Impact of Tobacco Smoke on Human Lungs

Questions and Answers on Smoking's Effect on Lungs

Q1: What is Tar?

Tar is a sticky brown substance that is the main cause of lung cancer in smokers.

Q2: How is Tar Produced?

Tar is the particulate matter which is produced by the burning of tobacco and forms a component of cigarette smoke.

Q3: What is the Colour of Healthy Man's Lungs?

Healthy lungs are pinkish in colour.

Q4: What is the Condition of Smoker's Lungs?

Smoker's lungs are blackish due to the deposition of tar. Smoker's lungs also contain some spots.

What are the Effects of Smoking?

Immediate health effects include coughing, shortness of breath, or tightness in the chest. Damage to your lungs caused by smoking can also lead to other complications such as emphysema. (Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath due to over-inflation of the alveoli—air sacs in the lung.)

What is Chest X-ray Commonly Used For?

Doctors typically use this procedure to help diagnose:

• Breathing difficulties
• A bad or persistent cough
• Chest pain or injury
• Fever

They also use it to diagnose diseases such as:

• Pneumonia
• Emphysema
• Lung cancer
• Pulmonary edema

Doctors also may use a chest x-ray to check the positioning of medical devices or to diagnose fluid or air collection around the lungs.

What Kind of Changes Occur in Lungs Shape of Smokers?

The color of lungs changes from pink to grayish black. Moreover, the size of the lungs is hyperinflated.

What Changes Occur in the Respiratory Tract of a Smoker?

The ciliated epithelium of the walls of the trachea and bronchi of smokers are highly affected; i.e., cilia are lost, and the lining gets inflamed and dry.

Alveolar and Bronchial Changes

Alveoli seem inflamed, reducing the surface for gas exchange due to the accumulation of tar. Moreover, certain alveoli burst, and their lining combines to form a larger alveoli, leading to emphysema. Bronchioles of a smoker constrict. Moreover, the bronchiole lining gets narrower and inflamed, which may result in asthma.

Diaphragm Impact

Labelled part C is the diaphragm. Diaphragms are sheet-like structures of skeletal muscles that are dome-shaped in a normal person. In smokers, diaphragm muscles are lost, and its ability for the passive breathing mechanism gradually decreases, leading to apoxia.