One Cigarette Puff Is All It Takes — to Cause Artery Damage! November 4
A recent study presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, showed something that quite a number of people probably did not think was true; your first try at cigarette smoking can cause damage to the arteries, putting the person at risk for heart disease and lung problems.
Since most health care providers preach the importance of moderation, it can be easy to think that the same concept holds true for cigarette smoking; that smoking should be okay for as long as you do not overdo it. And if one has just started learning how to smoke, then that fact should not be a reason to believe that any damage to the body has occurred just yet.
This belief is incorrect according to the various researchers who worked on the study. Healthy young people who have just decided to take the plunge and start smoking is triggering an irreversible process, inflicting “very significant damage” on the arteries.
What the study was able to determine was that even the smoking of one cigarette stick can increase the stiffness an 18- to 30-year-old smoker by 25%, based on data taken after a treadmill exercise test. When the arteries stiffen, the heart is forced to work harder, which then increases the risk for heart disease or stroke.
This is probably the reason behind otherwise healthy young people complaining about having difficulty performing certain physical activities, such as climbing stairs. Even light smoking can do irreversible damage; quitting smoking, while increasing the odds somehow, will not be enough to allow a former smoker’s body to fully recover from whatever damages it has incurred.
This should hopefully be reason enough for young people to think more than just twice about starting to smoke. Remember, once you have crossed that line, there will be no turning back.
Tags: cigar smoking, cigarette effects, cigarette smoking, health effects of nicotine, nicotine effects