Updated on
Summary
Cigarette smoke causes immediate damage to a person's lungs and DNA even in small amounts, including from second-hand smoke, U.S. researchers have said in a new report.This report concludes that damage from tobacco smoke is immediate. The chemicals in the tobacco smoke reach your lungs very quickly every time you inhale. Your blood then carries toxicants to every organ in your body. And exposure to the tobacco smoke quickly damages the blood vessels throughout the body and makes your blood more likely to clot. The chemicals in the tobacco smoke damages the delicate lining of your lungs and can cause permanent damage, and that reduces your lung's ability to exchange air efficiently. And that's what causes the COP, or the chronic obstructive lung disease, which includes emphysema, U.S. Surgeon-General Dr. Regina Benjamin said at a conference.Inhaling tobacco can also damage your DNA, which can lead to cancer, Dr. Benjamin said.The report said tobacco companies deliberately designed cigarettes and other tobacco products to be addictive and that they released new products that are portrayed as safer but that are in fact just as dangerous and addictive.But quitting smoking can allow a person to recover from at least some of the damage.
