What effects does smoking have on the lungs?
Smoking has many effects on your lungs. While smoking in and of itself may or may not be the problem, the things that generally go into commercial tobacco are most assuredly harmful to your body and are proven to cause respiratory problems up to and including emphysema and cancer. The tar found in tobacco coats your lungs. Over time, this can cause several breathing difficulties. The thousands of small sacs in your lungs that are responsible for exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood stream are called Alveoli. As tar fills these alveoli they harden, shrivel up, and die. Obviously, if too many of these die, breathing difficulties can occur. Smoking increases your risk of heart disease. Many ingredients in tobacco inflame the airways and narrow the blood vessels which, obviously, causes problems with oxygen and blood flow. The heart has to work harder to force blood through these constricted lines to the rest of the body. Too much strain on the heart often leads to heart atta
