As we know, doctors often recommend to abstain from smoking to avoid suffering from specific diseases. In particular, smoking can increase the risk of cancers and cardiorespiratory and cardiovascular diseases. But, the negative effects of cigarette use don’t stop there. In fact, many will be amazed by the deleterious effects of smoking on skin and hair, nails and teeth. Sometimes, we tend to underestimate these “aesthetic” consequences because it is believed that they occur only in the long term. However, more attention should be paid to how smoking works and what scientific evidence recurs in the species.
Many will be amazed by the deleterious effects of smoking on skin, hair, nails and teeth
Tobacco smoke is made up of thousands of skin-damaging substances, such as nicotine. There are 7,000 chemicals in smoke, of which 250 are harmful. Among the most harmful, in particular, there are: hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide and ammonia. In addition, the indicated number of substances, about 69, expose you to the risk of cancer. Then, looking more closely at how they act on the skin, we see that they damage it through the activation of enzymes called metalloproteases. The same cause the destruction of collagen and elastin, which are the fibers that give the skin tone and elasticity. In addition, smoking causes the further deleterious phenomena of oxidative stress, vasoconstriction, with a reduction in blood oxygenation. These are associated with the reduction of hydration levels and vitamin A concentration.
The enormous and irreversible damage
Ultimately, smoking leads to premature aging of the skin. This is accompanied by delayed wound healing and an increase in infections. It has also been found that smokers are more likely to experience inflammatory skin diseases. Think, for example, of: psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa and cutaneous lupus erythematosus. Then, on the aesthetic level, those who smoke tend to have yellowish teeth and skin, dull complexion, discoloration and wrinkles. The latter are concentrated in particular around the lips and eyes. In addition, the gestures of the cigarette also involve the nails which take on a yellowish color. Eventually, the hair begins to fall out and weaken more easily. Ultimately, it can be said that a heavy smoker can appear at 40 as a non-smoker in his seventies.
“The victory of Pyrrhus”
Of course, in one thing, smokers are right, which is that the obvious and incontrovertible effects of smoking become evident over time. In fact, they are produced in a progressive and insidious way. For this reason, especially young smokers tend to minimize and underestimate these effects. However, it is damage that builds up and adds up and, more seriously, is irreversible. Therefore, the circumstance that they are not immediate appears rather “a Pyrrhic victory”. This is because, even if a smoker did decide to quit smoking, it would not be enough to eliminate them. Therefore, it is advisable to evaluate in advance the consequences of this “bad habit”.