Smoking

Story

Connected to · 2

depletes · 1

Vitamin C
The steady stream of oxidants in smoke uses vitamin C up faster: an isotope study found faster turnover in men smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day, so the dietary reference intakes add 35 mg a day for smokers. In people regularly exposed to secondhand smoke, blood vitamin C fell between that of smokers and the unexposed (a small cross-sectional study). Vegetables and fruit can cover the gap.

regulates · 1

Chronic cough
Smoking is the major removable cause of chronic cough. Nicotine in smoke suppresses the cough reflex, so in the first month after quitting the cough may temporarily get worse; the guideline tells doctors to warn patients in advance that this does not mean quitting went wrong.

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Stop 1/7

What one puff carries in

THE SHORT ANSWER

Each puff delivers three kinds of things at once: oxidants drain antioxidant reserves, carbon monoxide takes over oxygen's places in the blood, and nicotine acts on the brain and blood vessels.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU

Sudden chest pain like pressure with breathlessness: don't wait, call your local emergency number now.
Ordinary filters did not substantially reduce the radicals in smoke.

EVIDENCEREVIEW 1 · MECH 1

READ THE ORIGINAL

Smoking does its harm not through one poison but because each puff delivers several kinds of things into the body at once, and each takes its own path.

Smoke has two parts: the gas that drifts, and tar, which condenses into fine particles. The particle part alone holds at least 3,500 compounds, many of them toxic, cancer-causing or able to mutate genes. The gas carries carbon monoxide and a large number of free radicals (reactive molecules missing an electron, which grab electrons from other molecules) — an estimated 10¹⁵ per puff, a million billion (Valavanidis review).

Once in the lungs, they split up:

Oxidants use up the body's antioxidant reserves, vitamin C first among them.Carbon monoxide takes over the places in the blood that carry oxygen.Nicotine is absorbed into the blood and acts on the brain and blood vessels.
This story follows those three lines. If you suddenly have chest pain that feels like pressure and can't get your breath, don't wait: call your local emergency number now. The chapter When to see a doctor lists all the warning signs.

Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician.

Back

Smoking

Story

Connected to · 2

depletes · 1

Vitamin C
The steady stream of oxidants in smoke uses vitamin C up faster: an isotope study found faster turnover in men smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day, so the dietary reference intakes add 35 mg a day for smokers. In people regularly exposed to secondhand smoke, blood vitamin C fell between that of smokers and the unexposed (a small cross-sectional study). Vegetables and fruit can cover the gap.

regulates · 1

Chronic cough
Smoking is the major removable cause of chronic cough. Nicotine in smoke suppresses the cough reflex, so in the first month after quitting the cough may temporarily get worse; the guideline tells doctors to warn patients in advance that this does not mean quitting went wrong.

Read full story

Stop 1/7

What one puff carries in

THE SHORT ANSWER

Each puff delivers three kinds of things at once: oxidants drain antioxidant reserves, carbon monoxide takes over oxygen's places in the blood, and nicotine acts on the brain and blood vessels.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU

Sudden chest pain like pressure with breathlessness: don't wait, call your local emergency number now.
Ordinary filters did not substantially reduce the radicals in smoke.

EVIDENCEREVIEW 1 · MECH 1

READ THE ORIGINAL

Smoking does its harm not through one poison but because each puff delivers several kinds of things into the body at once, and each takes its own path.

Smoke has two parts: the gas that drifts, and tar, which condenses into fine particles. The particle part alone holds at least 3,500 compounds, many of them toxic, cancer-causing or able to mutate genes. The gas carries carbon monoxide and a large number of free radicals (reactive molecules missing an electron, which grab electrons from other molecules) — an estimated 10¹⁵ per puff, a million billion (Valavanidis review).

Once in the lungs, they split up:

Oxidants use up the body's antioxidant reserves, vitamin C first among them.Carbon monoxide takes over the places in the blood that carry oxygen.Nicotine is absorbed into the blood and acts on the brain and blood vessels.
This story follows those three lines. If you suddenly have chest pain that feels like pressure and can't get your breath, don't wait: call your local emergency number now. The chapter When to see a doctor lists all the warning signs.

Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician.