Which diseases do the smoker buy

The warning of the Department of Health on packs of cigarettes is well known to all smokers. But these words stop only few people. A daily and even minute pursuit of pleasure, attempts to hide from the everyday problems make you light up a cigarette.

And only when the suffocating cough begins to torment you all the time, when breathing becomes hoarse and smelly, and you have acute heart pain, then the smoker thinks of the warnings. Smoker`s health has already been undermined by nicotine and tobacco smoke, when the dependence on tobacco has become irresistible. But even at this stage it is possible to stop and escape death.

It is good, if the warnings and anti-tobacco campaign have its impact before the person is taken smoke prisoner. It is good, if having realized the threat to the health, the smoker will say “No!” to a cigarette, and to diseases which will be discussed.

Myocardial infarction

Favourable conditions are made for the development of atherosclerosis in the smoker organism. The walls of the vessels are covered with fatty patches and become less flexible. In addition, nicotine causes blood vessels constriction. The inveterate smoker has vasospasm. This creates optimal conditions for the formation of thrombus. The heart is suffering from such changes. The coronary vessels, providing oxygen and nutrition for the heart muscle, are becoming impassable and the section of the heart is left without nutrition. Cell death of cardiac tissue is a heart attack.

Every smoker should realize that sooner or later his/her heart will face this problem. The probability of a heart attack in smokers is 10-12 times greater than in non smokers.
The symptoms of a heart attack include sudden severe chest pain, prolonged and not stopping, accompanied by a feeling of fear, dyspnea, dizziness, and possible loss of consciousness. And it is lucky for those who have not big lesion focus of the heart muscle. But the risk of recurrent heart attacks among smokers is 5 times higher. The probability of dying during the second heart attack is very high.

Stroke

Stroke is the death of brain parts. Stroke can occur at a brain hemorrhage (hemorrhagic stroke), and because of the vessel occlusion which supply the part of the brain (ischemic stroke). The favourable conditions are made for the development of both types of the stroke in the inveterate smokers. High blood pressure, and angiasthenia promote brain hemorrhage; atherosclerosis, and inclination to thrombosis and vasospasm create good ground for ischemic stroke.

The symptoms depend on the part of the brain which was affected by the stroke. In most cases, stroke is the cause of persistent disability: paralysis (loss of ability to move), hearing impairment, vision and speech disorder, loss of social skills, etc. Often, the stroke is fatal.

Obliterating endarteritis (Buerger’s disease)

Every seventh smoker faces a disease that affects the blood vessels of the lower extremities. The legs of the patient are called “smoker’s legs”. This pathology this pathology declares itself by constriction of the arteries lumen leading to circulatory problems in the legs, up to complete vessel occlusion.

At first, the patient complains of chilliness of the limbs, numbness of fingers, and skin blanching. Then pain in the legs with intermittent claudication comes (an increasing pain that occurs during walking that makes people unable to move).
The clinical outcome is gangrene and amputation.

Lung cancer

80% of patients with lung cancer are experienced smokers. Regular inhalation of carcinogenic tar, irritation of the lung tissue by smoke, circulatory disorders of lung tissue create favorable conditions for the formation and growth of the tumor.
Such symptoms as shortness of breath, cough, blood spitting, and chest pain may disturb the smoker and these are the signs of cancer.
The prognosis for a disease is unfavorable. The fatal outcome is in 85% of cases.

Obstructive pulmonary disease (bronchitis and emphysema)

The bronchi and lungs of the smoker which are in constant contact with toxic components of tobacco smoke, suffer from irreversible changes that significantly affect breathing. In response to the irritant effect of smoke mucous membrane of bronchi emits large amounts of thick mucus, which stops up the small bronchi, leading to respiratory failure. Lung tissue loses its elasticity, alveoli overdistension, and gas exchange is broken. The symptoms as shortness of breath, cough (especially the morning “smoker’s cough”) are almost in every smoker.
For a large number of people (15-20% of cigarette abusers) chronic bronchitis becomes the result of disability, there are cases of death due to respiratory insufficiency provoked by smoking.

Stomach ulcer

The stomach of the smoker is more susceptible to the formation of ulcers. Acid formation increases. The mucus that protects the stomach wall is produced in smaller quantities. The immunity against bacteria causing ulcer formation is weakened. That is why such symptoms as aching pain in the stomach, belching, nausea and heartburn are typical for the smokers. Avoiding the treatment may lead to complications such as intestinal bleeding, perforation of ulcers, and malignization. Each of these complications threatens human life, and often has fatal outcome.

