Smoking and Aging

March 17th, 2011, Posted by admin / Leave a comment

Expert state that smoking is as good as committing a crime against your skin. Not only the nicotine in the smoke is addictive, ensuring that you constantly crave for it, but it is also bad for the body. As per facts, cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, out of which 43 are carcinogenic while the rest of 400 are toxins. Some of the most harmful ones are DDT (a pesticide), nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide.

Smoking is said to affect almost each and every function of the body, directly or indirectly. Among all these, cigarette smoke have nicotine is the largest quantities. Studies show that nicotine can reach the brain in just six seconds and has some serious side effects in the long run. One of the most noticeable changes that can occur after smoking for a long time is wrinkling of the skin. The best evidence of these wrinkles is on the face though the skin on hands and legs also gets affected. As per medical records, smoking affects the number of years a smoker will survive and along with that it can also pose risk to life besides accelerating the rate at which the skin ages. It has been observed that smokers look older than their age; the skin of a smoker at the age of 30 resembles that of a nonsmoker in his 50s.

Some of the reasons due to which smoking causes wrinkles are:-

• Among the 4, 000 chemicals that are a part of cigarette smoke; acetaldehyde is one of the most dangerous. This chemical can break the cross –linking bonds of underlying tissues. These bonds are crucial in holding the tissues together which ensures that the skin remains firm. Breakage makes the skin loose and the wrinkles set in more closely and easily.
• Cigarette smoke can increase the production of enzymes that break down collagens and elastin, the fibers that are integral in keeping the skin firm and young.
• Smoking also affects the production of vitamin C. This vitamin is crucial in synthesis of collagen.
• Smoking can clog arteries due to which the flow of blood to the skin decreases. This decreases the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the skin speeding up the process of wrinkle formation and also making the skin dull and lifeless.
• Cigarette smoke releases radiations that are extremely harmful, especially for the skin.  A per studies, a person who smokes 30 cigarettes a day gets exposed to radiation that is equivalent to 300 chest x-rays in a year.  Radiations make the skin, dull and dry which accelerates the onset of aging process. It also increases the chances of skin cancer in the person.

The only way to control skin damage and decrease the process of aging is to quit smoking and also detoxify the body by increasing the intake of water. Certain breathing exercises are also good for the lungs and for the skin and they ensure that the blood flow to the face increasing, making the skin glow.