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Horrifying Video Reveals How Smoking Leaves Your Lungs Black, Shrivelled And 'steeped In Tar'
WE'RE constantly warned about how smoking can destroy our lungs and health.
There are certain outward signs we've come to recognise as consequences of the habit: a smoker's perpetual hacking cough, sagging skin, yellowing teeth.
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A video shared to Instagram laid bare how radically cigarettes can affect your lung functionNow a horrifying video has laid bare just how much damage cigarettes can cause to the inside of your body, showing how smoking can leave the lungs blackened, shrivelled and coated in tar.
It comes as MPs prepare to vote on legislation that aims to create a "smokefree generation" by raising the age of sale for tobacco in England by one year every year.
If the legislation comes into effect, it would mean children turning 15 this year or younger will never be able to legally buy cigarettes.
The bill is due to be debated in parliament for the first time tomorrow, April 16.
PM Rishi Sunak previously said: "We must tackle the single biggest entirely preventable cause of ill health, disability and death.
"And that is smoking, and our country. Smoking causes, one in four cancer deaths."
The harrowing clip showing the extent to which smoking can wreak the lungs was posted to the Instagram account @businessgrowthmentor and shows two sets of lungs hooked up to an air pump.
It shows a healthy, pink lung, representing the organs of a non-smoker.
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Warning to Brit holidaymakers as cases of malaria caught abroad hit 20-year highA blackened set of lungs representing those of a smoker is shown next. It appears that both organs are real.
'How dare you try to ban smoking when you drink in front of your kids!' Smoking ban debate KICKS OFFAside from the colour, the difference between set of each is remarkable - the pink lung appears fuller, while the blackened one hangs limply from the pump.
And that's before air is puffed into them.
When a puff of air is blown into the smoker's lung, only a small portion of them swells up slowly.
Meanwhile, the healthy pink lung quickly puffs to twice that size when air is pushed into it.
The caption accompanying the clip stated: "Smoking can cause a variety of lung problems, such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and decreased lung function.
"These changes can lead to reduced oxygen intake, increased susceptibility to infections, and increased risk of lung cancer."
It's no wonder that cigarettes wreak havoc on your lungs, as tobacco smoke contains a toxic mix of over 5,000 chemicals, according to Asthma + Lung UK.
"People who smoke do so because they are addicted to nicotine, but the harm comes from the tar, carbon monoxide, and other chemicals in the smoke," the charity explained.
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration warned that cigarette smoking can have major consequences on the lungs at any age.
It can start from infancy, as babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy may have lungs that develop abnormally, while teens who smoke cigarettes can develop smaller, weaker lungs that never grow to full size and or reach peak capacity.
In addition, smoking can destroy the cilia - tiny hairs in your airway that keep dirt and mucus out of your lungs - leading to what's known as "smoker's cough".
The damage doesn't stop there.
According to Asthma + Lung UK, smoking and breathing in second-hand smoke - also known as passive smoking - causes many lung conditions, including:
People who smoke are at higher risk of getting chest infections, including flu, pneumonia, and Covid-19, the charity said.
And if you're a smoker and you get an infection, you're more likely to have severe symptoms.
According to the NHS, up to 35 per cent of all deaths from respiratory conditions are linked to smoking.
It's not just your lungs that bear scars from the habit.
The American Lung Association said puffing on cigarettes can harm nearly every organ of your body.
It can put you at risk of:
Lungs steeped in tarThe harrowing clip making the rounds on social media is not the first to expose the reality of what smoking does to the lungs.
The American Lung Association recently put together a demonstration to show how smoking wreaks havoc on lung health by comparing the lungs of a healthy nonsmoker versus those of a smoker.
Freedom From Smoking trainder Jennifer Hobbs Folkenroth explained that a "full cup of tar is filtered through your lungs" if you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day for a year.
Showing a smoker's lung, which was blackened due to the tar produced by smoking cigarettes, she explained how parts of it were "completely been shut off due to the damage".
Doing every day activities like going up a flight of stairs is much more strenuous and challenging when your lungs have been damaged by smoking, Jennifer said.
On top that, the lung specialist pointed out a tumour on the blackened lung.
"In more than 87 per cent of cases, by the time lung cancer is diagnosed it's already spread throughout the body," she warned.
She also showed how air sacs in the smoker's lung had burst open, creating little porous holes.
"With each puff you take out of a cigarette, you pop those air sacs," Jennifer said.
