Each packet of smokes comes with a health hazard warning that says ‘Smoking kills.’ While that may be justified with the gory image of a smoker’s lungs, most people don’t know that smoking is not just a gateway pass to cancer. It starts affecting your body the minute the cigarette is lit.
Because
Tobacco, nicotine and the other compounds found in cigarettes go through incomplete combustion because of which almost 7000 toxins are released that can easily enter through your skin to weaken your body from the inside. In each puff of smoke, there are almost 70 cancer friendly chemicals alongside tar, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and other carcinogens (radioactive compounds). Smoke enters through the skin to the mouth, the oesophagus, your lungs and your colon disrupting your tissues and cells in its wake.
The attack on the immune system
Research shows that smoking affects both the innate immunity and adaptive immunity of your body by reducing their responsiveness.
Components of cigarettes promote the growth of proteins and peptides (aka cytokines) that cause inflammation. These cytokines are both pro and anti-inflammatory working in the worst way possible for your immune health.
On the innate immunity: Cells of your innate immunity are essential as the first line of defence against harmful elements. Smoking influences an acute inflammatory response from the innate cells that causes swelling and pain in areas such as the respiratory tract. The availability of macrophages- cells that eat the harmful bacteria-is less in the immune system of those who smoke. This means that harmful bacteria is allowed to survive.
On adaptive immunity: Your body’s second line of defence has T cells and B cells at its disposal to deal with bacteria that sneaks from the innate immune cells’ radar. A recent study shows that the presence of T-cells in mucosal membranes of the mouth and nose can help you from catching viruses and infections. Smokers have their airflow blocked due to which T-cells are unable to circulate well in the body. Since smoke enters the body not just from inhalation but also the skin, second-hand smoking may too, reduce the population of T helper cells. The efficiency of B cell signalling the rest of the immune system is reduced due to smoking.
The smoke that finds its way to your gut starts making holes in the inner lining of your intestine. Your gut hosts a large portion of the immune cells that go under direct attack due to smoking. Cigarettes also function as an agent for increasing harmful reactive oxygen species (or ROS) that can eat away at your tissues and cause healthy cells to die.
In all, smoking not only causes your body harm but also delays or potentially handicaps your immune system to recover from the damage. From causing inflammation to raising the risk of cancers from the teeth to your butt, smoking can damage all aspects of your healthy body.
So, to stay healthy, quit smoking today.