The Negative Impact of Tobacco on Your Lungs

Consumption of tobacco is harmful. There is no other way to state this deadly fact. Exposure to tobacco, direct or indirect, affects not one but most of the organs and their functions in your body. The major effect of tobacco consumption is seen on your heart and lungs. You can read about the impact tobacco has on your heart on our blog. World No Tobacco Day, observed on May 31 every year is an awareness event launched by WHO (World Health Organization) to spread awareness about the negative health effects of tobacco consumption. The theme for this year’s World No Tobacco Day is “tobacco and lung health”. Here’s how tobacco has a negative impact on your lungs and why it is important that you give up this nasty habit.

• Respiratory diseases – Smoking tobacco is the leading cause of developing respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. These diseases cause difficulty in breathing, destruction of lung tissues, persistent coughs and chest infections.
• Narrowing of airways – Tobacco consumption causes thickening of blood vessels, which leads to narrowing of your airways. Narrow airways increase your blood pressure and make your heart beat faster. Besides this, there is a huge possibility of development of clots, which might lead to brain bursts and strokes.
• Black and charred trachea of lungs – Smoke equivalent to smoking 60 cigarettes can change the color of your lungs. Lungs puffed with clean air are perfectly pink in color, which is the color of healthy lungs. Whereas, black and charred lungs have tar deposits and are unhealthy, which will eventually lead to your poor health and might prove to be fatal.
• Slow action of cilia – Cilia are broom-like hair, lined in your lungs that are responsible for cleaning your lungs. But, smoking reduces the number of cilia and thus affects the natural cleansing function of your lungs. If your lungs are not cleaned properly, there might be deposition of extra mucus in your airways, which will clog them and will expose you to certain infections.
• Lung cancer – Scientifically proven facts state that when you smoke, your risk of lung cancer and death are 20 times greater than that of a non-smoker. Other tobacco products such as e-cigarettes are equally harmful and have adverse effect on your health. The best way to prevent lung cancer is to never consume tobacco (in any form) and quit as soon as possible to regain your lost health.

Consumption of tobacco in every form is harmful and it exposes you to a number of health hazards. Smokers are required to pay a higher medical insurance premium & it is better to be upfront about the habit in order to avoid claim rejection. It is best advised to quit this bad habit, for your and your family’s good health. On this World No Tobacco Day, we urge you to start your tobacco-quitting journey by observing abstinence from consumption of tobacco in any form on May 31. You can see positive things happening around you, when you opt for a healthy and fit lifestyle. You should also invest in an adequate health insurance plan like Bajaj Allianz’s Critical Illness Insurance, which can strengthen your financial security against the risk of severe illnesses.