The Negative Effects of Tobacco

The nicotine can be consumed by chewing tobacco apart from smoking and sniffing . The article provides insight into the hazards of chewing tobacco . If you believe that only smoking is injurious, certainly not. Any form of nicotine consumption is injurious. Tobacco is bad for health, no matter in what form you take it the ill effects are always there. Tobacco are leaves of plant that are used in dried form, they are high in nicotine and consequently addictive in nature. Tobacco can be taken in the form of: Chewing Snuff Smoking. The high content of nicotine makes it very addictive, once a person gets addicted to smoking, chewing or sniffing it becomes difficult to leave it. At times efforts fail and person goes back to taking tobacco. Chewing of Tobacco Chewing tobacco also known as smokeless tobacco is equally bad as smoking. It is a myth that chewing is not as harmful as smoking. Chewing tobacco is made of tobacco, nicotine, sweeteners and chemicals. The continuous chewing process gives a constant high to the person. This high leads gives temporary relief from stress and anxiety. Small temporary relief leads the person to use it frequently and before the person realizes he is addicted. Effects of Chewing tobacco leads to numerous side effects, which can be internal or external. The main harmful effects of tobacco are Erodes Tooth The ingredients of tobacco consist of gravels, sand, and other harmful chemicals that erode the enamel of tooth. Continuous chewing leads to early loss of tooth. Early Decay Of Tooth Chewing leaves small particles in tooth that forms bacteria and plaque, it harms enamel and gums, which leads to decay of tooth. Gum slump Chewing leads to decomposing of gums, the gums get infected and the grip on tooth loosens which exposes the sensitive area of tooth. Bad Breadth There is nothing as bad as bad breadth of a person, they are major turn off for people around them. The long-term habit of chewing and spitting is unacceptable and looks indecent. Affects Eating Habit Eating habit of people who chews tobacco tends to be unhealthy, continuous chewing affects the taste bud and the sensitivity of them decreases. This leads to an increase in intake of more salt, sugar and spices in food as he feels a bland taste in his mouth. The above effects of tobacco is just the beginning of trouble for people who chew, it has more deep rooted and life threatening effects. Chewing of tobacco has major or near to fatal effect on addicted people. The major areas where they proved to be fatal are: Damage to tongue, jaw and lips Lung Cancer Oral Cancer Damage to tongue, jaw and lips As mentioned above chewing leads to the early decay of tooth, bad breadth, damaged gums and falling of tooth. The addiction of tobacco affects the area around the mouth. The tongue and jaws face the following problems: Dis-coloring of lips and lip cancer Sore Throat Difficulty in movement of jaws and tongue Rashes or irritation on tongue Burning sensation on lips and tongue Oral Cancer Continuous chewing process leaves infectious juices on tooth and lips. These develop in white patches that can be considered as an early symptom of oral cancer. People who indulge in tobacco chewing have higher risk of oral cancer to people who take alcohol. The most infected area in oral cancer is the tongue and the area below the tongue. The cancer slowly spreads to cheeks and throat. Though it can attack any part lips, tongue, upper and lower mouth, the cheeks, or gums and esophagus. It is very important to go for early diagnosis as soon as one feels suspicious. Lung Cancer Chewing tobacco leads to oral cancer but it is not the end of it can spread the disease in lungs and linings of stomach. Reports show that 90% of lung cancers are cases of people who either smoke or chew tobacco. Destructive agents termed as carcinogens in tobacco injure the cells in the lungs. Over a period of time, these spoiled cells may develop into lung cancer. Dipping tobacco is a way to take nicotine into your system without smoking. It is in essence a smokeless tobacco. You do not chew on it, but rather a small pinch of the tobacco is placed between your gums and lips. While the dip tobacco sits in your mouth, your body produces saliva. This saliva takes nicotine into the arteries of the blood stream, giving the same effect as smoking a cigarette would. Often, excess saliva is produced which the user will spit out. Is It Chewing Tobacco? Many smokers wonder whether dipping or chewing tobacco is a better alternative to smoking. Others wonder if they are the same thing or not. Dipping tobacco is often confused with chewing tobacco. In fact, many people call dip â€Å"chew,† which is a common term used to describe chewing tobacco. It is not the same thing, however. The tobacco derivatives in chewing tobacco are entirely different than the derivatives in dip. Also, dip is not chewed, whereas chewing tobacco must be chewed to release all of the nicotine. Canadian Dip Versus American Dip. Both Canadian and American tobacco manufacturers make dip, but in different amounts and sizes. The Canadian tins are much smaller than the American tins. In fact, Canadian tins, which are fifteen grams, are less than half the size of the thirty-four gram American variety. Also, in Canada, users must pay quite a bit more for dip than users in the States. The United States tends to have a wider variety of dipping tobacco flavors than Canadian markets, and new flavors are usually released in the US first because of tobacco de-normalization laws in Canada. According to the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, an estimated 23. 9 percent of people in the United States over the age of 12 were current cigarette smokers in 2008. However, the American Heart Association (AHA) reports that cigarette smoking is responsible for 440,000 deaths each year. MedlinePlus reports that both cigarettes (smoking tobacco) and chewing (smokeless) tobacco are bad for your health, and cause multiple and often fatal health problems. Cardiovascular Disease One negative effect that tobacco and nicotine addiction has on the health of the body is cardiovascular disease. AHA reports that cigarette smokers are two to three times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than people who do not smoke. Also according to AHA, of the 440,000 deaths each year caused by cigarette smoking, 135,000 are due to smoking-related cardiovascular diseases. Nicotine in tobacco products causes an increase in blood pressure and heart rate, and a narrowing of the arteries. Carbon monoxide that is inhaled when tobacco is smoked decreases the amount of oxygen carried by the blood to feed the body's tissues. The AHA reports that carbon monoxide and nicotine damages the artery walls, which leads to the deposition of fat and narrowing of arteries, which further increases blood pressure. Damaged vessels and high blood pressure are all risk factors for heart failure. Furthermore, smoking tobacco causes the blood to clot more easily, which may cause a heart attack or stroke. see survivor stories & chat online with our oncology info specialists Cancer Another negative effect caused by smoking or chewing tobacco is cancer. MedlinePlus reports that cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer cases in the United States. According to the American Lung Association (ALA) cigarette smoke contains 69 chemicals that are known to cause cancer. Smokeless tobacco is also a known cause of cancer, and is the leading cause of cancer in the mouth. Lung Disease A third negative effect of tobacco is lung disease, caused by the cigarette smoking. The ALA reports that smoking cigarettes are responsible for 80 to 90 percent of COPD (including emphysema and chronic bronchitis) deaths. Emphysema is a condition where the tissue in the lungs becomes stretched out and lacks the elasticity of normal lung tissue. This prevents breathing air from efficiently transferring oxygen into the blood stream. Long-term swelling of the tissue in the airways and an overproduction of mucus characterize chronic bronchitis. Both the swelling and the mucus make it difficult to breath, causing even normal activity to be difficult. Thus, tobacco and nicotine invariably lead to heart disease, cancer, and chronic lung disease. Even though these are very real threats, million of Americans find that nicotine addiction is hard to break.