Heavy, long-term cigarette smoking is often said to cause cancer, most prominently lung cancer and cancer of the larynx. And, the evidence is very strong, amounting to near certainty. But, interestingly enough, exactly how it does so is not fully known. It remains an active area of research.
Normal cells may be damaged, but they have the ability to repair themselves. In other cases, the cells are sloughed off and eliminated by the lymph system, then replaced by new ones. But this process can go awry.
Sometimes new cells begin to grow into odd, unnatural shapes and as a result do not carry out their normal tasks properly. When this unnatural growth becomes a big enough problem that the body cannot handle it, it has officially become cancer.
It is known that cigarette smoke contains many carcinogenic substances.
When the paper in a cigarette burns, it releases tar. Each cigarette tends to contain between 10 and 14 milligrams of tar. This tar collects in the tiny air filled sacs of the lungs, called alveoli, where oxygen is usually transferred into the blood. The presence of tar in the alveoli irritates the cells and eventually leads to their unnatural growth.
Nitrosamines are another compound and are also present in cigarettes. Hundreds of different studies administered with small mammals have proven that these compounds are also carcinogenic. Nitrosamines such as NNK, NNN, and NAT are all present in cigarette smoke in extremely small amounts, about 56.53 nanograms.
One nanogram is equal to one billionth of one gram. Even though that seems like an extremely insignificant amount of something, even these small amounts can cause problems. Like dogs noses that can detect scents from just a few molecules, some parts of the human body are extremely sensitive. Remember too that these small amounts add up over time and eventually can become serious.
Medical research has found no relation between smoking one or two cigarettes on a daily basis and the development of cancer. It is also true that very few smokers smoke so few cigarettes every day. The truth is that a twenty year smoker who takes in a pack of cigarettes every day has a two to four times higher risk of developing larynx or lung cancer than someone who does not smoke.
Normal cells may be damaged, but they have the ability to repair themselves. In other cases, the cells are sloughed off and eliminated by the lymph system, then replaced by new ones. But this process can go awry.
Sometimes new cells begin to grow into odd, unnatural shapes and as a result do not carry out their normal tasks properly. When this unnatural growth becomes a big enough problem that the body cannot handle it, it has officially become cancer.
It is known that cigarette smoke contains many carcinogenic substances.
When the paper in a cigarette burns, it releases tar. Each cigarette tends to contain between 10 and 14 milligrams of tar. This tar collects in the tiny air filled sacs of the lungs, called alveoli, where oxygen is usually transferred into the blood. The presence of tar in the alveoli irritates the cells and eventually leads to their unnatural growth.
Nitrosamines are another compound and are also present in cigarettes. Hundreds of different studies administered with small mammals have proven that these compounds are also carcinogenic. Nitrosamines such as NNK, NNN, and NAT are all present in cigarette smoke in extremely small amounts, about 56.53 nanograms.
One nanogram is equal to one billionth of one gram. Even though that seems like an extremely insignificant amount of something, even these small amounts can cause problems. Like dogs noses that can detect scents from just a few molecules, some parts of the human body are extremely sensitive. Remember too that these small amounts add up over time and eventually can become serious.
Medical research has found no relation between smoking one or two cigarettes on a daily basis and the development of cancer. It is also true that very few smokers smoke so few cigarettes every day. The truth is that a twenty year smoker who takes in a pack of cigarettes every day has a two to four times higher risk of developing larynx or lung cancer than someone who does not smoke.
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