Experts reveal shocking difference between smoker's and non-smoker's lungs
Illustrative photo (Photo: Getty Images)
Everyone knows how harmful smoking is for health. But for many, the harm caused by cigarettes remains a theoretical concept unless they start experiencing the side effects of this destructive habit. However, a recent video posted online vividly illustrates the difference between the lungs of a smoker and a non-smoker, according to The Sun.
How smoking affects the lungs
The video initially shows a set of discolored, sluggish lungs connected to an air pump, representing the lungs of a heavy smoker. When air is blown into them, only a small portion of them inflates, and it happens slowly.
In contrast, the healthy pink lungs displayed immediately afterward inflate to twice their size.
The clip is captioned with the following comment: "Smoking can cause a variety of lung problems, such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and decreased lung function."
The difference between a smoker's lungs and a non-smoker's lungs (Screenshot)
This isn't the first video to showcase what smoking does to our lungs. The American Lung Association recently put together a demonstration to illustrate how smoking harms lung health by comparing the lungs of a healthy non-smoker to those of a smoker.
Jennifer Hobbs Folkenroth, a coach with the Freedom From Smoking program, explains that lungs have two sides. The right lung is larger and consists of three lobes, while the smaller left lung has just two.
"When you breathe, you have millions of little air sacs in the lung called alveoli [which] fill up with vital oxygen to carry it through the bloodstream, throughout the body, and deliver it to your various organs," added Hobbs.
She also showcases the smoker's lungs, which had turned black due to the tar that forms during cigarette smoking. Jennifer notes that a full cup of tar filters through your lungs if you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day for a year.
Healthy lungs should be pink (Screenshot)
The expert demonstrates that the lower portion of the smoker's right lung doesn't inflate when air is pumped into it.
"It has completely been shut off due to the damage from all of the tar as well as over 7,000 chemicals and toxic poisons from cigarette smoke," Jennifer explained,' explained Jennifer.
Experts emphasize that daily activities like walking from the car to the supermarket or climbing stairs are a test for smokers' lungs. They also note that in over 87% of cases, by the time lung cancer is diagnosed, it has already spread throughout the body.
Hobbs also shows how the air sacs in a smoker's lungs burst, creating small porous holes.
"With each puff you take out of a cigarette, you pop those air sacs," Jennifer added.
She stresses that all other lung damage is reversible after you quit smoking. You can clear out the tar and improve lung function by 30% within the first few weeks.
Quitting smoking is never too late
According to the NHS (National Health Service) of the United Kingdom, smoking is one of the leading causes of death and diseases in the UK, killing about 76,000 Britons each year.
This harmful habit can also increase the risk of up to 12 different types of cancer and raise the likelihood of heart attacks, strokes, and heart diseases.
To quit smoking, experts advise:
- Reflect on your personal reasons to quit this harmful habit.
- Inform people around you that you're quitting smoking.
- Remember what worked if you've attempted to quit before.
- Use smoking cessation aids like nicotine patches, sprays, gum, or lozenges, or consider nicotine vaping, and seek advice from a pharmacist.
- Develop a plan for resisting the urge to smoke.
- Seek support by finding local smoking cessation services, enlisting the help of friends, or joining a Facebook group
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.
