What Actually Happens to the Lungs when Smoking

We all know that smoking is bad for you. We also all know that we shouldn't start smoking. In addition to both of these statements, we all know that thousands of people start smoking every day, and hundreds of people die of smoking related illnesses every second. With all of this knowledge in our head, its a wonder why people continue to start. I've always pondered what the smoking industry would be like, if everyone could see each other's lungs all the time. For it is the lungs that are affected the most. So what does happen when someone smokes? What actually decays and gets destroyed?

The first items that get harmed are the trachea and the cilia. Cilia are not common biological items, these act as a filtering device. Cilia move harmful air and things that are polluting the lungs up and out. When all the chemicals, which nicotine is merely one of them, spills into the lungs, they immediately burn the little hairs and tendrils that are the cilia. once they get burned enough, they are no longer able to do their job and anything that wants to go into the lung gets to go in.

However, the cilia are the the first thing that the chemicals come in contact in. When anything enters your mouth there are two tubes to go in, the esophagus and the trachea. The esophagus leads to the stomach and the trachea leads to the lungs. When a smoker breathes the 4000+ chemicals in and then holds it, or what is called inhaling, a portion of those chemicals go into the lungs and a portion sit int he trachea. As these corrosive chemicals sit in the trachea they slowly burn and destroy the trachea. This burning and destruction is what causes the need for artificial voice boxes.

What are these 4000 chemicals? According to the American Lung Association, a few of the "most harmful are Benzene (petrol additive), Formaldehyde (embalming fluid), Ammonia (toilet cleaner), Acetone (nail polish remover), Tar, Nicotine (insecticide/addictive drug), Carbon Monoxide (CO) (car exhaust fumes), Arsenic (rat poison), and Hydrogen Cyanide (gas chamber poison)." When these hit the lungs its a whole new story. Once the cilia is burned and destroyed, these chemicals immediately attack everything they come into contact with. Once all the cells are damaged and dying, the chemicals that have caused cancer to grow now began to dissipate. The cancer cells fill in the holes.

The alveoli,the things that bring in air and carry it to the blood stream where the blood will carry it to the rest of the body, also begin burning. Once these alveoli burn, the lose their natural ability and the person becomes out of breath, and this is what emphysema is. The longer the chemicals are introduced, the more the lung will be eaten and burnt away. Finally, the lung looks like it has been chemically burned. In the end, the lung is burned, the trachea is burned, the lips and the mouth is burned and raw; and because of the nicotine, smokers continue to smoke.