Can The Harmful Damage From Smoking Be Reversed?
Hey guys, Tara here for Dnews – and if you’re
a smoker who’s been trying to quit, then boy do we have good news for you! I mean, relatively. Anyone who’s participated in DARE, or read
a scientific article, or been alive on planet earth for more than a second, knows that cigarettes
are bad for you. On average, smokers die 14 years before non-smokers, and half of the
smokers who don’t quit, are eventually killed by their habit. So clearly, they’re terrible. But, you may
be wondering, what happens after I DO quit? Can the effects of smoking be reversed, and
how long would it take for that to happen? Before we answer that, let’s examine the 2
major ways that cigarettes affect your lungs. The first thing they do, is destroy cilia,
which are tiny little hairs that live in the mucus lining of your lungs. When you inhale
pathogens or dirt, they get trapped in that mucus, and the cilia is what pushes them back
out. When you smoke cigarettes, the poisons in them paralyze and destroy those cilia,
making it harder for you to avoid infections. BUT, within just a few days of quitting cigarettes,
those cilia will start to regenerate. And they’ll continue to get better – until eventually,
your lungs return to their original functioning capacity. So that part – you absolutely can reverse.
Studies have shown that people who quit smoking – and stay that way – reduce their risk of
lung cancer to that of a person who has never smoked, within 10-15 years. However – there is caveat. Cigarettes can
permanently damage your lungs’ alveoli, which are the tiny little air sacs that absorb oxygen
into your bloodstream, and release carbon dioxide. People who have been smoking heavily, or for
a very long time, are at much greater risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease. That includes chronic bronchitis, which is a potentially reversible inflammation
of the airways, and emphysema – which destroys your alveoli, making it difficult for your
lungs to absorb the oxygen they need. Unlike cilia, alveoli cannot regrow themselves, so
emphysema is a permanent – and devastating – disease. Even so, the effects of quitting smoking – begin
the day you stop. Within a month, you’ll feel like you can breath significantly better than
before – and within a year, your risk of having a heart attack is reduced by 50%. According to the American Cancer Society,
smokers who quit before age 35 prevent 90% of the risk of health problems from smoking.
And a smoker who quits before age 50 halves their risk of dying within the next 15 years.
Norman Edelman is the chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, and he says
that a smoker’s risk for developing smoking-related diseases, is directly correlated to the total
number of cigarettes they’ve smoked in their lifetime. The metric they use, is called “pack
years” – and it’s the average number of packs a person smokes, per day – multiplied by the
number of years they’ve been smoking. The greater your pack-years, the greater your
risk. And according to Edelman, people who have 50 pack-years or more under their belt,
even if they quit – will never completely reduce their risk of lung cancer back to that
of a non-smoker. Of course, genetics also play a huge role
in how cigarettes affect you. Up until a few months ago, my dad smoked 2 packs a day for
55 years – and never once experienced any adverse breathings effects. But on the flip
side, there are people in their 20s, who smoked for 2 years and died of emphysema. So it really
is different for everybody. Also, dad – I’m really proud of you for quitting. Enough about me though, what do you guys think?
Are you a smoker who’s been trying to quit? Or are you not convinced that the effects
can be reversed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and as always – thank
you guys for watching.
cigarettes take about 6 minutes to finish, so if he was smoking 2 packs which is 40 cigarettes, he was spending 4 hours a day smoking. I wish i had that much free time everyday lol
I quit last year! I started smoking when I was 12, quit at the age of 65, I can breath much better, it's what kind of quality of life you want to live.337
I've had maybe a MAXIMUM total of 10 cigarette puffs my whole life and NEVER want to smoke again. Will my lungs ever fully heal themselves?
I quit smoking after 14 years and lung effectiveness and over all health does get better. I started when I was 18 and quit about a year in a half ago I'm 33 now. its well worth it to anybody else that quits or is going to…
im 35 years old and i have stopped smoking for a month now. Im so happy. been smoking 20ish sigs a day for around 15 years. ive tried many times. with nicotine gum etc allways went back to the bad habit of smoking. The way for me was going cold turkey. Drink water and WORK OUT! walk, run go to the gym. SURE it feels horrible for some days. BUT be happy. its the poison that it getting removed from your body! every day u are without smoke, the next day will be better!