Stomach cancer

Stomach cancer may occur first of all under the influence of carcinogens contained in tobacco smoke, and secondly during malignant degeneration of stomach ulcer. The symptoms of stomach cancer grow slowly: some patients are not aware that increased salivation, loss of appetite, progressive weight loss are the symptoms of a malignant tumor in the stomach. The other symptoms are pain, nausea, vomiting, belching, and symptoms of gastric bleeding.
The prognosis is unfavorable: only 10% of the patients live more than 5 years after detection of the tumor.

Impotence and male sterility

Atherosclerosis, which develops in the majority of smokers, affects not only the vessels of the heart and brain. The vessels which saturate the male genitals are also affected. In addition, nicotine causes spasm of the vessels and reduces the activity of sex hormones. Sooner or later, all these phenomena will lead to impotence.
The combustion products contained in tobacco smoke causes oxygen starvation of body tissues. And the tissue of reproductive organs is the most sensitive to oxygen deficiency. As the result the sperm production is disturbed and the number of viable sperm is reduced.

Female sterility and miscarriage

Scientists have proved that the effect of smoking on reproductive function of women can be compared with the removal of one ovary. Aromatic hydrocarbons contained in tobacco smoke cause the death of ovum. Smoking reduces the chance of pregnancy by 25%.
But even if the pregnancy occurred, the prognosis of its outcome is not always favorable. The risk of recurrent miscarriage in smoker women is 30% higher than in non-smokers.

Bladder cancer

Carcinogenic substances inhaled with tobacco smoke get into the blood, and then are filtered in the kidneys, damaging the epithelium lining the urinary tract. Often, the lasting impact of these substances causes bladder cancer. The disease occurs 2 times more in the smokers than in non-smokers.
The bladder cancer may be without symptoms and can remind the disease of the urinary tract (pyelonephritis, urethritis, cystitis). The only symptom is hematuria (blood in the urine). The other symptoms are pain in the perineum, difficult urinating, and painful vesical tenesmus. The prognosis depends on the tumor type and neglect of the process, but fatal outcome is not uncommon.

Cervical carcinoma

Carcinogenic substances that damage the DNA of cervix cells are the components of tobacco smoke. They also promote the growth of atypical cells of the tumor. In addition, women abusing cigarettes have blood supply disturbance of reproductive organs. The combination of these factors leads to the fact that the risk of cervical carcinoma in female smokers is twice more in comparison with non-smokers.
Cervical carcinoma can be in very young women and asymptomatic. Whites, bloody discharge and bleeding may occur. Pain is not always expressed, and, as a rule, cervical carcinoma are usually detected at prophylactic examinations.
The outcome of the disease depends on the size, degree of dysplasia, as well as on the presence of metastases. The cases of mortality are high.

Esophageal carcinoma

Systematic action of toxic and carcinogenic substances on cells of the mucous membrane of the esophagus leads to development of cancer. The first symptoms are the burning behind the sternum when swallowing, and excessive salivation. As the tumor grows, the difficult swallowing, even complete blockage of the esophagus and pain behind the sternum is added.
A frequent outcome of the disease is painful starvation.

Pancreatic cancer

Smoking is not the only reason of pancreatic cancer but it significantly increases the risk of the disease. Two packs of cigarette a day increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 5 times. It is connected with circulatory disturbance of gland under the influence of nicotine and changes in the gastrointestinal tract. The symptoms are as following: pain located in the center line of the abdomen extends to the back, yellow skin and sclera of eyes, unexplained loss of weight, digestive disorders, and manifestations of pancreatic diabetes.
Only a few patients with this diagnosis live more than 5 years.

Cataract

Cataract is an eye disease manifested by lenticular opacity. The cause of cataract is a violation of the biochemical processes in the tissues of the eye. The eyes blood flow is disturbed in smokers and the number of free radicals increases that have harmful effects on cells. The impact of these factors destroys protein components of the lens, leading to its opacity.
Cataract causes progressive reduction of visual acuity up to complete blindness.

Osteoporosis

Disruption of bone tissue, called osteoporosis, affects smokers more often and earlier than non-smokers. Symptoms of osteoporosis are increased bones fragility, pain in bones, pain in bones and spine. Though it is not a fatal disease, osteoporosis leads to serious traumas, and the quality of life becomes worse.

Psoriasis

The probability of this disease (an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the skin) increases by 50% for smokers. The skin is covered with red, inflamed patches. The disease is accompanied by itching and burning.
Psoriasis is very difficult to treat. Smoking promotes the development of more severe and resistant forms of psoriasis.