Seven More Reasons to Quit Smoking
Dry and fragile skin
Smoking reduces the water content of the skin’s outer layer.
Wrinkles around the nose and mouth
Chemicals is cigarette such as nicotine, carbon monoxide, tar and lead reduce blood flow to the skin, reducing circulating of oxygen and break down the skin’s collagen and elastin.
Risk of Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a disease that causes red scaly patches to appear on the skin. It can be usually seen in the skin of the elbows and knees, but can also affect any area including the scalp and genitals. Studies reveal that the risk of psoriasis was 37% higher among past smokers and 78% higher among current smokers.
Skin cancer
Smokers are more than three times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma of the skin than non-smokers. Smoking induces skin cancer by holding back the immune system. And patients with suppressed immune systems are more susceptible to squamous cell carcinoma in many locations, including the skin.
Hair loss
Hair is able to grow because of hair follicles. The dermal papilla, which are near the bottom of hair follicles, are responsible for creating new cells. The new cells shove themselves upward, moving the old cells upward. When the cells reach the middle of the hair follicle, they die out and become hard. They become the central core of the hair follicle and afterward, become the new hair shaft. Smoking prevents dermal papilla from growing. This hinders the hair from growing.
Yellow teeth
Nicotine and tar leaves a sticky residue on the teeth. Even with one inhalation of cigarette smoke, stains are left behind. There are brands of cigarettes that contain more nicotine and tar than the others. The higher the ratio of nicotine and tar, the more the teeth will be stained by the cigarette.
Yellow nails
Tar and nicotine are also the components of cigarette that cause yellow fingernails. These two stain the fingernails and the skin surrounding the fingers that hold the cigarette.
There is nothing cool about smoking. It can definitely rob one’s youth and beauty.