I know if i could stop smoking any of u guys can do it to. GL and best of wishes. its your life guys , choose one without tobacco! cheers from Norway <3
I don't smoke cigarettes .. I smoke that good shit.. Aka kush aka dat loud aka that reggy.. Will that give me lung cancer ? Nahhh
i smoke quite rarely(max 3 cigs per week) i don't inhale crazy deep,i don't hold the smoke inside me for too long and i usually take a couple of deep breaths midway through the cig to get all the smoke out,so leave me alone😄
BUT:i do smoke full flavoured cigs,pull quite hard on them and usually get a huge rush full of flavour😊
Is there way to get rid of tar from you lungs
i just started smoking and i will quit when i reach age 30 and now i will enjoy my cigratte and i smoke 1 cig per day and eventually i will stop and am so confident that this will not harm me soo much
I smoke Polish sausages!
Pack years…out dated…data…
okay so question. you say the "poison in cigarettes destroys the cilia in the lungs". what if you are smoking additive free organic tobacco rolled in organic hemp paper? and there is no poison or chemicals in the tobacco smoke? will it still kill your cilia in the same way? will it just take longer or not destroy the cilia at all?
Does anyone know the name of the music used in this video? I've been searching for a long time but I can't find it..
i liek sauseg
i smoked for 8years now i m 20 quited only for year i smoke a pack or 2 in day
I'm on day 4 of quitting smoking and I feel so incredibly discouraged. I'm reading the comments here and I just don't have that much confidence in myself. It sucks because I HATE smoking and want to quit so badly.
im 17 ive smoked really heavily since i was 12 i now regularly spit up black phlem and feel like my breathing is really constricted i am thinking about quitting but am not ready to take the first step yet. with heavy smoking i also include weed smoke which is half of it total n with heavy i mean like 20 g in a 3 weeks just by my self used to be 50 in a month i also smoked bong daily. smh… i hated smoking when i was younger but since like 80% of my family smoked and lost a few grandparents to that im considering it more and more often now my parents smoke 2 but never coughed up the phlem after years and years of smoking so i dunno if guud or bad?
quitting smoking screws up your thyroid..wish someone would of told me this..google it – take thyroid med kelp sea weed and other helps…quitting again i quit for 1 1/2 yrs but deaths in the family
I am 59 and quit 2 years ago. Smoked for 44 years starting at age 13. I've never been diagnosed but I know for a fact that I have at least some emphysema but I do breathe better than I did before I quit… a little lol. Quitting was very easy for me once I set my mind to it. Never relapsed, never used nicotine gum, patches or Chantix. Just pure willpower and it wasn't that hard. Just tell yourself you can do anything in the world you want to accept smoke. Tell yourself smoking isn't an option. And just don't pick one up and light it and you'll be fine!
I did quit that was the easy part, yes from one day on the other just quit, did i smoke long well 47 years, however after i did quit, 3 weeks later i started to eat more (normal), but then week 4 hell broke lose, i was not able to poop, no not at all only with meds. As of today 28 weeks later still no stool so i still can not poop, and the meds do not work anymore as they did. So now free from smoking but not able to poop, as result a big belly and pain, did they look at it yes they did and all inside my body looked clean and no cancer but still the poop does not move fast enough and gets hard and yes no toilet needed of course that will not work you need to eat afterall, drink a lot so i will not re-start smoking but i am sure if i did the stool would move again, now i have to hope it will restore. – Thank you – Frans.
started smoking at age 16 – 23 its been three months haven't smoke stopped smoking on 1 jan time 12:00 new year resolution still going strong wish me luck
About to have my last pack.
Smoking cigarette will kill you, you can quit smoking now.
I only smoke when I'm drunk. My friends say I have no self control when I'm drunk but I have a lot of self control when I'm not.
Smokes r good
I've quit smoking since 21 days ago, because I have been living under the fear of not being able to breath again.. my last smoking days were a disturbance to my sleeping habit, where I wake up 3 times wheesing endlessly.
After stopping, I have started to notice that wheezing is still there, even now a blood clot is something normal to see. However my exercising habits went down south, and now I cannot even reach the sweating mode or get overheated, as 1 or 2 reps of core exercise is enough to steal my breath away from me. Other scary thing I don't like to think about is, whenever I smell smoke, my lungs acts as totally disabled, hence preventing me from breathing anymore..this thing makes me question myself wheather I would be able to see tomorrow, or will my soul be abducted by my breathless tonight
how does that formula work?
my lady's love to smoke white owls
smoke alert move to El paso texas my beloved smokers walk or drive over bridge into mexico buy a pack of butts 25 to a pack a 150 cents a pack 14 bucks a carton smoke u lungs out please
Why does cigarettes have so many chemicals in it.?
I went cold turkey 13 days ago. I'm planning to smoke 1 cigarette tomorrow, and then I'm just going to smoke one cigarette every few days. Because let's face it tobacco is awesome, but it's filthy when you smoke it excessively.
Anyone know the song
Congrats to your dad!!
26 yrs old and Quit, 5 months free. Hooza!
