History of Smoking

It is believed that around 6000 BC, tobacco planting was started in Central America. The Mayan civilization started chewing and smoking tobacco around 1000 BC. They even mixed it with other leaves as their herbal medicine for wounds and other sickness.

Later on hundreds of years had passed, tobacco was discovered by Christopher Columbus, a great European Explorer. It is said to be that tobacco was introduced by Columbus in Europe. Tobacco then began to become popular to European countries such as Portugal, Spain, France, and Britain.

Some Chemicals Found in Tobacco

1.      Nicotine – a drug in tobacco. It is also used as pesticides in crops.

Negative Effects:

• Inability to taste food
• Fertility reduction
• Chronic cough
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating with the smell of nicotine

2.      Tar – it formed when tobacco burns; it is thick, dark liquid in description. It can cause disease through covering the linings of the lungs. This is the most destructive chemical that could be acquired by often smoking.

3.      Acetone – it is a colorless liquid, flammable used as a solvent.

4.      Ammonia – colorless pungent gas. Ammonia helps in the absorption of more nicotine that keeps a person addictive in smoking.

5.      Carbon Monoxide – it is a poisonous gas produced when tobacco burns.

6.      Carbon Dioxide

7.      Hydrogen Cyanide – a colorless, poisonous gas, is one of the toxic byproducts present in cigarette smoke.

Risks and Harmful effects of Smoking

Even non-smokers are no exception to the harmful effects of smoking. Those who are exposed to cigarette smoking have more risk because of the particles that are present in the smoke exhaled are much smaller, they can reach deeper to the lungs.

Health risks include the following:

• High risk in having a lung cancer
• Risk in respiratory diseases
• Irritation in the eyes, nose and throat
• Gastrointestinal effects such as appetite suppression, efficiency of food digestion and metabolism is decreased
• Long term nicotine addiction
• Coronary artery diseases
• Heart disease
• Blocked arteries, hypertension and blood clots
• Oral cavity diseases
• Peptic ulcer
• Fetal abnormalities and even death during pregnancy
• Infertility

Reason why quitting smoking is difficult

When you smoke, you acquire nicotine. Nicotine is responsible in the increase of dopamine activities; dopamine is a chemical in the brain that brings out pleasurable sensation in smoking. That’s why smokers are always craving for cigarettes.

Quit smoking as soon as possible, and live a healthy life. Bear in mind, you don’t have 9 lives!