4 shocking ways smoking affects your body

Smoking kills about half a million people every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It’s a major contributor to three of the five leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, and stroke. If you need more reasons to quit, here are four surprising facts to consider—plus one piece of good news.

Smoking changes your DNA

Research has shown that smoking causes changes to the DNA of cells through a process called methylation. Methylation occurs when DNA is chemically modified in a way that causes changes to remain even when cells divide and reproduce. DNA methylation may work by turning on and off the production of proteins encoded by the gene.

Smoking may cause methylation in about one-third of known genes, and the changes can last for decades. One glimmer of hope? Most of these genes may go back to normal by five years after quitting smoking.

Cigarette smoke contains thousands of chemicals

Here are some of the 7,000 chemicals contained in either tobacco or tobacco smoke, along with other places they appear, according to the American Lung Association:

• Acetone, also found in nail polish remover
• Arsenic, also found in rat poison
• Benzene, also found in gasoline
• Butane, also found in lighter fluid
• Carbon monoxide, also found in car exhaust
• Formaldehyde, also found in embalming fluid
• Lead, also found in batteries
• Tar, also found in blacktop road surfaces

Cigarettes also contain radioactive materials, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These include toxic polonium-210 and lead-210, byproducts of radon found in fertilizers and soil. They may remain on tobacco leaves during processing.

If you think e-cigarettes or vaping are less toxic, think again. In addition to addictive nicotine, the flavoring chemicals in vapes can irritate the lungs. The vape’s carrier, or liquid (such as propylene glycol) can also be toxic and irritating. When heated, that liquid may also create traces of acetone and formaldehyde. To top it off, the metal tanks used in vapes can degrade after many rounds of heating, which may release toxic metals into your lungs over time.

Smoking can cause problems with sex, conception, and childbirth

Smoking can:

• Contribute to sexual dysfunction in both men and women
• Impair proper hormone production and cause damage to DNA in sperm, reducing the chances of conceiving and potentially resulting in genetic mutations in children
• Lead to a range of childbirth issues, including bleeding, placental issues, low birth weight, preterm birth, and stillbirth
• Increase the risk of birth differences such as cleft palate and cleft lip
• Raise the chances of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Smoking during pregnancy can also damage a developing fetus’ brain and lungs—and that damage can last for years.

Smoking affects your entire body

Smoking can cause or contribute to lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke. But what about the rest of the body? Smoking can:

• Raise your risk of type 2 diabetes. It increases the chances 30 to 40 percent, according to the CDC.
• Hurt your eyes. If you smoke, your risk of age-related macular degeneration doubles. People who smoke are also two to three times more likely to get cataracts.
• Aggravate your back. It’s a risk factor for developing chronic low back pain in some research studies.
• Raise your risk for other cancers throughout the body. For example, smokers have roughly twice the risk of cervical cancer as those who don’t smoke, and secondhand smoke also increases the risk. Other cancers caused by smoking include (but are not limited to) cancers of the esophagus, bladder, blood, liver, pancreas, mouth, kidney, and colon.

Smoking rates are at an all-time low

About 12 percent of people ages 18 or older smoke, the CDC estimates. It’s a large number, but the percentage has been declining. In 2005, by comparison, nearly 21 percent of U.S. adults smoked.

More good news: Many of the health risks caused by smoking go away after you quit.

• Your risk of a heart attack goes down dramatically one to two years after quitting.
• In three to six years after quitting, your added risk of coronary heart disease is halved.
• Between 5 and 10 years of quitting, your added risk of mouth and throat cancers is half of what it was when you smoked.
• Ten years after quitting, your added risk of lung cancer decreases by half and your risk of bladder, esophagus, and kidney cancers drops.
• Fifteen years after quitting, your risk of coronary heart disease is the same as someone who doesn’t smoke.

Some benefits happen even quicker: After quitting, your sense of smell and taste will improve right away, you’ll experience less coughing and shortness of breath, and your circulation will improve.

Don’t wait. Quit today.