Your dada is gonna die of COPD or lung cancer, you don't have have special genes.
I've smoked for 3 years,sometimes 2 packs a day,sometimes just half a pack I have quit 10 days ago and I'll hit you guys up in a month to tell you how it went. 🙂 Btw I'm 20
Oh well, I'm a gonner.
NO FAP + NO SMOKING + NO WORRY OF WHAT OTHERS THINK + NO CATCHING FEELINGS= HAPPIEST , MOST CONFIDENT PERSON ☝☝👆👆👆👍👍👍👍👍👍👏👋👌👌
I don't smoke.
I have quit smoking 18days ago and I am noticing that everything is getting better and the money too
Meanwhile with Cannabis ironically they create a whole havoc about it and make it a drug when they'll be dead in like 10 years usually Cancer.. ? I know for sure what to say about it w out bias info. Legit
I quit thanks to vaping. Not one nasty cig since I started vaping. None, and I am almost off Nicotine from vaping. Down to 3mg. Within a month I will be 1.5mg of nic.
This from a 3 pack a day smoker for almost 20 years.
And my Dr's are dumbfounded. They do not want to accept my new vitals. As they went from crazy numbers to goldy lock numbers.
You know what i say? Grow home grown tobacco and smoke out of a pipe much better for you, and you look cooler
Cigarettes can't be that bad, their legal so why would the government give us something bad? Their either bad for you and outlawed or the legal and good for you, right?
Fun Fact: We have Nazi Germany to thank for making smoking research popular.
When I quit, I notice the urge to smoke seems like a hard wired social primal one. When I see my boyfriend smoking, my friends etc. Also has to do with body language.
So glad i QUIT smoking 3+ years ago and can be a good eksampel for my 2 boys .
My own dad is 68 and still smoke like a old fraight train. … And if i think about it i think he will most likely die if he quit. .. he has allways smoke like that …
Your dad is fine because the cigarettes back in the day were a lot less chemically infused than they are today.
36 years old male here. I quitted smoking 2 months ago. Everything is better. You should try stop smoking(for smokers).
even while still being a smoker you can reduce the damage of smoking by following these easy steps. this article helped me a lot https://goo.gl/drjWcF i quit after 4 weeks of this routine
I quit right before my 31st BD. Two months shy of four years ago. I'm happy I did and I definitely feel it in a good way. I did gain weight. Be careful and don't let that get out of control. Food taste multiplies by 1000
It's always weird to me that people say they can smell everything better after quitting smoking. I can smell everything already as a smoker (quit two days ago) and I don't really want to smell any better lol Most people and things stink already, I'll be able to smell the future soon.
i just quit at 32,and the trick is to stay away from alcahol at the same time,and also if you ever feel liike one don't think of the times you enjoyed it think about the times it tasted like shit and you won't go back to it
Never touched that shit never will
Today is third day of quit smoking…i hope that this time I would be able to stop smoking completely!
I never smoked in my life and never will.
I only smoke 4-5 cigarettes a day and I have been smoking for only 2 years can someone tell me my risks
Yea I'm 22yearsold and 24hours ago I have quit smoking
#ban cigs
Smoking is very Bad
Im AGAINST IT
Im a Nonsmoker🚭
Keeping my Lungs Clean😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
My grandma has been smoking since 14 and she’s 87. Still think smoking is horrible for you she’s just one of the lucky one.
drink water,.. and quit the habit of course,..
I quit smoking one and a half months ago. Starting smoking was one of the worst things I've ever done.
Everything in this world has it own risk…
Smoking cigarettes has a risk…
Quitting in smoking also has a risk..
Life is at risk…
So… just take the risk.
I will get back with you all in a month as today 6-1-2018 is my first day to quit !
Wish me luck ! I'M 59 years old , A pack a day smoker , started at the age of 15 thats 44 years i think and the lung doctor says my lungs are tore up bad ! there are cystic nodules on my lungs . i think i might have cancer but the doc has not confirmed that yet . i will keep you updated !
Its going to kill me but I'll quit!!
onley with new lungs
one you have copd you you nevere get better you still have it even if you stop smoking im smocking to kill my self
My dad smoked from the age of 12 till 70. He smoked 3 packs a day for many years. We watched him die from lung cancer. He couldn't hide his disease anymore. He received the news he had stage 4 lung cancer, and a week to live(if he didn't stop smoking right away). He did stop smoking right away, and lived about a month and 2 weeks. He was a hard working, loving, patient, and humble guy. My advice is to not start smoking, and if you do smoke…stop. I don't smoke. My dad kept me away from the habit.