This is called emphysema and it's the only tobacco related illness that's not reversible, she stated.
But Jennifer said all the other damage caused to the lungs is reversible after you quit.
You can clean out the tar and improve your lung function by up to 30 per cent in the first few weeks, the lung specialist said.
"It's never too late to quit," she stated.
Tips on quitting smoking
THE FIRST thing to do when you decide to swear off smoking is throw away your cigarettes.
Have a single cigarette can divert you from your goal, so there's no such thing as "just one cigarette".
The NHS recommends you:
You can also get a free 'personal quit plan' just by answering three questions.
Source: NHS Better Health
Chronic Bronchitis
Bronchitis is a respiratory disease in which there is an inflammation of the mucous membranes of the bronchi (airway passages of lungs). This causes breathlessness and cough spells. If there is productive cough which lasts for three months or more in a year for at least two years it is chronic bronchitis. It is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The airways to the lungs are inflamed and produce lots of mucus which partially block them and cause breathlessness. The condition reduces the lung capacity drastically and may also cause respiratory failure. This has a huge impact on the quality of life of the person. Smoking, air pollution, dust, chemicals, etc. Can cause chronic bronchitis. People who continue to smoke may severely damage their lungs.
CausesThe main identified cause of chronic bronchitis is smoking. Your bronchial tube or airway is lined with glands that produce mucus. This mucus is a medium for trapping infectious agents, dust particles and pollutants that might harm the airway and lungs. When you smoke cigarettes, the harmful chemicals and irritating agents present in tobacco damage the lining of the bronchial tube, causing the glands to overproduce mucus. To expel this excessive mucus, your body triggers cough. In people who smoke excessively, the cycle of overproduction of mucus and the body's effort to get rid of it continues over a long period of time.
Here are some other reasons you could develop chronic bronchitis
Certain factors put you at a higher risk of developing chronic bronchitis. Here are a few of them
The most common symptom of bronchitis is persistent cough. But to eliminate the possibility of other respiratory infections, check out if you're also suffering from the following symptoms of bronchitis.
Medically, chronic bronchitis is differentiated from common cough based on the duration for which the cough lasts. The presence of productive cough (cough with expectoration or phlegm) for at least 3 months in a year over 2 years or more is called chronic bronchitis. Here are some tests your doctor might recommend you to take:
Chronic bronchitis reduces the lung capacity drastically and may also cause respiratory failure. This has a huge impact on quality of life of the person. People who continue to smoke may severely damage their lungs. Therefore, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment is essential.
The goal of treatment in chronic bronchitis is to relieve symptoms, avoid complications and slow down the progression of the disease. Here are some medicines you may be prescribed:
Apart from medicines and surgery, pulmonary rehabilitation is an important part of treatment. It involves providing help, support and guidance to patients for quitting smoking and starting exercise. Educating the patient about self care and special breathing techniques also forms a part of pulmonary rehabilitation.
ComplicationsChronic bronchitis reduces the lung capacity drastically and may also cause respiratory failure. This has a huge impact on the quality of life of the person. People who continue to smoke may severely damage their lungs. There is a possibility for a person suffering from bronchitis to acquire a secondary infection like pneumonia. Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia.
PreventionHere are some measures you can take to prevent chronic bronchitis
Asthma, Emphysema And Bronchitis are chronic inflammatory lung diseases that cause swelling in the airways.
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Chuck some foods off your diet if you have COPDIf you are suffering from this lung disorder, it is time to modify your diet and stay away from these foods to help yourself cure your condition.
Here's how you can modify your lifestyle to cope with COPDThis is commonly known as 'Chronic Bronchitis', and is a progressive disease.
Could your prolonged cough be due to bronchitis?Do you have persistent cough? Know whether it's due to bronchitis. Here are the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of bronchitis.
Suffering from persistant dry cough? It could be bronchitisWhy dry, persisting cough should not be neglected and what causes bronchitis.
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Asthma, Emphysema And Bronchitis: Know The DifferencesAsthma, Emphysema And Bronchitis are chronic inflammatory lung diseases that cause swelling in the airways.
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Chuck some foods off your diet if you have COPDIf you are suffering from this lung disorder, it is time to modify your diet and stay away from these foods to help yourself cure your condition.
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What To Know About Asthma And Yellow Phlegm Or Mucus
Yellow phlegm can be a sign of an infection or illness that may cause asthma symptoms to worsen. A person with asthma should take note of the color of their phlegm, as certain colors may mean they should contact a doctor.
