We all know that smoking is bad for our health. However, do you know that research has proven that it also impacts on your coagulation system, and therefore on hemostasis and balance of your body? We know that smoking has a very visible effect on your skin. Perhaps not when you are in your twenties, but look at women particularly who have been smoking for ten years of longer. Unfortuanately, smoking impacts greatly on your platelets and fibrin networks. Researchers that have shown the impact of smoking on the coagulation system include:
Armani et at., in the journal Current Pharmacy, 2009; 15:1038 -1053 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19355946
Erhardt et al., in the journal Artherosclerosis, 2009; 205: 23-32
In research conducted by my research team at the University of Pretoria in 2010, we looked at how smoking affects the fibrin networks of healthy individuals who smoke (under ethical clearance). We drew blood from these individuals and sentrifuged the sample (this means we spinned the blood very vast in a machine called a centrifuge). We obtained plasma, which is the watery part of the blood.In the plasma, we find the plasma proteins and platelets that play a role in normal coagulation. In the body, if the coagulation cascade is triggered by e.g. damage to a small vessel inside the body, fibrin fibers will form. This is a natural process that will occur in all healthy individuals. In the body this network formations is facilitated by a special protein called thrombin. If we add thrombin to the plasma in the lab, we will mimic this fibrin creation process that will spontanously happen in the body when we have a small injury to e.g. a blood vessel. Therefore, if we add thrombin to the blood of a smoker, we can see how the smokers coagulation process via the fibrin networks, will look like. We use an electron microscope to view the fibers, as it is a very powerful instrument that can magnify up to a million times!
We found something very interesting when looking at the fibrin fibers of smokers. Their fibers seem to be sticking together and we coined a term: sticky fiber phenomenon when you smoke. What does this mean to your health? When you smoke, the toxins that you take in, affects the proteins in your plasma, and when you have a small injury e.g. in a blood vessel, you will form abnormally sticky fibrin networks. You may even perhaps spontanously form these thickened nets in your circulating blood. These thickened nets may struggle to break down by the normal process called lyses. If these thickened masses break loose it may cause you to have stroke or thrombosis. Unfortuanately, it is well-known that smoking causes stroke and thrombosis. This research was published in the journal Ultrastructural Pathology in 201o by Pretorius and co workers.
See the electron microscopy photo of a sticky fiber mass generated from the plasma of a smoker.
my other cousin was a chain smoker and after a massive car accident it took him months to heal the wounds permanently.furthur tests by his doctor claimed that this had something to do with the smoking habbit.how true is this?
ReplyDeleteSmoking might not be the only factor that plays a role in wound healing (there are many others such as age, gender, obesity, infection, oxygenation, etc) but it dose seem to play an important role. An article on a study of which factors affect wound healing says that smoking can impair wound healing mainly because it affects oxygen supply to the tissue in one way or another. Some of the substances found in cigarettes compete with oxygen for a binding place on hemoglobin. Others increase the blood's viscosity due to the fibrin networks that form, making it difficult for oxygen to reach the tissue.
ReplyDeleteFor more information on this and the other factors look at 'Factors Affecting Wound Healing' by S. Guo and L.A. DiPietro or http://jdr.sagepub.com/content/89/3/219
I have been redaing numerous articles on this and it seem all the studies were done on habitual smokers. Does anyone know if occassional smoking or second hand smoke has the same or similar effects?
ReplyDeleteThe effects of smoking have been largely debated for years, but according to this research, the negative impact on tissue can be seen, clear as daylight. Still, smoking is still an individual's own choice. My query on the matter is rather about second hand smoking, and how it effects individuals that have been exposed to smoke on a daily basis. And not only Sigarette smoke, but also smoke from fires and other tipes of addictive smoking substances. Does this reseurch include those cases? Is there other ongoing studies to which one might contribute?
ReplyDeleteJust a shocking fact about smoking...
ReplyDeleteYour life are shortened by 11 minutes on average with each cigarette you smoke.
You can read more about all the diseases caused by smoking and why smoking is so harmful on the following website: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/smokehealth.htm.
The risks for passive smokers is also discussed in this article
the sad thing is that most people do not know what kind of damage they're doing to themselves when they smoke. this is really sad.
