what content of cigarette smoke causes emhysema?

Question

doing this for an essay titled The cost of smoking

Answer 1

It isn't what is in the smoke that causes emphysema, it is the smoke itself. Cigarette smoke is by far the most common cause of emphysema. The damage begins when tobacco smoke temporarily paralyzes the microscopic hairs (cilia) that line your bronchial tubes. Normally, these hairs sweep irritants and germs out of your airways. But when smoke interferes with this sweeping movement, irritants remain in your bronchial tubes and infiltrate the alveoli, inflaming the tissue and eventually breaking down elastic fibers. Emphysema causes a loss of elasticity in the walls of the small air sacs in your lungs. Eventually, the walls stretch and break, creating larger, less efficient air sacs that aren't able to handle the normal exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Answer 2

While cigarette smoke and the act of smoking is a health hazard causing many diseases, there are so many pollutants in the air such as factory emissions, oil refineries, molds, herbicides and pesticides, the effect of extreme cold or extreme hot temperatures as global warming becomes more and more an issue. Pollutants at the beach, sexually transmitted diseases, alcohol, drugs both prescription and street based. Caustic agents such as paint strippers, oven cleaners, bleach fumes, the list is long, and as such no Doctor could convince me that the origin of my emphysema is entirely related to the use of tobacco. To me tobacco is a distraction to obscure other pollutants society as yet cannot do without. Such is life as the world turns. Someday there will be more solutions, and so for now the cigarette pretends to settle the mass dispute for many ailments without a cure.

Answer 3

Hi, I dont really know if it is smoke that actually causes it also? my uncle has been diagnosed with it & has never smoked in his life so...... but then yes as they are saying now that secondry smoke is no good too so i'm not sure of the answer to that 1!

Answer 4

Smoking doesn't cause emphysema it can make it worse, people who worked down the pits or work with asbestos are more likely to get it than people who didn't work there.

Answer 5

I have empahysema, I smoke 30 years befoe I got it.

Answer 6

tar a known carcinogen
an ingredient that is very hard to dispose of from the lungs decreasing lung capacity and hardening the walls making it difficult to breathe.

Answer 7

tar and also menthol crystolizes the cilia the lil hairs that keep mucus from entering lungs.

Answer 8

Prolly more than you want to know

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_smoking

Answer 9

All of it.