung tissue to repair itself by keeping other cells from becoming inflamed when exposed to damage. A1PAI does this by reducing oxidants that can cause the tissue damage. But when cigarette smoke enters the body, it damages or destroys the A1PAI in the cells, reducing the lung's anti-inflammatory agents in the body. Thus, diseases such as emphysema can set in.
Understand that inhaling cigarette smoke does more than cause bad breath and gingivitis. Even if you don't get lung cancer, the very damage to your lung's cells can lead to other diseases.
Tags: cigarette smoke, lung cells, cells from, lung cancer, repair itself