Smoker's Body

Every 10 seconds someone dies from tobacco use, says the World Health Organization. And despite what the tobacco companies try to tell us, medical research suggests that if you start smoking in your teens (as 90 percent of smokers do) and continue for two decades or more, it's likely you'll die 20 to 25 years earlier than those who never light up.

Even though they denied it for 40 years, internally the tobacco industry has known since the 1950's that their product could do some pretty severe damage (death, for example) to the human body. What you'll see here is an overall look at the real physical impacts smoking can have.

The story "The Smoker's Body" and its factual data was conceived, written and realized by COLORS MAGAZINE for its issue COLORS 21 SMOKING. For more information, consult COLORS website: www.colorsmagazine.com or email at: colors@colors.it.

Much of the factual information for the story comes from Cigarettes: What the Warning Label Doesn't Tell You, a compilation of scientific research from the American Council on Science and Health (1996).

To see image go to www.thetruth.com

Hair Loss

Smoking weakens the immune system, leaving the body more vulnerable to diseases such as lupus erythematosus, which can cause hair loss, ulcerations in the mouth and rashes on the face, scalp, and hands.

Cataracts

Smoking is believed to cause or worsen several eye conditions. Those who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day are twice as likely to develop cataracts, a clouding of the eye's lens that blocks light and may lead to blindness. Smoke causes cataracts in two ways: By irritating the eyes and by releasing chemicals into the lungs that then travel up the bloodstream to the eyes.

Wrinkling

Smoking prematurely ages skin by wearing away proteins that give it elasticity, depleting it of vitamin A and restricting blood flow. Smokers' skin is dry, leathery and etched with tiny lines, especially around the lips, and eyes: In one study, smokers in their 40s had facial wrinkles similar to those of nonsmokers 20 years older.

Hearing Loss

Because smoking creates plaque on blood vessel walls, decreasing blood flow to the inner ear, smokers can lose their hearing earlier than nonsmokers (up to 16 years sooner, according to one study) and are more susceptible to hearing loss caused by ear infections or loud noise.

Skin cancer

Smoking does not cause melanoma (a sometimes deadly form of skin cancer), but it does increase your chances of dying from it (this may be because smoking impairs the immune system). And smokers have a 50 percent greater risk of contracting squamous cell carcinoma--a cancer that leaves scaly, reddish eruptions on the skin.

Tooth decay

Smoking interferes with the mouth's chemistry, creating excess plaque, yellowing teeth and contributing to tooth decay. Smokers are one and a half times more likely to lose their teeth.

Lung ailments

In the former Soviet bloc, 88,000 smokers die each year from debilitating lung conditions other than lung cancer. Emphysema, a swelling and rupturing of the lung's air sacs, reduces the lungs' capacity to take in oxygen (and expel carbon dioxide). In extreme cases, a tracheotomy helps patients breathe: An opening is cut in the windpipe, allowing a ventilator to force air into the lungs (see image). Chronic bronchitis (not shown) creates a build-up of pus-filled mucus, resulting in a painful cough and breathing difficulties.

Osteoporosis

Carbon monoxide, the main poisonous gas in car exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke, binds to blood much more readily than oxygen, cutting the oxygen-carrying power of heavy smokers' blood by as much as 15 percent. As a result, smokers' bones lose density, fracture more easily and take up to 80 percent longer to heal. Those who smoke more than one pack per day are also more susceptible to back problems: One study shows that industrial workers who smoke are 5 times as likely to experience back pain after an injury.

Heart Disease

Smoking-related cardiovascular disease kills more than 600,000 people each year (or about the population of Toronto) in the world's developed countries. Smoking makes the heart beat faster, raises blood pressure and increases the risk of hypertension and clogged arteries.

Stomach ulcers

Smoking reduces resistance to the bacteria that cause stomach ulcers. It also impairs the stomach's ability neutralize acid after a meal, leaving the acid to eat away at the stomach lining. Ulcers in smokers are harder to treat and more likely to reoccur.

Discolored fingers

The tar in cigarette smoke collects on the fingers and fingernails, staining them a yellowish-brown.

Cervical cancer

Besides increasing the risk of cervical and uterine cancer, smoking can create fertility problems for women and complications during pregnancy and childbirth. And smoking lowers estrogen levels, speeding up menopause.

Deformed sperm

Smoking can deform sperm and damage its DNA, causing miscarriage or birth defects. In fact, men who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day have an extra 42 percent chance of fathering a child who contracts cancer. Smoking also diminishes sperm count and reduces the blood flow to the penis, sometimes causing impotence.

Psoriasis

Smokers two to three times as likely to develop psoriasis, a non-contagious inflammatory skin condition that leaves itchy, oozing red patches all over the body. While researchers are not sure how smoking aggravates psoriasis, they hypothesize that smoking may alter white blood cells or release high levels of toxic chemicals.

Buerger's Disease

Smoking can damage blood vessel walls, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood to the extremities. In serious cases, Buerger's Disease can lead to gangrene (the death of body tissue) and even the amputation of a limb.

Cancer

At least 60 elements in tobacco smoke have been shown to cause cancer, according to Action on Smoking and Health, an antismoking group in the UK. Male smokers are 22 times more likely to develop lung cancer 16a than nonsmokers. And according to a number of studies, the longer one smokes, the greater the risk of developing a number of other cancers, including cancer of the nose (two times greater) 16b; tongue 16c, mouth, salivary gland and pharynx (six times for women; 27 times for men); throat (12 times); esophagus (eight to ten times); kidneys (five times) 16d; penis (two to three times); pancreas (two to five times) 16e; and anus (eight to nine times). The link between smoking and breast cancer 16f is perhaps the most controversial: While some evidence suggest smoking increases a woman's risk of developing the cancer, other evidence indicates that, by lowering estrogen levels, smoking actually reduces the risk.