Smoking: The Lesser Considered Consequences Of Smoking

Smoking: Everyone knows that smoking can kill you. Not necessarily the cigarettes themselves, although we will get to that later. Most people associate smoking with an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, lung disease, and various cancers. Tragically, in many cases that knowledge is still not enough to put people off smoking.

4 Lesser Known Consequences of Smoking

What are the lesser-known and understood consequences that are equally as shocking and potentially life-changing?

1. Poor complexion
2. Injury risk
3. Blindness
4. Smoking could kill you

1. Poor Complexion

The health of our skin is one of the major consequences of smoking. Smoking tightens the skin making us more likely to develop wrinkles or saggy skin, particularly around the facial area. Quitting smoking is vital for anyone hoping to avoid the dreaded “turkey neck” as they age.

2. Injury Risk

When you smoke, the chemicals in the cigarette prevent the body from producing collagen. This is one of the major factors that impact skin health, however, collagen is also present in tendons and ligaments. If you are physically active, particularly playing a contact sport such as football or rugby, your risk of injury increases significantly by smoking.

As well as increased risk of injury, an individual’s recovery from injury will also be hampered if they are a smoker. As the blood contains less oxygen, it takes longer for bones, muscles, and tissue around the body to get the nutrients they need in order to heal fully.

3. Blindness

Many recent studies have shown that the risk of blindness is significantly increased in later life if you are a smoker. As we age and our muscles begin to break down, those in our eyes are affected to a greater extent than others around the body. This can lead to total sight loss, with the risk inflated massively over the age of 60. This can obviously lead to huge impacts on quality of life as people age.

4. Smoking COULD Kill You

At the top we mentioned smoking not being a direct killer in many cases, but how could it be? Many house fires are started by cigarettes, usually through a failure to extinguish them correctly. This is particularly common among people who smoke in bed and fall asleep with their lit cigarettes.

What Can You Do?

Obviously, the direct answer is to quit smoking, but you probably have already discovered it is easier said than done. There are many options available, with e-cigarettes becoming a popular aid for those looking to quit. While e-cigarettes still supply the body with nicotine, the after-effects caused by other harmful chemicals will be reduced or eliminated completely. E-cigarettes should be used as an aid to reaching the goal of quitting smoking, not used as a like-for-like cigarette replacement in the longer term.