Smoking causes the preventable deaths of over 443,000 people in the Unites States each year. Second-hand smoke kills over 50,000 people each year.
Cigarettes expose you to over 49 different carcinogens including formaldehide and ammonia. It also depletes an enzyme in your lungs called Elastin which allows your lungs to be more flexible. Without elastin, you are much more susceptible to emphysema.
Tar is inhaled from a cigarette which coats lungs. This tar not only damages your lungs, but your heart as well. For this reason, smoking causes 160,000 deaths in the United States every year. In addition to these negative effects, smoking also rises blood pressure and increases clotting time which then leads to stroke.
Effects of Smoking on the lungs:
Tiny air sacs line the lungs and are called alveoli. These air sacs are responsible for the exchange of oxygen and gases through epithelial cells. The alveoli are covered with pulmonary surfactant which prevents the alveoli from collapsing during exhalation. Smoking cigarettes prevents the alveoli from receiving oxygen. For this reason, lung cancer is 90% responsible for death among men and 80% responsible for death among women.
Lung Cancer:
You don’t necessarily have to smoke to get lung cancer. There are reported cases of people who have died from lung cancer who have never smoked in their lives. Of 20,000 new cases, ten to fifteen percent of these new cases are people who never smoked. Other causes of lung cancer include:
Second-hand smoke Arsenic Asbestos Chromium Radon gas – the number one cause of lung cancer in those who don’t smoke. Excessive exposure to radiation
How lung cancer develops:
Exposure to carcinogens in the air are the root cause of lung cancer. These are usually found in the air in our homes, work or environment. These carcinogens lead to lesions on the lungs which then become tumors. These growths can be benign which means non cancerous or malignant meaning cancerous. As they grow, the tumors begin to put pressure on other nearby organs resulting in severe pain. Unfortunately, most lung cancers are not detected until they are in their later stages.
Treatment for lung cancer?
Treatment is totally dependent upon the type and extent of the malignancy, as well as the patient’s health. Choice of treatments includes surgical intervention, radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination of these choices. Clinical trials of new and innovative procedures are another avenue that can be taken. Your doctor will have information on clinical trials that may be available to take part in.
