Taking a cigarette out of a cigarette case with the words "Smoking is bad for your health" printed on it is one of the most ironic things in the world. Almost everyone, whether it is an elderly person or an elementary school student, knows about the health hazards of smoking. However, even mature and rational adults can hardly resist smoking.
Smoking in adults can lead to lung cancer, and the degree of darkening of the lungs in smokers can predict the severity of lung lesions. According to the British Journal of Cancer, people who smoke for a long time have a 16% chance of dying from lung cancer. People who smoke more than 5 cigarettes a day have a 25% chance of dying of lung cancer by the age of 75.
A television station has released endoscopic images of the lungs, showing that the lungs of non-smokers are pale pink, and there may be some light black dots caused by air pollution. In contrast, the lungs of 15 years of smoking have large black spots, and the lungs of 30 years have accumulated a large amount of black substance as if they have been splashed with ink.
According to statistics, 80% of lung cancers are related to smoking. The melanism of the lungs can be divided into three grades: the first is the all-black lungs, which resemble black charcoal;The second level is the black reticulated lungs that are barely visible in pink, losing their elasticity like cinders;The first ** is like sprinkling black sesame seeds, which is slow to the touch, but grainy.
The degree of darkening of the lungs predicts the extent of lung lesions, and the lungs of long-term smokers usually fall into the first or second category. In particular, people who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day, start smoking within the age of 20, and have smoked for more than 20 years are 13-25 times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers.
In addition to smokers, those who smoke regularly, have long-term exposure to second-hand smoke, kitchen fumes, car exhaust, decoration pollution and other environments are more likely to darken their lungs. Melanistic lungs are not just a warning sign of lung health, they can also be life-threatening.
Long-term smoking leads to the harmful substances in tobacco smoke that stimulate respiratory tract cell mutations, induce lung cancer, and may cause other health problems such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
After quitting smoking, the recovery of the lungs is influenced by a variety of factors, including the amount of cigarettes smoked per day, the age of smoking, age and physical health. Although the lungs cannot fully recover, a timely stop loss can be effective in stopping further damage.
According to the American Heart Association, after quitting smoking, the body undergoes the following significant changes:
20 minutes later:Blood pressure and heart rate begin to decrease, gradually returning to normal levels in the peak caused by smoking.
12 hours later:The amount of carbon monoxide in the blood returns to normal levels.
After 2 weeks:Lung function and circulation begin to improve.
After 1-9 months:Resuming deep breathing, shortness of breath and coughing are significantly reduced, and the ability to cough effectively is restored, no longer just dry, helping to clean the lungs and reducing the risk of infection.
After 1 year:The risk of coronary heart disease is reduced by 50%.
5 years later:The risk of laryngeal, oral, esophageal and bladder cancers has been reduced by 50%, and the risk of stroke and cervical cancer has also been greatly reduced to the same level as normal people.
10 years later:Compared with smokers, the incidence of lung cancer is reduced by 50%, and the incidence of laryngeal cancer and pancreatic cancer is also greatly reduced.
15 years later:The incidence of coronary heart disease drops to the same as in non-smokers.
These data reveal the positive effects of quitting smoking on the body, not only reducing the risk of various cancers, but also helping to improve cardiovascular health and respiratory function.
Can the lungs regain their previous healthy color after quitting smoking?
Many people may wonder if after quitting smoking, the lungs that were once blackened by smoking can return to their previous healthy color. However, in reality, it is unlikely that the lungs will return to a healthy color.
It's true that quitting smoking has positive changes in the body, but many of the harmful substances in tobacco smoke have irreversible effects on the lungs. These harmful substances are difficult to excrete, and it is difficult for impaired lung function to fully recover. Therefore, it may be an unrealistic expectation to hope that the lungs will be able to change back to their previous color.
The harmful substances in tobacco smoke can cause structural and functional changes in the lungs that, while relieved after quitting, may not be completely reversed in some ways. The blackening of the lungs is often caused by long-term smoking, and the pigmentation and damage in it are difficult to repair completely.
Therefore, although the lungs will experience a series of positive changes after quitting smoking, such as a decrease in the amount of carbon monoxide in the blood and a gradual improvement in lung function, it is unlikely that the color of the lungs will fully return to the state before quitting.
While quitting smoking can bring benefits at any time, if you smoke for a long time and are diagnosed with lung cancer after quitting, it may actually be the result of long-term smoking harming your body.
Tobacco smoke contains a variety of harmful chemicals, more than 60 of which are carcinogens. After these substances enter the human body, they will gradually cause cell damage, activate oncogenes, and even induce cancer in the body. Lung cancer after quitting smoking in smokers may be a manifestation of the accumulation of previous smoking that causes damage to physical health.
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that quitting smoking helped prolong survival even with lung cancer. The researchers found that the median time from diagnosis to death was 22 percent longer in people who quit smoking than those who continued to smokeEight months, there was a relative reduction of 33% in overall mortality and 25% in mortality due to lung cancer.
However, many people may experience a "withdrawal reaction" during the process of quitting smoking, which manifests as a range of uncomfortable symptoms.
People who are addicted to smoking are actually addicted to nicotine. When you quit smoking, the amount of nicotine in the body decreases, and the dopamine secretion also decreases, leading to withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, irritability, etc.
Quitting smoking doesn't hurt your body. These symptoms are the body's adaptation to the absence of nicotine, and this response is short-lived, with most disappearing within 4 weeks of quitting. Therefore, ex-smokers should choose a scientific approach, make a good quit plan when they are determined to quit smoking, and be good at summarizing experience.