Tobacco, a member of the Solanaceae or nightshade family, is an herb indigenous to the Americas. The leaves of the tobacco plant were used medicinally by American Indians long before the arrival of European explorers.
Tobacco was also smoked, and the effects were very potent causing many users to become unconscious. Seeds of the tobacco plant were brought to Europe by Jean André Thevet in the mid sixteenth century.
It was later reimported into the Americas from Spanish colonies by settlers in Virginia, where it soon became America's first export. Tobacco is a widely used drug and has been cited as the cause of many diseases, including cancer. According to the American Medical Association, each cigarette you smoke reduces your life expectancy by five and a half minutes.
No results found. Click here for amazon.com
Many smokers say that lighting a cigarette helps them reduce stress. In many ways they are right, and the effects are similar to those of benzodiazepines or anti-anxiety agents. But the actual process is slightly more complicated.
When a smoker inhales a cigarette, nicotine and the minor tobacco alkaloids briefly stimulate the central nervous systemAn intricate network of structures that runs extensively throughout the body and activates, coordinates and controls all functions of the body.
The nervous system consists of two parts, the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system is composed of the brain and the spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system includes the cranial nerves and spinal nerves.
Afferent fibers carry sensory impulses to the central nervous system. Efferent fibers carry motor impulses in the form of electrical energy from the central nervous system to the muscles and other organs.
Somatic fibers are those associated with the bones, muscles and the skin. Visceral fibers are those associated with the internal organs, blood vessels and mucus membrane. All of the functions are coordinated by a network of tiny structures including neurons, axons, dendrites and ganglia.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. then depress the ganglia in the cerebral cortex of the brain. The overall effect is calming similar to that of tranquilizers.
Because tobacco is smoked, rather than taken in the form of a pill, sniffed or injected, there are many secondary effects tobacco. Cigarettes contain tar. The tar is drawn into the lungs where it condenses into a sticky substance that adheres to the lung's membranes.
Nicotine is an addictive drug, which directly affects the central nervous systemAn intricate network of structures that runs extensively throughout the body and activates, coordinates and controls all functions of the body.
The nervous system consists of two parts, the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system is composed of the brain and the spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system includes the cranial nerves and spinal nerves.
Afferent fibers carry sensory impulses to the central nervous system. Efferent fibers carry motor impulses in the form of electrical energy from the central nervous system to the muscles and other organs.
Somatic fibers are those associated with the bones, muscles and the skin. Visceral fibers are those associated with the internal organs, blood vessels and mucus membrane. All of the functions are coordinated by a network of tiny structures including neurons, axons, dendrites and ganglia.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions., while the carbon monoxide contained in tobacco smoke reduces the ability of red blood cellsA concave disk containing hemoglobin surrounded by a lipoid membrane. It is the major cellular element of the circulating blood and it serves primarily to transport oxygen. The number of red blood cells is about 4 and 4.5 million per cubic millimeter in women (4.5 and 5 million per cubic millimeter in men).
The average lifespan of a red blood cell is between 110 and 115 days after which it is removed from the bloodstream. New red blood cells are produced at about the rate of 1% daily to keep levels constant. Red blood cells originate in the marrow of long bones. Also called erythrocytes.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. to carry oxygen throughout the body.
There are a number of complications that result from long-term smoking. These include the risk of heart and lung related disorders such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, lung, throat and bladder cancer, ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, arterial sclerosis, and peptic-ulcer disease.
Packets of cigarettes sold in the United States may contain the following warning from the Surgeon General,
"Smoking by pregnant women may result in fetal injury, premature birth and low birthweight."
That sums it up pretty nicely, but if you're still not convinced here are a few more details. There are many direct effects of smoking on your pregnancy. Actually, smoking may even be the cause of your pregnancy because cigarette smoking reduces the effectiveness of oral contraceptives.
No results found. Click here for amazon.com
Smoking also reduces the ability of the body to absorb vitamins B and C as well as folic acid, which is important for neural tube development. If you are a heavy smoker you should be aware that smoking increases your risk of many pregnancy related complications including placental abruption and placenta previa. Studies show that smoking fifteen to twenty cigarettes per day doubles the risk of miscarriage.
Smoking is harmful to every part of the reproductive process. Although medical science has improved our knowledge about the adverse effects of smoking, especially during pregnancy it is estimated that 12% - 22% of women smoke, and only 18% - 25% quit smoking after becoming pregnant.
Smoking increases the risk of infertility and makes it harder for women who smoke to become pregnant. There are additional health risks for both the mother and the growing fetus including premature birth, stillbirth and low birth weight infants (a leading cause of infant deaths in the United States with over 300,000 deaths annually).
Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of complications such as placenta previa, and placental abruption, both conditions usually leading to a delivery by cesarean section. The incidence of placental abruption among smokers is 1.4 - 2.4 times higher than nonsmokers.
Other complications include premature rupture of membranes, which means that smokers often carry their babies for a shorter than normal gestation period, and the risk of delivering a low-birth-weight baby is up to 2.5 times more likely among pregnant women who smoke. Paradoxically, and for currently undetermined reasons, the incidence of preeclampsia is lower among smokers than nonsmokers.
Cigarettes don't just damage your body. Tars, resins and nicotine all cross the placenta to the baby. Babies born of mothers who smoked are at risk of minimal brain disfunction syndrome, also known as hyperactivitySometimes called attention deficit disorder or minimum brain dysfunction, it is a syndrome that affects primarily children and adolescents and is characterized by learning disabilities. The symptoms are associated with functional deviations of the central nervous system, while lacking signs of major neurologic or psychiatric disturbance.
Symptoms include inpaired perception, conceptual, language, memory and motor skills. Hyperactivity and decreased attention span are common.
The condition is ten times more common in boys and result from genetic factors, biochemical imbalances or perinatal injury or disease. While there is no cure, syptoms eventually subside and treatment includes medication and a modified diet.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions., and have been proven to achieve lower IQ scores.
No results found. Click here for amazon.com
