SMOKING AND ITS EFFECT ON YOUR HEALTH by @delightharris

Good morning everyone, it's me again, nurse Delight @ ya cervix. Today being weekend, I'll like to create a post that talks about smoking and how it affects our health both when we're young and when we grow old. Please, pull a cushion, sit down, grab a snack, relax and enjoy reading.

INTRODUCTION

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Smoking is an addictive act, whereby a smoker ingests smoke through the mouth and pour it out through the mouth or nose. Many people both youths,and the old including some children (who grew up In an unfavourable environment) tend to be addicted to this act not knowing the implications of smoking to their health. However, this single act of smoking has killed thousands of people all over the over the world.

The World Health Organisation has revealed that no fewer than 146 000 Africans die annually from tobacco related disease.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa said this on Thursday during a virtual press conference.
Moeti said tobacco was the leading cause of preventable deaths in the world and emphasised that “smoking damages nearly every organ in the body.”
The director also said that “globally, exposure to secondhand smoke kills more than 1.2 million people yearly.”¹

I know that even with this proof, most people will not want to stop smoking. I asked someone close to me why they smoke and they replied my saying that "smoking gives them joy, some chain smokers said that they must smoke after eating else they will throw up the food, while others told me that it's a dimensional therapy, they say it helps them to forget their problems. But to be honest, no matter your reason of smoking, you're just creating more harm to your body than good because smoking actually reduce your life span and damages your lungs.

HOW CAN SMOKING NEGATIVELY AFFECT YOU

Smoking can affect one in diverse ways and cause serious and incurable harms to one. Please allow me to tell you a little on the physiology of the respiratory system for a better understanding of how smoking can damage ones life in a short period of time.

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THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Basically, a system is a group of organs that comes together to carryout a particular function. The respiratory system is a vital system, it is a group of organs that comes together to accomplish the activity of breathing in oxygen(O2) and breathing out carbon dioxide (CO).
Organs of the respiratory system includes:

• The nasal cavity(nose)
• The pharynx
• The larynx (voice box or Adams apple)
• The trachea
• The bronchi
• The bronchioles
• The alveoli
• The lungs

Each and every organ here has its own function, some serve as air humidifier ( e.g the nasal cavity), some acts as blockade of germs( e.g the mucous lining the nasal cavity) et cetera.
Air passes into the nasal cavity to the pharynx, from the pharynx, the air goes down into the larynx (voice box), from there it goes down to the trachea which the allows the air to find it's way to the bronchi, from the bronchi it goes to the bronchioles and then to the alveoli (which is inside the lungs) where exchange of gases takes place. During this exchange of gases, Carbon dioxide from the blood is released while the blood collects the incoming oxygen and take it to the right part of left part of the heart for systemic circulation (the pumping of blood by the heart to the entire part of the body).

That being said, when smoking, the smoke follows this same route that oxygen follows into the alveoli of the lungs and we all know that the contents of a cigar is tobacco which is very dangerous to the health. When you constantly feed the alveoli of the lungs with this harsh substance, the cells of the alveoli tends to shrink, losing its life gradually. By so doing, breathing becomes difficult (dyspnoea) and the affected person tends to cough ( trying to clear the airways) and these may also results in cancer as the fluids in-between the pleura of the lungs may also be affected. Smoking can cause the following sickness:

• Cardiovascular (heart) disease
• Respiratory (lungs) disease
• Cancer if the lungs
• It can cause the blood vessels to loose it's elasticity (cardiovascular disease). et cetera
• Psychological(brain) disease
• It overworks the liver as the liver will be busy detoxifying the body
• The kidneys too are affected as smoking causes dehydration
• Sperm production becomes poor

It is very important for one to stop smoking as it damages vital organs of the body, the brain, heart, blood vessels, liver, kidneys and lungs are a very vital for the metabolic processes of the body.. Aunty, Uncle, make we leave too much Grammer, see, all these organs dey too cost for market.

Kidney transplant in Nigeria costs 4-7million naira and is affected by some factors.²

Other organs have their own prices which may be higher than this price.Forget highness, Trust me, you wouldn't want to waste such amount just to correct something you can stop right now.
You can always use music, strolls, movies, dancing or talking to people as a means to let go of your worries.
You can drink water after every meal, add pepper to your meal or lick orange after meals to reduce the urge of throwing up after meals.
You should be actively committed to something so that you'll not remind your self of smoking.
Save lives, save money, build yourself.

REMEMBER, HEALTH IS WEALTH

Thank you for reading,
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I remain Nurse, midwife Delight @ ya cervix