Effects of Tobacco on the Body

Effects of Tobacco on the Body

People chew or smoke tobacco for it’s main ingredient, nicotine. Nicotine is a stimulant, or a drug that speeds up the nervous system. In turn, nicotine causes increased heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate. Nicotine is also highly addictive, both physically and psychologically, as any smoker who has tried to quit will tell you.

The burning tip of a cigarette can reach about 700 C. This intense heat causes chemical reactions among the compounds in tobacco. These reactions form many poisonous substances. As a person inhales cigarette smoke, over 2000 chemicals enter the respiratory system. From the lungs, many of these poisonous chemical enter the bloodstream.

One poisonous substance found in smoke is carbon monoxide, the same gas found in car exhaust. Like two people trying to sit in the same seat, carbon monoxide competes with oxygen for a place on a hemoglobin molecule. As a result, there is less oxygen for the heart muscle at a time when it is working harder.

Another ingredient in tobacco smoke is tar. Tar is a black, sticky substance that gives tobacco it’s flavor. Tar also contains compounds that are known to cause cancer. It builds up on the linings of the mouth, throat and lungs. Tar stains teeth and fingers and leaves an odor on the smoker’s breath and clothing.

Recall that mucus secreted in the trachea filters dust and other particles in the air you breathe. Beating cilia sweep these particles out of the respiratory system. Smoking slows down and eventually causes cilia to stop working. Mucus builds up and eventually is expelled by the common smoker’s cough.