Smoking and Your Lungs

Human Respiratory System

• The human respiratory system consists of nasal passages, pharynx. larynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli and lungs.

• It is designed to bring fresh oxygen in and exchange it for carbon dioxide which is then removed from the body.

Healthy Lungs

• These photos show the lungs of a healthy individual.

Smokers Lungs

• These photos show the lungs of a smoker.

Can you see a difference?

Effects of Smoking Tobacco

• The next few slides will outline for you how smoking tobacco can harm your lungs.

• It will explain the effect of smoking on specific parts of your respiratory system.

How Smoking Hurts Your Lungs

• Smoking will damage your lung’s natural ability to clean and repair themselves.

• This means cancer causing chemicals will be trapped in the tissues of your lungs.

• This is because the cilia and mucus lining are damaged an cannot remove the chemicals

How Smoking Hurts Your Lungs

• Smoking will permanently damage the alveoli and make it very difficult to breathe.

• The smoke reduces the ability of the alveoli to stretch which makes it hard for you to take in oxygen.

Signs of Lung Damage from Smoking

• Feeling out of breath when walking up a short flight of stairs.

• Coughing (smokers cough)

• Spitting up mucus

• Reoccurring chest infections

Other side effects of smoking

• Can lead to health problems such as heart disease, stroke, emphysema, and COPD.

• Smoking can lead to many types of cancer including lung, throat, stomach, and bladder cancer.

• Increased risk of osteoporosis, pneumonia and bronchitis.

• Can cause fertility problems.

Other side effects of smoking

• Unhealthy skin – smoking can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin which causes wrinkles.

• Yellow teeth and Bad breath – persistent bad breath known as halitosis.

• Hair and clothes smell bad

• Reduced athletic performance

• Increased risk of illness.

What causes all the damage?

• The following slide is a list of some of the chemicals found in cigarettes.

• There are over 4000 chemicals in cigarettes and many of them are known causes of cancer!

Chemicals in Cigarettes!

• Carbon monoxide (found in car exhaust)• Arsenic (rat poison)• Ammonia (found in window cleaner)• Acetone (found in nail polish remover)• Hydrogen cyanide (gas chamber poison)• Napthalene (found in moth balls)• Sulphur compounds (found in matches)• Lead• Volatile alcohol• Formaldehyde (used as an embalming fluid)• Butane (lighter fluid)

What about nicotine?

• Nicotine is a drug found in tobacco plants.

• It is a lethal poison and it can kill a person in less than an hour if it is injected into the bloodstream.

• Each cigarette contains very tiny amounts of nicotine that over time cause you to become addicted to cigarettes and causes many health problems.

Kicking the habit

• If you are a smoker it is never to late to quit.

• Although some damage is permanent people who quit will notice a significant difference in their health issues.

• There is help if you need it!