According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 14 of every 100 U.S. adults aged 18 years or older currently smoke cigarettes. This means an estimated 34.1 million adults in the United States currently smoke cigarettes. All these people run the risk of:
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Lung damage (emphysema, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer)
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Cardiovascular disease
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Skin cancer
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Mouth cancer
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Pancreatic cancer
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Type 2 diabetes
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Periodontal disease
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Tooth loss
This is not the full list of the health effects of smoking on your body. If you knew what smoking does to the inside of your body, you’d be shocked. Let’s look at some common effects of smoking on your health and appearance:
1. Smoking will make your skin dull
One of the most common things smoking can do to your appearance is making your skin dull, gray, and generally lackluster. Smoking depletes nutrients such as vitamin C that works to repair and protect damaged skin.
Nicotine reduces blood flow, and cigarette smoke is rich in carbon monoxide, which displaces the oxygen in your skin. All of these negative effects together leave you with unnaturally discolored and dry skin.
2. Smoking can make you prone to stretch marks
Anyone can get stretch marks due to rapid weight loss or gain but smoking makes getting stretch marks far more likely. The nicotine in cigarettes negatively affects the connective tissue and fibers in your skin, making your skin weaker and reducing its elasticity. As a result, smokers are more prone to the silver stripes form along their hips and thighs, as their skin isn’t strong enough to remain taut with weight fluctuations.
3. Smoking will cause your nails to turn yellow
Smokers’ nails and even fingers can become yellow due to the tobacco in cigarettes.
4. Smoking will make you look older than you actually are
Smokers are also prone to fine lines around their mouths as a result of puckering to inhale, but the damage doesn’t end there. The nicotine in cigarettes damages the skin resulting in premature wrinkles in many areas, including the forehead, eyes, neck, and chest.
5. Smoking increases your risk of psoriasis
Though people who have smoked cigarettes develop psoriasis, smoking raises your risk of getting it. If you smoke a pack a day, your chances of getting psoriasis increase by 20 percent. If you smoke at this rate for more than 11 years, the risk of having psoriasis increases to 60 percent.
6. Smoking can make your teeth and gums unhealthy
The nicotine in cigarettes causes deep tooth discoloration, and over time can even turn them brown. Moreover, the tobacco in cigarettes can make your gums bleed and swell. There are two main signs of periodontal disease.
7. Smoking can make you prone to warts
People who smoke regularly are more susceptible to HPV infection and thus can develop warts in any area. This is possibly due to suppressed immune system.
8. Smoking raises your risk of cataracts
Smoking greatly raises your risk of developing cataracts by a shocking 22 percent. Swedish researchers have found that even after quitting smoking, the associated risks persist.
9. Smoking can cause sagging breasts
As an appetite suppressant, smoking takes a toll on the body by causing a gaunt, thin appearance. This habit also changes your body by provoking sagging breasts. Smoking increases the speed at which skin loses its elasticity, so weighted areas like breasts and underarms will more noticeably sag.
10. Smoking can lead to hair thinning
Smokers’ hair often turns thin and weak since the toxic chemicals in smoke damage the DNA of hair follicles. Cigarettes also produce cell-damaging free radicals, which not only make hair thin and brittle but also turn it gray.
