Ms Hina Shakir

Grade VIII
SCIENCE
Chapter 3: Smoking and
Lung Damage
 Keeping Lungs Clean
The lungs are exposed to the air, so they also play an
important protective role in your body, linked to your
immune system. Each breath of air doesn’t only carry
oxygen, it also carries germs and other foreign bodies
such as pollutants. As a result, your lungs are also
designed to prevent unwanted materials from getting
into your body.
Particles, such as dust and soot, mold, fungi, bacteria,
and viruses deposit on airway and alveolar surfaces.
Fortunately, the respiratory system has defense
mechanisms to clean and protect itself. Only
extremely small particles penetrate to the deep lung.
• Cilia, tiny muscular, hair-like projections on the
cells that line the airway, are one of the
respiratory system's defense mechanisms. Cilia
propel a liquid layer of mucus that covers the
airways. The mucus layer traps pathogens
(potentially infectious microorganisms) and other
particles, preventing them from reaching the
lungs. Cilia beat more than 1,000 times a minute,
moving the mucus that lines the trachea upwards
about 0.5 to 1 centimeter per minute (0.197 to 0.4
inch per minute). Pathogens and particles that are
trapped on the mucus layer are coughed out or
moved to the mouth and swallowed.
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Alveolar macrophages, a type of white
blood cell on the surface of alveoli, are
another defense mechanism for the
lungs. Because of the requirements
of gas exchange, alveoli are not
protected by mucus and cilia—mucus is
too thick and would slow movement of
oxygen and carbon dioxide. Instead,
alveolar macrophages seek out
deposited particles, bind to them, ingest
them, kill any that are living, and digest
them. When the lungs are exposed to
serious threats, additional white blood
cells in the circulation. For example,
when the person inhales a great deal of
dust or is fighting a respiratory
infection, more macrophages are
produced.
 Smoking Cigarette
• Smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body. Smoking causes
cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking also increases risk for
tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid
arthritis.
• Secondhand smoke exposure contributes to approximately 41,000 deaths among nonsmoking adults
and 400 deaths in infants each year. Secondhand smoke causes stroke, lung cancer, and coronary
heart disease in adults. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for
sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, more severe asthma,
respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth.
 Cigarette smoke contains: Tar
The tar in cigarette smoke builds up inside
the lungs as it is inhaled. Over time, healthy
pink lung tissue turns grey and eventually
becomes black as more tar accumulates.
The primary effect is that the tar paralyzes
and can eventually kill cilia in the
airways. When they're damaged, the toxins
in tar can travel deeper into the lungs.
Some of these toxins are released when
you exhale or are coughed back out, but
some settle and stay in the lungs.
Eventually, this can lead to lung disease
and conditions such as emphysema,
bronchitis, and lung cancer.
The tar does not just affect your lungs,
though. From there, the toxins can be
carried into the bloodstream and begin
moving to other parts of your body. On left you can see the normal healthy cilia while on
Because smoke is drawn directly through right it shows the damaged cilia covered with sticky tar
the mouth, the tar can contribute to oral no longer able to perform their function
cancer as well. Toxins from tar can affect
every organ in your body. Beyond cancer,
tar toxins can lead to yellow-brown staining
on smokers' fingers and teeth.
 Cigarette smoke contains: Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous, colorless, and
odorless gas. It is present in indoor and outdoor air in
varying amounts from vehicle exhaust, gas stoves,
wood-burning stoves, furnaces and cigarette smoke
which can contain high levels of carbon monoxide. 
When carbon monoxide enters the lungs through
breathing, it binds with hemoglobin in red blood cells to
make carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), which is then
transported into the bloodstream. Once this happens,
oxygen cannot bind with receptors on the same cell.
Carbon monoxide is much faster at binding with
hemoglobin than oxygen (about 200 times faster). So
when CO is present in the lungs, it wins the spot on the
red blood cells. This process diminishes the oxygen-
carrying capacity in the bloodstream.
Carbon monoxide is quick to connect with red blood
cells but is slow to exit the body, taking as much as a
day to be exhaled through the lungs. An abundance of
carbon monoxide in the bloodstream starves the body of
oxygen. In the worst cases, this can be fatal. Lack of
oxygen in cells also forces the heart to work harder to
distribute oxygen around the body. This makes CO a
major contributor to heart disease, including heart
attacks.
 Cigarette smoke contains: Nicotine
Nicotine is a dangerous and highly
addictive chemical. It can cause an
increase in blood pressure, heart rate,
flow of blood to the heart and a
narrowing of the arteries (vessels that
carry blood). Nicotine may also
contribute to the hardening of the
arterial walls, which in turn, may
lead to a heart attack. This chemical
can stay in your body for six to eight
hours depending on how often you
smoke. Also, as with most addictive
substances, there are some side
effects of withdrawal. And some e-
cigarettes and newer tobacco
products deliver even more nicotine
than traditional cigarettes.

The nicotine in cigarette smoke

damage your endothelium, setting the
stage for the build-up of plaque.