Smoking Damages Your Body
Smoking adversely affects many of the body’s systems. Smoking affects your throat because it causes symptoms such as shortness of breath, acid reflux, and throat dryness. Smoking causes throat cancer and other throat disorders. In this article, we will discuss how smoking irritates the throat and other organs.
What Does Smoking do to Your Throat?
Smoking causes irritation to the throat. This irritation causes the throat to become red, dry and inflamed. Smoking also causes polyps in the throat. These polyps usually grow on the vocal cords. This is the reason for the “smokers voice”, and the hoarseness in the smoker’s voice.
Tobacco smoking is known to cause a plethora of diseases. Some of these diseases are life threatening such as throat and esophagus cancer.
Smoking Health Statistics
Cigarette smoking is the major cause of preventable deaths in America. Cigarettes cause more than 500,000 deaths per year. Around 15% of people in America smoke and more than 15 million Americans have some form of smoking-related diseases.
The stop-smoking ads have been effective because smoking has decreased from 21% in 2005 to 15% in 2016.
Throat Cancer Caused By Smoking
Throat Cancer
Throat Cancer can start in several places. Cancer in the throat can start in the sinuses, inside the nose, in the mouth, on the larynx, and the lips. Smoking and alcohol use are the number one and two risk factors for developing throat cancer. All tobacco products can cause cancer including:
- Chewing tobacco
- Cigarettes and cigars
- Snuff and pipes
- Smokeless tobacco
Alcohol also increases the risk of getting cancers of the mouth, throat, and larynx.
Interestingly, about 72% of oral cancers are linked to the human papillomavirus. There are other causes of throat cancer such as :
Environmental Causes
Exposures to toxins
Working in construction
Exposure to tanning beds
4 Amazing Ways to Stop Smoking
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- NicoDerm CQ Nicotine Patch Step 1 is right for you if you smoke more than 10 cigarettes per day
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- NicoDerm CQ stop smoking transdermal patch is thin, clear, and easy to wear discreetly
- Incoterm CQ nicotine patch offers a 3 step down approach to smoking cessation
- Two weeks supply of Incoterm CQ Nicotine Patch Step 1, 21 mg
Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking is a self-help classic, with over 20m copies sold worldwide. It has been a #1 bestseller in nine European countries. It outsells all other quit smoking titles combined. This edition has been developed specifically for smokers in the US. This seminal book has enabled millions of smokers to quit easily and enjoyably using Carr’s simple, drug-free approach. (Allen Carr).
Novartis Nicotine Transdermal System Stop Smoking Aid Patches stop smoking aid patch used to function with a certain level of nicotine -this reduces the withdrawal symptoms that many people normally feel when they quit smoking. The psychological aspects of quitting and to change your habits that trigger your nicotine cravings.
What Does Smoking do to Your Throat? Signs and Symptoms of Throat Problems in People Who Smoke
- Taste disorder
- A cough
- Bleeding gums
- Bad Breath
- Hoarseness
- Dryness of throat
- Irritation of throat membranes
- Ear discharge
- Tinnitus
- Nosebleeds
- Smell disorders
- Difficulty swallowing
- Nose discharge
First Signs of Throat Cancer From Smoking
Jaw swelling
- Unusual bleeding in the mouth
- A sore throat
- A lump in the throat
- Trouble talking or breathing
- Dentures not fitting
- Sores that do not heal on the gums and tongue
- Trouble eating
- Trouble swallowing food
- Ear and throat pain.
Bottom Line To Prevent Problems With the Throat From Smoking
The absolute way to lower your risk of throat problems due to smoking is not to smoke. Even if you do smoke, quitting greatly lowers your risk. Smokeless tobacco products are advertising to be a safer option, however, they are not safer. Alcohol should be limited to no more than twice a week.
The HPV virus is linked to oral cancer. Therefore, proper precautions should be used during intimacy.
References: US Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of smoking—50 years of progress: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2016
Questions and Answers On Smoking and Throat Problems
1. Do Cigarettes burn your throat?
Cigarettes by themselves do not burn your throat, but the heat from the smoke causes damage to your throat by destroying the cilia that line the tissues. Tobacco smoke paralyzes, This is what leads to the smoker’s cough.
2. Why does my throat hurt after smoking a cigarette?
When an individual smokes a cigarette, the toxins in the tobacco dries out of the lining of the throat. This dryness causes inflammation, irritation, and injury. This is why an individual would have pain.
My name is Phyllis Robinson MSN, RN. I have been a Registered Nurse for 27 years in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. I am passionate about cardiac care and heart disease. I also want this blog to be an educational tool that people can refer to for traditional and alternative treatment. I will blog on heart disorders such as high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and high cholesterol.
I received my Nursing degree from Baltimore Community College.
I went on to receive my Masters in Nursing from Walden University
I have worked for almost 30 years in Critical Care with a focus on heart health. I am an advocate of preventive healthcare.
