As we all know smoking is injurious to our health, it affects overall wellbeing of individuals. Not just first hand smoking but second hand smoking is also as unsafe as first hand smoking. The smokes we inhale from cigarettes, cigars, pipes and so on damage our body in many ways. It is particularly more dangerous to the people with Asthma and to their lungs. Tobacco smoking increases the symptoms of Asthma in many people.
How smoking affects Asthma
The substances from Tobacco enter the body when a person inhales the smoke. These substances lie in the airway lining and can cause asthma attack in many people . The cilia (small hairs) present in the air ways gets damaged due the smoke from tobacco. These cilia help to send out the dust and mucus from the airways. When these cilia get damaged, excess dust and mucus gets accumulated in the airways as they won’t be able to sweep the dust and mucus from the airways. Addition to this smoking also triggers lungs to produce more mucus than the normal conditions. Due to which excess mucus gets accumulated in the airways and can also lead to asthma attack.
How second hand smoke affects people with Asthma
The smoke that comes from cigarettes along with the smoke exhaled from the smoker combined together is called as second hand smoke. It is also called as passive smoke or environmental tobacco smoke. Inhaling this type of smoke is more dangerous than the first hand smoking. It’s because the smoke that comes from end of the cigarettes contains many dangerous substances like carbon monoxide, tar, nicotine and many others. These substances are more harmful than the substance inhaled by the smoker.
Second hand smoking is more dangerous to the people with asthma as it triggers the symptoms of Asthma. People with Asthma have symptoms like wheezing, coughing, breathlessness and so on when exposed to second hand smoke.
Is second hand smoking harmful to children?
More than adults, second hand smoking is more dangerous to children. When children with asthma are exposed to second hand tobacco smoke, their lungs get irritated and produce more mucus. As children have small airways, when they are exposed to second hand smoke they get affected quickly and in long run it leads to lung problems
Children whose parents smoke are at an increased risk of developing several infections like lung and sinusitis. These infections further trigger the symptoms of asthma and make it very difficult to control them.
Can smoking affect unborn child?
Smoking not just affects children, adults but also affects the unborn child. The dangerous substances present in smoke like nicotine are addictive in nature and from the mother it is directly passed to the unborn child.
Children whose mother smokes while carrying a baby are at an increased risk of developing lung problems. Children are also 10 times more at risk of developing Asthma. Conceived women smoking is also linked to low birth weight of new born, premature birth and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
