Smoking – Formidable Enemy of Immune System

 

Each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 5 million people worldwide die because of tobacco use, and the number will grow to more than 8 million by the year 2030.?

So what makes tobacco become such a harmful evil?

Nicotine, the main ingredients of tobacco, is one of the most harmful destroyers for human body. It makes people addicted, although it is available legal drugs all over the world. It is harmful to not only smokers but also the people breathing second hand smoke, especially children.

How does tobacco damage human body?

Among the numerous parts of human body which would be damaged the most, immune cells are significant and should not be ignored.

Abundant studies indicate that smoking damages the immune system due to its ability to depress antibodies and cells which are in the body to protect against foreign invaders. In addition, for smokers, their immune cells that normally help the body will decrease significantly.

Smokers are more prone to infections, such as influenza and pneumonia. Why? The reason is that their immune system does not work as well. Now let’s get to know the specific cause. Cigarette smoke contains many cancer-causing chemicals. Through blood stream, they can reach the organs of human body and make the immune response be damaged. For example, carbon monoxide, the harmful gas, could cause the decrease in oxygen levels. Less oxygen can reach the heart, brain, and other organs, so lung function would be damaged. Then the invading substances will cause lung irritation and damage, which finally lead to lung infection. For smokers, in order to get over illnesses, they need to take longer than nonsmokers.

Among all the human organs, do you know which one will be hurt the most? The answer is lung.

There is an association between smoking and the increased incidence of certain malignant diseases and respiratory infections, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). But this process can be reversed if a smoker gives up cigarettes. Smokers who stop show increased levels of natural killer cell (NK) activity that targets cancerous cells in the body.

Infections

Blood pressure and heart rate are affected negatively by smoking chemicals carried through the blood

Lung Tissue

Smoking can cause the body’s immune system to attack lung tissue and result in severe respiratory disorders, according to research at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. Health scientists examined mice to study the link between cigarette exposure, the immune system and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), a serious lung disease characterized by emphysema and severe inflammation of the lung tissue. After lung cells were damaged from cigarette smoke in the lab research, the cells signaled the immune system when the damaged cells needed to be destroyed. The research shows that smoking actually activates certain parts of the immune system, which works against the lungs and attacks the tissue, it was reported in the March 2009 issue of the "Journal of Clinical Investigation." The researchers found a strong correlation between cellular stress signals, activation of the immune system and development of diseases similar to COPD.?

Researchers compared the results with tissue samples from humans who included nonsmokers, smokers with COPD and smokers who did not have COPD. They found that patients who had never smoked had no trace of the lung cells that triggered the immune system to attack lung tissue. Current and former smokers who developed the disease had evidence of those lung signals.

Smoking affects how the immune system functions by causing oxidative stress. This in turn causes DNA mutation, setting the stage for cancer and heart disease. Oxidative stress is also thought to be a contributor to the aging process. Antioxidants are nature's way of combating the damage oxidative stress causes to the body's cells. Smokers have less antioxidants in their blood than nonsmokers.

Smoking is associated with higher levels of chronic inflammation

If you'd like to give up smoking, but don't know where to begin, create a structured plan. Realize why you want to quit, prepare for success, and carry out your plan with the support of others or medication therapy. Quitting smoking is difficult, but not impossible.