Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally.   The World Health Organization lists ischaemic heart disease as the number one cause of death in the world, followed by stroke in a distant second place.  Ischaemic heart disease, also called coronary artery disease, describes the build-up of plaque (fatty material) in the heart’s arteries, causing them to narrow and reduce blood flow to the heart, which can result in acute and chronic health problems.  The building-up of plaque is called atherosclerosis, while arteriosclerosis refers to the hardening of the walls of arteries, which can also restrict blood flow.  Healthy arteries are flexible and elastic, as well as free from plaque. What is arterial plaque? Arterial plaque, or atherosclerosis, refers to

The medical condition Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which primarily targets the epithelial cells, lining the surface of the respiratory passageways and lungs, where it causes viral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).  Elderly patients, people with asthma, and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are especially vulnerable to severe forms of the disease.  As smoking plays an important part in the development of COPD, questions have been raised whether smokers have a higher risk of infection, as well as a higher risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19. Does smoking pose a higher risk of infection? Various studies have tried to ascertain whether smokers are at a higher

It is an illusion to think that light smoking – less than five cigarettes per day, won’t harm one’s health. Even only one cigarette a day still has nearly half the risk of smoking 20 a day.   Recent research done by the University College London has analyzed 141 studies to evaluate the relative risk of smoking one, five or 20 cigarettes per day on the risk of heart attack and stroke. The most surprising result was that for men, relative to non-smokers, even one cigarette day had 45% (women 31%) of the risk of developing coronary heart disease, as well as 41% (34% for woman) of the risk of stroke that is associated with the relative risk of smoking

Let’s face it, people smoke because they enjoy it.  When you inhale nicotine, it immediately rushes to the brain, resulting in feelings of pleasure and reduced stress and anxiety. The pleasurable sensations result from nicotine stimulating the release of the chemicals dopamine and noradrenaline in the brain.  How can something that feels so good, be bad for you? Over time, the feelings of well-being feed on more and more nicotine as the nerve cells become immune to the pleasure of smoking.   In addition, nicotine is highly addictive – making it extremely difficult to quit smoking. Apart from smelly clothes, hair and breath (the smoker is usually oblivious to these), there are no short-term negative effects of smoking, besides the nicotine

Smoking causes about 30% of all cancer deaths in the USA, and 1 in 4 in the UK.  A study done in South Africa warns that for those who started smoking in their teens, there is a 50% chance of dying of a smoking related disease by the age of 60. Chemicals in cigarette smoke enter the blood stream and can affect the entire body, not only the respiratory tract and the lungs. (See diagram below.) These chemicals can cause damage to our DNA, including the genes that are supposed to protect us against cancer, for example tumour suppressor genes. The build-up in damage to the same cells over time contributes to the risk of cancer.  Smoking has been linked

Smoking is an addiction similar to that of hard drugs.  One of the components in cigarettes, nicotine, attaches to nicotinic receptors in the brain, and then triggers the release of dopamine, which gives one the feeling of being more alert and at the same time more calm.  This feeling of increased wellbeing is addictive. Certain people are more sensitive to nicotine addiction than others, due to their genetic markers, which makes them more susceptible.  Professor Saul Shiffman, a behavioural psychologist, divides smokers into two categories – chippers and regular smokers.  Chippers are more social smokers, they can go for days without smoking and they have no problem abstaining – a little nicotine every now and then is enough to experience