Smoking is Bad - we all know this.
All the health gurus, governments, and organizations say so.
By why exactly is this so? The primary cause is the chemical content of the smoke.
Over 4,000 chemicals are in tobacco smoke, that is a lot - and none of them do your lungs any good.
These chemicals are volatile organic compounds - and as the name suggests, they will cause chemical burns.
By being burned, the body has a reaction.
This may result in inflammation of the parts burned and increased mucous production as an immune response.
This cocktail of toxins also destroys the tiny hairs in the lungs, preventing the body from filtering out particles from the air.
The impact is a higher risk for infection, and bad pollution intake from the atmosphere.
All of these chemicals then deposit in the lungs.
Once the toxins are stuck to the inside of the lungs, the really bad stuff starts.
The lungs will start to loose capacity and function, the ability to swap new air for old air is reduced.
This will result in lower tolerance for exercise, and a tendency to feel fatigued from simple tasks.
As the damage mounts from continued smoking, emphysema will occur.
This is where lung function is severely damaged, and the lungs can no longer get rid of excessive moisture.
The lungs begin to fill up with fluids and the person who smoked themselves to that point will face drowning without medical help.
The worst stuff, is the cell damage.
The toxic soup from smoking will find it's way to the blood.
Once in the blood, all parts of the body will receive a dose of chemicals.
Starting at the lungs, the toxins cause genetic damage.
This damage will get to every part of the body via the blood, and the rate of cancer increases.
Cancer is simply when a cell mutates from genetic damage - the extent where runaway growth starts and cannot be stopped.