Used to smoke two packs a day now 9 years with out smoking a cigg
Okay why government don't band it if they know it is harmful
Ya i quit a year and half ago and no i have asthma. I am 31. I really hope this isnt for life like my doctor says.
Thing is some people have crazy genetics where they don’t get affected by cigs. You see 80yo Chinese grandpas litting up a pack a day and they’re fine. Weird eh?
I wanna quit smoking for good
Discovery channels
3:03 what on earth are you talking about? ignorant payed liar bitch, 40 cigarettes a day for 55 years and no breathing side effects? are you for real? how much money did philip morris pay you to say that bullshit?
a very dumb statement from her…. " genetics plays a huge role" so then why anyone bothers to tell others to quit.
she is cute
Don't smoke it will kill u
Doest Tara herself smoke? Anyeay, smoking is the most idiotic thing one can do.
I stopped smoking and what i have learned is that it does not matter how long or how much you have smoked. Once you stop, the regen and healing is for everybody the same. The risk about deseases that suposseply related with the amount of sigarettes you smoked before it does not matter! Once you stop the risks arent higher then a person who smoked 30 years or just a year. Just stop! Only the first 3 days its a bit hard. Then its over! Over after 3 days!
Tobacco is like liberals!!! USELESS
Smoking is such a habitual ritual
I was a pack a day smoker for 5 years and quit . Going on a year and I now I can enjoy a cigarette or two once in a blue moon and not get hooked on it
All because I kicked the habitual effects of it
"Harmful Damage". Pretty sure damage is harmful by definition
What if you smoke 1 pack every two weeks but vape?
i am 17 years old and i smoked weed and cigarettes but here recently my chest has been hurting so i quit smoking everything i haven't smoked cigarettes in like month and my pain has greatly reduce and the other day i quit weed and my chest still kinda hurts is it gonna go away?
If not trid stoping to smoke and im not gone stop but it is good to now what mith hapen to me
unless your a millionaire would you want to live 14 years longer struggling on a pension I don't see a lot of point giving up something you enjoy to get 14 years longer of struggling to pay the bills and your not guaranteed that.
Smoke tabacco for 30 years and if you don’t fall off your horse get bit by a snake get scalped , eaten by a bear, or die young you will without a doubt suffer more then you can now imagine as cancer eats away your mind body and spirit or you suffocate to death because you have no lungs left and because your arteries are so hard your blood pressure goes through the roof and you have a brain aneurysm. No doubt it will happen so enjoy it while you can stupid
I don't want to quit!
I am a smoking veteran with a lot of pack years under my belt. My lungs are altered to be able to live through the smoke. Its called adopting
I just now quit. Im 22 and have a bad smokers cough similar to a 40 or 50 year old smoker. Thats really bad……
If you wait until you get C.O.P.D. like emphysema you can slow it down if you quit early enough but your not going to reverse it.
If you smoke…try to quit….
Yeah. Just smoke joints
This was very informative thank you for sharing 👍🏻
I to this day do not understand why smoking is good
Hi Im 25 year old male, i have been smoking for 9-10years I quit smoking for a month right now, i wonder how long will take to recover my health as an non-smoker?
I started smoking at 18, i finally quit smoking at 34 18th of August 2019. Everything about my health has already started to improve. I never experienced hardly any dreams as a smoker but in the days after quitting i had a nightmare in which i saw 1 guy i in reality was in same high school with for 1,5 years in my teens and he and 2 of his friends chased me only in this nightmare and that former schoolmate of mine threw a scissor in my back and then pulled it out and started stabbing me in the chest with it, somehow i ran away into a veichleshop where 1 of his 3 friends stole and started a scooter and started chasing me with it, i somehow was running towards my apartment and after he had chased me for a bit i heard the scooter coming closer and finally i woke up when he touched my neck with one of his hands. It is common for people who quit smoking to get one or more nightmares probably because like cannabis i think tobacco also disturbs or alter ones R.E.M-sleep. (Rapid Eye Movement). I now cough when inhaling second hand smoke and have warm body whereas as when i was a smoker i always had cold hands. My heart rate has already improved and i excercise more now. I don't get shortness of breath as much now and no more yellow fingertips. I don't get these nasty coughing anymore and i almost never gets sick. Last time i had a fewer was when i was a young child. The only thing that removed my cigarette cravings were one particular swedish snus called Nick & Johnny Crushed Ice which is made by Swedish Match. And throughout the years i have tried a ton of different snus and nicotine patches and probably more. Smokefree for 1 week now.
This is just superb, been searching for "quitting smoking success rate" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you heard people talk about – Mackorny Smoking Escape Blueprint – ( search on google ) ? Ive heard some incredible things about it and my partner got great success with it.