Get your health question answered instantly from our pool of 18000+ doctors from over 80 specialties
159 Doctors Online

By proceeding, I accept the Terms and Conditions

Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

HCM Blog Instant Access to Doctors
HCM BlogQuestions Answered
HCM Blog Satisfaction

SMOKING , How Bad Is It ?

Does smoking really cause all the diseases it says it causes? i mean i have seen people who have smoked 40 yrs and living happily whith wife and kids? Is there any limit to number of cig s one can smoke that is considered normal ?
Tue, 11 Sep 2012
Report Abuse
  User's Response
Smoke from the tobaccoo products, contains nicotine, Tar products and other carcinogenic agents which affects, your Respiratory tract, cardiovascular sustem, and Aero-digestive tract to just name a few. The diseases, may be like, COPD, ASTHMA, BREATHING DIFFICULTY, Leukoplakia, or ORAL CANCER and LUNG CANCERS .

Now the golden question, that is why some people who smoke a lot still don't get any diseases, just mentioned.

The ANSWER is that, smoking is CONSIDERED TO BE MOST IMPORTANT RISK FACTOR in causation of all such diseases. But all these diseases have multiple etiologies (factors leading to diseases). these are like INDIVIDUAL GENETIC MAKEUP, IMMUNE SYSTEM, OVERALL HEALTH BEING, EXPOSURE TO OTHER RISK FACTORS like VIRUSES, RADIATIONS, CHEMICALS etc.

RISK FACTOR means having exposure to that factor INCREASES your chances by many fold FOR GETTING that disease. Doesn't mean that you will get the diseases for sure after exposure. Because as alraedy told, getting the diseases depends on other factor as well. It is very similar to like, "not wearing HELMET on bikes, increases your chances for head injury in case of an accident, but doesn't mean that if you don't wear helmet, you will have an accident and get head injury".

also, smoking causes, genetic mutations, which can DEACTIVATE tumor supressor genes p-53, which keeps in check growth of any unwanted tumor activity. Such deactivation may lead to development of CANCERS.

Lastly, there is NOTHING like Numbers of Ciggerattes, ne can have safely without any diseases. even a single Cigeratte may prove as DANGEROUS as a truck load of them.
I find this answer helpful
  User's Response
kusumrani's  Response
Smoking is very bad. It plays a risk factor in many chronic diseases. The diseases smoking causes are chronic, meaning they're long-lasting and it also can be hard to reverse. There's tons of research out there that show strong associations between smoking and diseases. For example, there was this research that someone did comparing people's ethnic group (european, chinese, japanese, south asian, hispanic, etc) to chronic diseases and what the common association was. One of the top two risk factors that all ethnic groups had in common were smoking. Sure, there are people who smoke for 40 years and live happily with a family. It's likely they haven't gotten to the point where the disease is showing major signs (e.g. heart attack, lung cancer, etc), although other things could be happening such as a decreased amount of oxygen. But I'm sure there's tons of tar, carcinogens and other horrible things that are clogging up parts of the body. I mean there's a chance they might not ever have a heart attack or whatever, but smoking DOES increase the risk. Also, keep in mind that smoking is related to a ton of diseases, meaning there's an even higher chance that it will cause some kind of major problem. I don't know what's "normal" or the average number.
Note: For further queries related to kidney problems Click here.
Disclaimer: These answers are for your information only and not intended to replace your relationship with your treating physician.
This is a short, free answer. For a more detailed, immediate answer, try our premium service [Sample answer]
Share on
 

Recent questions on Head injury


Loading Online Doctors....
SMOKING , How Bad Is It ?

Smoke from the tobaccoo products, contains nicotine, Tar products and other carcinogenic agents which affects, your Respiratory tract, cardiovascular sustem, and Aero-digestive tract to just name a few. The diseases, may be like, COPD, ASTHMA, BREATHING DIFFICULTY, Leukoplakia, or ORAL CANCER and LUNG CANCERS . Now the golden question, that is why some people who smoke a lot still don t get any diseases, just mentioned. The ANSWER is that, smoking is CONSIDERED TO BE MOST IMPORTANT RISK FACTOR in causation of all such diseases. But all these diseases have multiple etiologies (factors leading to diseases). these are like INDIVIDUAL GENETIC MAKEUP, IMMUNE SYSTEM, OVERALL HEALTH BEING, EXPOSURE TO OTHER RISK FACTORS like VIRUSES, RADIATIONS, CHEMICALS etc. RISK FACTOR means having exposure to that factor INCREASES your chances by many fold FOR GETTING that disease. Doesn t mean that you will get the diseases for sure after exposure. Because as alraedy told, getting the diseases depends on other factor as well. It is very similar to like, not wearing HELMET on bikes, increases your chances for head injury in case of an accident, but doesn t mean that if you don t wear helmet, you will have an accident and get head injury . also, smoking causes, genetic mutations, which can DEACTIVATE tumor supressor genes p-53, which keeps in check growth of any unwanted tumor activity. Such deactivation may lead to development of CANCERS. Lastly, there is NOTHING like Numbers of Ciggerattes, ne can have safely without any diseases. even a single Cigeratte may prove as DANGEROUS as a truck load of them.