smoking and the risk of disease 2.2.6

• a drug is a substance that alters the way your body works by changing the chemical processes in the body
• some drugs are addictive because they may contain nicotine which affect your nervous system, particularly the brain
• a withdrawal symptom is side effects you experience when you stop taking a drug
• being dependent is when your body needs a drug to function normally
• addicted is when you feel a craving for a drug
• people may become addicted to smoking because cigarettes contain nicotine which affects your nervous system and makes your brain want more
• the effects of smoking include: smokers cough, eye disease, trouble breathing, strokes, increased blood pressure, clogged cilia, heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes and blood clots
• nicotine is addictive and makes blood cells stickier- linked to coronary heart disease
• nicotine increases heart rate - linked to coronary heart disease
• tar damages cilia - stopping the removal of mucus and this increases coughing as the mucus gets stuck
• tar irritates the airways and the lining of lungs - causing bronchitis
• tar builds up in lung tissue which causes the breakdown of alveoli - causing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• tar is carcinogenic and so causes lung/throat/tongue cancer
• carbon monoxide prevents haemoglobin from carrying as much oxygen which makes smokers more out of breath after exercise
• carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen getting to the foetus in pregnant women which leads to premature births, low birth weight and even stillbirths
• other chemicals in cigarettes narrow the blood vessels in skin and therefore ageing it
• other chemicals in cigarettes damage the lining of the arteries which increases the risk of coronary heart disease and clot formation
• cigarette companies may increase the nicotine of their products because they are a business that want their product to be sold and the more nicotine the more people that buy their product and the more profit they get