The Effects of Smoking on the Body
The tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in tobacco products affect different parts of the body in different ways:
Facial Skin
Carbon monoxide reduces the oxygen in the blood which it carries to tissues all over our body, including the skin. This causes graying and wrinkling of the facial skin. Incase of surgery, the skin does not heal as quickly or as well. People who go in for cosmetic surgery are asked to stop smoking, before and after the procedure to ensure proper healing process.

Mouth and Throat
Smokers are at risk for oral cancer. The tar in cigarette smoke can cause cancer in the tissues of the mouth and throat. Tobacco can cause gum disease, tooth decay and stale and bad breath. Teeth turn unsightly and become black or yellow. Lack of oxygen in the blood and narrow veins to the brain can lead to strokes.

Lungs and Bronchi
The complete digestive system is at risk for cancer. This is due to the smoke and the juices from tobacco products which at times escape into the throat, leading in to the digestive system. Moving down to the chest, smoke passes through the bronchi, or breathing tubes. Hydrogen cyanide and additional chemicals in the smoke line the bronchi, inflaming them and causing that chronic smoker’s cough. A smoker is 15 times more likely to develop lung cancer than a non–smoker. Besides, a smoker’s lungs become constantly inflamed and more liable to develop infections such as bronchitis.

Heart and Arteries
The effects of smoking on your heart are devastating Heavy smokers are more likely to die from a heart attack than others. Nicotine increases blood pressure, causes hardening of the arteries, as well as making the blood clot more easily. All these add up and increase risk of heart attacks. Poor circulation due to cholesterol deposits can also result in strokes, loss of circulation and numbness in limbs and impotence.

On the whole
The health effects of smoking can be seen in the following observation:

• Forty percent of men who are heavy smokers will die by 65 yrs as compared to nonsmokers.
• Women who smoke are faced with a higher risk of cervical cancer, and the health of their unborn babies is at stake.
• Fortunately, the body begins to repair itself once you quit smoking It takes ten to twelve years after you quit, for the body to repair most of the damage caused by smoking. So don’t wait for cancer or emphysema to set in these conditions are more often than not, fatal. This is your reason to take the big step and quit now smoking.

How smoking kills: Saif Ali Khan

Excerpts from Men’s Health Magazine, July 07 issue.

When you are young, you tend to feel it’s cool to smoke. Peer pressure and the desire to live a wild life gets one started and then you are hooked to nicotine. But the only things you can look forward to be are lung cancer or as in my case a heart attack.

I started smoking in school when I was 16, only to be cool, to add some excitement to my life. I lied to my mom that I smoked only once every two days, thought it was much more than that. I would hide in the bathroom and smoke. Frankly speaking, smoking does not really give any great kick. It’s just a smelly and dangerous distraction, more like all smoke and no fire. In my opinion, nobody should smoke.

Kicking the addiction
It’s difficult but not impossible. The golden rule is: Don’t say you are giving up anything. You have to believe that you are doing something that is best for you, that you are choosing a better option. Mental determination and self – realization are the key factors. You should treat craving like a scab over a healing wound. Don’t feel miserable and never give in to the desire, just focus on the healing. The first three weeks are supposed to be the toughest – I was in hospital under medication so it became easier for me. I had tried to quit earlier but had failed. This time the fear of death did the trick.

Not everyone is lucky enough to be let off with a warning like me. So control the source of the craving: spend time with people who don’t smoke or drink. I would smoke when I had a drink but now I’ve quit drinks, too. I am absolutely fine now – haven’t smoked for quite some time now and don’t miss it either. Today, when I see people smoking, I feel sorry for them. They don’t know what poison they are inhaling.

Saif Ali Khan's 10 tips on how to kick the butt

• Have a cigarette while plugged into an ECG machine and see the effect of smoking on your heart. Remember that and you will definitely quit smoking.
• Don’t feel you are giving up. Think you are improving your life. Nobody likes to give up anything.
• Having friends who do not smoke really helps.
• This one’s a cool psychological trick: Every time you crave a smoke, it means the body is healing from the nicotine. The longing is because it is leaving the system it is like a scab forming over a wound. Instead of giving in, focus and enjoy the agony of quitting as a healing process.
• Lung cancer and impotence are some of the things you can look forward to lf you don’t stop smoking.
• If you smoke, bad breath is one reason women would not enjoy kissing you.Focus on the positive things of not smoking which are countless – looking better, living better, and being fitter.
• It is an expensive habit. Why waste the money?
• Smokers add to the pollution around.
• Heart disease certainly shakes hands with smoking.