Effects of Smoking Cigarettes

• When a person smokes cigarettes, he or she inhales a bevy of chemicals into the body through the lungs--many of which are toxic.
  
  

The Lungs and Airways Start to Change

• After a person has been smoking for some time, they will experience changes in their lungs and airways, and may be more susceptible to colds and pneumonia, or serious effects of it. They tend to experience coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and frequent cold and lung infections. The cells that produce mucus in the lungs start to increase in size and number, and mucus gets thicker as well. Because mucus is more prevalent in the lungs for smokers, it stays in the airways and lungs and clogs them up, causing the person to cough often.
  
  

The Lungs Can't Clean Themselves

• The hairs in the lungs, or cilia, serve as the cleaning system for the lungs. However, when people smoke, it slows down the cilia's cleaning capabilities and also reduces the amount of these hairs on the lungs. This causes mucus to build up as well.
  
  

Lungs Get Irritated and Inflamed

• Over time, the lungs become narrow and the amount of air flow they receive is reduced. As people continue to smoke, they can go into coughing fits and experience extreme irritation. People who smoke often over time can completely destroy their lungs. This happens because smoking eventually makes it impossible for the lungs to carry oxygen to the rest of the body.
  
  

Lung Damage

• Before the lungs are completely destroyed, they lose the ability to protect themselves from infections, leaving the body susceptible to cancer, infections and ailments. The chemicals in cigarette smoke can transform healthy lung cells into cancerous lung cells.
  
  

COPD

• Smoking cigarettes can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. When this happens, the lungs aren't able to get enough air, because the air flow going in and out of the lungs is blocked. When smokers have chronic bronchitis, they have a long-lasting cough and a lot of mucus in their lungs, which prevents air flow, making it difficult for them to breathe.
  
  

Second-Hand Smoke

• The effects of smoking on the lungs is not limited to smokers. Second-hand smoke can damage the lungs as well. People who breathe in second-hand smoke can get lung infections, pneumonia, lung cancer and have wheezing, a chronic cough and increased mucus.