Phlegm, or sputum, is a thick mucus that is different from saliva. People cough up phlegm from their lungs.
The body can produce excess phlegm when a person has certain health conditions. Different conditions can cause the phlegm to take on various colors.
This article will explain the possible causes of yellow phlegm in people with asthma. It will give treatment options for these causes and advise when a person should contact a doctor.
Some people with asthma produce excess phlegm, but yellow phlegm could be a sign of infection.
Producing phlegm of any color can be a sign that a person's airways are becoming inflamed. Airway inflammation may also cause other asthma symptoms, such as:
If a person's airways become too inflamed, they may narrow, causing an asthma attack. In that case, a person can use a rescue inhaler to expand their airways and make breathing easier.
Yellow phlegm is not normal and can be a sign that an infection is present.
Yellow or green phlegm may be a sign that a person has developed an infection such as:
Infections often worsen asthma symptoms, which can be dangerous. This is why it is important for a person with asthma to keep using their preventer inhaler to manage their symptoms.
Yellow phlegm can also be a sign that a person has developed any of several possible illnesses. Yellow phlegm may turn into green phlegm over time if the illness worsens and more white blood cells and debris are present in the mucus.
Below are some common illnesses that cause a person to produce yellow and green phlegm.
Bronchitis involves swelling and inflammation in the bronchial tubes, which link the mouth and nose with the lungs. Initially, a person may have a sore throat and a dry cough, which can cause clear or white phlegm to develop.
Over time, the phlegm may turn yellow or green, which may be a sign that a secondary bacterial infection has developed.
In addition to the production of yellow or green phlegm, bronchitis can cause a variety of other symptoms. Symptoms of acute bronchitis last longer than 3 weeks and include:
Learn more about treatment options for bronchitis.
The color of phlegm can tell a lot about the condition of a person's respiratory system. Below is an outline of some of the colors and what they mean.
If a person with asthma notices phlegm that is red, brown, or black, they should speak with a doctor right away, even if they notice only a small amount of these colors.
Clear phlegmHealthy phlegm is usually clear. However, if a person produces large amounts of clear or white phlegm, it may be a sign that their airways are inflamed.
Large amounts of clear or white phlegm may also mean that a person's asthma symptoms are getting worse.
A person may wish to use their preventer inhaler to deal with worsening asthma symptoms.
Brown phlegmBrown phlegm often appears in people who smoke. It could mean that there is dried blood in the mucus.
Brown or rust-colored phlegm can also mean that a person may have bacterial pneumonia or bacterial bronchitis.
Brown phlegm warrants contacting a doctor as soon as possible.
White phlegmWhite phlegm may be a sign that a person has nasal congestion. This can cause the mucus to pass through the respiratory tract more slowly and to become thicker and turn white.
White phlegm may also be a sign that a person has any of the following conditions:
Red or pink phlegmThe main cause of red or pink phlegm is the presence of blood. A person may have blood in their phlegm if they have been coughing a lot due to a respiratory infection.
However, several other conditions can also cause blood to be present in a person's phlegm, including:
A person with red or pink phlegm should contact a doctor as soon as possible.
Black phlegmBlack phlegm can be present if someone has inhaled large amounts of a black substance, such as coal dust.
Smoking cigarettes may also cause black phlegm.
Phlegm or mucus may also look black or dark because of bleeding in the airways. Conditions that can cause bleeding in the airways, and therefore cause dark-colored mucus, include:
A person who notices black phlegm should contact a doctor right away.
Learn more about the different colors and textures of phlegm.
If a person with asthma has phlegm that turns yellow or green, they may want to wait a few days to see whether it returns to normal. But if the phlegm remains yellow or green for more than a few days, a person should make an appointment with a doctor.
They should also monitor their other asthma symptoms just in case they begin to get worse.
If a person with asthma notices phlegm that is red, brown, or black, they should contact a doctor right away, even if they notice only a small amount of these colors. These colors could indicate a more serious condition.
Phlegm, or sputum, is a thick mucus that the body produces. People cough up phlegm from their lungs and respiratory tract.
A person with asthma may produce excess phlegm. If a person with asthma produces yellow phlegm, it may be a sign of an infection or another condition. Common conditions that cause phlegm to turn yellow include pneumonia, bronchitis, and sinusitis.
A person should contact a doctor if they have been producing yellow phlegm for longer than a few days.
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