ReplyDeleteMy dad has smoked for 35 years now, and he was also diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes 5 years ago (it runs in our family). He has lost an extreme amount of weight over the past 2 years and his appetite is practically non-existent. This week he went for a routine check-up with his GP. I have no idea what that doctor said to my dad, but since that appointment my dad has not touched a cigarette or beer! I would like to know if anyone has any tips to relieve the withdrawal symptoms of smoking. I would really like to help my dad in anyway. Already his appetite has increased and he has more colour in his face. A specialist also put my dad onto prescription medication that is actually an anti-depressant but somehow helps quit smoking. Does anyone know other treatments for quitting?
ReplyDeleteI told my stephfather about all the side effects that smoking has on his health and his body because he is a smoker. And the best of it all is that he told me that he knew all this. When I asked him why he did not stop, he replied that he liked to smoke and that old habits die hard. He also said that we are all going to die one day and that smoking gives him joy. I guess i'm not getting him of his cigarettes.
ReplyDeleteMs. Kalweit,i always asked my mom what she use to do when she got pregnant with me and my two sisters and she had to quit,cause she use to smoke,and she'd tell me she would just stop. For her it was that simple,and i think its less to do with remedies or treatements but more with the smoker mentally. Thats a decision they'd have to make and be persistent with it. But He could try the nicotine gum or the patch,apparently it works wonders.
ReplyDeleteInteresting fact: Nearly 20% of lung cancer patients continue smoking according to healthline.
What irritates me the most about smokers is how selfish they are. When i confronted my parents they said drinking is worse. I wonder why it is so hard for smokers to realise how bad a habit it really is! Drinking may be faster acting but atleast you only harm your liver. Smoking is bad for the individual everyone knows that, but the passive smoking side of it should atleast change the way and places smokers smoke. Those warnings signs on the box are not to make it more colourful!!!! Wake up!
ReplyDeletefor all the smokers out there.smoking will decrease your penis by 1.8inches in your lifetime.Saw this on a tv show and the googled it.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this site
http://www.stopsmoking.net/penis-size.html
Everyone always says what they are doing is right regardless of them knowing the impacts of their habbits.It is our duty now to raise awareness andto educate such people for them to realise their mistakes and change for the better
ReplyDeleteApparently ciggarrette smoke contains about 4000 chemical compounds of which about 400 of them are toxic.so when you smoke you are taking in all these 400 toxins.i got this infomation from google and also a single cigarette can reduce the blood supply to your skin for over an hour causing skin problems as well
ReplyDeleteWill electric cigarettes also cause the sticky fibre phenomenon?
ReplyDeleteHave you ever noticed that, there is a ribbon for breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer and most other cancers, but not for lung cancer? Why is that?
ReplyDeleteIs it because 90% of the patients with lung cancer are smokers? Or is it that the more you smoke, as well as the longer you smoke the greater your risk? Therefore, you had “plenty” enough time to quit?
Have you ever wondered why you’d be most likely asked for proof of age when purchasing alcohol than when buying cigarettes even when the retailer is aware that you are under 18?
I have a friend who chews tobacco instead of smoking, because he claims that it is much safter than smoking and doesn't have any health risks, because it is (according to him) not addictive. But he does it almost everyday!! I don't see how it could be safer and have less risk, because it contains tobacco etc!
ReplyDeleteMy question is: is he right? is chewing tobacco safer than smoking? if not, what are the health risks?
I'm really interested on the effects of hubbly (bubbly). I had a friend who Ssmoked it everyday for years in hogh school. There are many rumours that its better than smoking but then Carte Blanche also had an episode in which they revelaed that it is worse than smoking (cigarettes). If anyone knows anything about this it would be greatly appreciated! and also what the frequency of smoking hubbly does to u? is it immediate like smoking, or must you be a daily hubbly smoking for it to have an effect?
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody know if the stuff(like BB I think it's called) old people in the rural areas smoke could have the same effect as a normal cigarette? cause I know most of them smoke that, I don't know if it's because it's cheaper...
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ReplyDeleteEarlier this year my friends and I donated blood for a post graduate student at TUKS, and last week we were shown the electron microscope pictures of our individual fiber networks. My friends all smoke and the sticky fiber phenomenon were clearly visible in their blood. I don't smoke, though I am quite often exposed to smoke, but my fibers were normal. I can't find any research on the effect of smoking on passive smokers' fiber networks. Is it not supposed to be similar to a smoker's?
ReplyDeleteI'm a smoker myself and yes I knew about this. I have also done some research on the addiction of tabaco p
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