Article: - Smoking: stuff you probably don't know
Everyone knows the stories about how bad smoking is for you, yet there are still 12 million smokers in the UK. A lot of these people – around 80% – took up smoking in their teens and have smoked ever since.
So why do so many teenagers start smoking? Well, everyone has their different reasons. Some smoke because they think it is cool, some as part of being rebellious, some because all their friends do too…the list goes on. The answer to why so many teens continue smoking into their 20s and onwards is easier though...
As you probably all know, from personal experience or watching others, smoking is seriously addictive. To be more precise, it is the nicotine in the tobacco which has the serious addictiveness. Apparently it is one of the most addictive substances in existence so it’s not surprising that quitting is so difficult.
The Oy! team has put together a list of how smoking affects various aspects of your body to help you have a think whether or not its really worth it. In our opinion? Definitely not worth it…
Skin & hair
- Accelerated wrinkling. A 40-year-old smoker will have about as many wrinkles as a 60-year-old non-smoker.
- Dry skin on the face
- Yellow nails
- Cuts take longer to heal
- More scarring
- Premature thinning and greying of hair
Brain
- Increased chance of having a stroke
- Diminished mental proficiency in the long-term
- Thought speed and accuracy decrease
Moods
- Find it harder to concentrate
- Withdrawal effects include irritability, anxiety and depression
Body
- Lung damage
- Higher chance of some cancers, including lung, throat and mouth
- Hearing problems (yes, really, we didn’t know that either)
- Infertility
- Heart disease
- Higher blood pressure
- High cholesterol