The Effects of Smoking Over the Years

Many people smoke thinking it helps them relax and relieve stress, but that’s a misconception.

The harsh reality is that smoking has severe and often deadly consequences, which you can see on the warning labels of cigarette packs detailing how tobacco smoke affects your lungs, stomach, skin, heart, and other organs. 

Over time, smoking significantly raises the risk of developing serious diseases and chronic conditions. 

Let’s explore the long-term effects of continued tobacco use on health.

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Effects of Smoking for 5 Years

It only takes five years of regular smoking for the initial signs of damage to start showing in the body.

If you are a long-time smoker, you may experience the following noticeable effects:

Respiratory Complications: You might start to notice a persistent cough, more phlegm, and an increased risk of chronic bronchitis. This is all due to irritation from cigarette smoke, which damages your airways.

Reduced Lung Function: Over time, your lung function will decline, making you feel short of breath and less able to keep up with everyday activities.

Cardiovascular Risks: Smoking raises your blood pressure and heart rate, and it also increases the risk of conditions like atherosclerosis. Even after just five years, this can have a big impact on your heart and blood vessels.

Physical Changes: You may also see some changes in your appearance, like premature wrinkles, a dull complexion, and yellowing teeth from nicotine and other nasty chemicals in cigarettes.

Effects of Smoking for 10 Years

Reaching the ten-year mark isn’t really something to celebrate; it just highlights how much smoking has taken a toll on your health. Here are some effects you might notice at this stage:

Chronic Respiratory Diseases: At this point, the risk of developing serious respiratory issues like emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) goes up significantly. Breathing becomes harder, and a persistent cough often sets in.

Heightened Cancer Risk: Smoking can lead to all sorts of cancers, like lung, throat, mouth, esophagus, pancreas, and bladder cancer. The good news is that the sooner you quit, the more you reduce your risk of facing these serious conditions. It’s never too late to start looking after your health, so taking that first step now could make all the difference in the long run.

Compromised Immune System: If you smoke for a long time, your immune system takes a hit, making you more likely to catch infections and tougher for you to bounce back when you do.

Reproductive Issues: After ten years of smoking, women might struggle with fertility and could face pregnancy complications, while men might deal with erectile dysfunction and lower sperm quality.

Effects of Smoking for 15 Years

By the fifteenth year of smoking, the health consequences of smoking become alarmingly severe. The effects include:

Worsening Respiratory Conditions: A smoker’s quality of life after a decade and a half is significantly poorer. Respiratory issues such as COPD become more debilitating, making it increasingly challenging to engage in physical activities. 

Cardiovascular Diseases: The risk of heart disease remains significantly elevated at this stage, leading to a higher likelihood of heart attacks and related complications. The cardiovascular system is under constant strain due to smoking.

Heightened Cancer Risk: The probability of developing various cancers continues to rise, with lung cancer being the most prevalent and life-threatening. Cancer treatment options become less effective at this stage.

Total Deterioration of Oral Health: Smoking for more than 15 years significantly increases the risk of gum disease, tooth loss, and oral cancer. Maintaining good oral health becomes increasingly difficult at this stage and may also lead to various permanent dental issues.

How to Stop Smoking for Good

It’s always a good time to stop smoking for good – even if you’re already decades into tobacco, it’s never too late. Here are the steps to help you immediately quit smoking and improve your health.

Go Through First-Line Solutions First

NRT products (such as patches, gums, sprays, etc) are the most trusted quitting option available for motivated smokers. They might not imitate cigarettes, but they contain a small dose of nicotine that may be enough to alleviate your withdrawals.

While NRTs can be effective, they don’t work for everyone. If these haven’t done the trick for you, you may now be eligible for a nicotine prescription.

You need a nicotine prescription before you can purchase nicotine vaping products (NVPs). As a second-line solution, one requirement is that you’ve already tried and failed to quit smoking with a first-line treatment, such as NRT products.

Chat to a GP

As mentioned, NRT products have worked for many successful ex-smokers. But, you might have ingrained behaviours and triggers that only something that mimics a cigarette can successfully address, such as the hand-to-mouth motion, and needing something to puff on while having a drink with friends. 

If your GP deems it necessary, they can write you a nicotine prescription for NVPs. 

You can chat to your usual GP more about this.

Visit Your Local Pharmacy

Once you have your nicotine prescription, you can pop down to your local pharmacy. Over 2,200 pharmacies across Australia hold these products in-store, but any pharmacy can order these in for you if they don’t currently stock them.

Both your pharmacist and GP can advise you on how best to use the product, such as the initial setup, and the number of puffs to take when you feel withdrawals.

Can I Still Quit After 15 Years of Smoking?

Absolutely! Even after 15 years of smoking, quitting can bring about significant health improvements. Here are some brief benefits:

After 6 Days: Within just six days of quitting, blood pressure begins to normalize, and the carbon monoxide levels in the blood decrease, allowing more oxygen to reach vital organs.

After 1 Year: After a year smoke-free, the risk of heart disease decreases significantly. Lung function also starts to improve, making breathing easier.

Beyond 1 Year: Having quit smoking over the years, the risk of various smoking-related diseases continues to decline. The body has an incredible capacity to heal itself when freed from the harmful effects of smoking.

Summary

The effects of smoking over the years are significant and can cause irreparable long-term damage to the body. The good news is that even if you have smoked for more than a decade, you can still get in good shape after deciding to quit.

If quitting smoking feels quite difficult for you, you can always seek help from experts who completely understand what you’re going through.

Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around! 

If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good.