Today on the streets, in cafes and restaurants, on park benches you can meet many girls and women who smoke cigarettes. Probably at this moment they seem very attractive and sexy, and hardly any of them thinks about the dangers of smoking for women.

Smoking leads to numerous diseases, premature aging body. Nature did not foresee either male or female dependence on smoking, but people want freedom and emancipation. As a result, he gets what he wants, simultaneously paying with his health and the health of his children. This aspect is especially relevant for women, as it greatly affects the possibility of conceiving and having a child without negative consequences.

How does smoking affect a woman's fertility?

Many women smoke a whole pack of cigarettes a day, but ten is enough to become infertile. Compared to a non-smoking woman, this is twice as likely. The egg is very vulnerable to cigarette smoke, so it loses its ability to fertilize.

Smoking should never be combined with taking hormonal contraceptive pills, because the cardiovascular system suffers and coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction may develop. Smoking and birth control pills increase the level of cholesterol in the blood, this leads to negative consequences, especially increasing the possibility of thrombosis.

Also smoking while taking oral contraceptives can cause the occurrence of neoplasms of the female genital organs, both benign and malignant. The risk of getting cervical cancer increases many times over.

Smoking disrupts the normal course of pregnancy and miscarriage may occur. There is also a high probability that the fetus will experience disturbances during its formation. nervous system.

Under the influence of cigarettes, a woman can give birth to a stillborn child. This pregnancy outcome is five times more common than in a non-smoking woman.

The negative effects of nicotine can affect a child's health even after several years. Smoking is especially harmful for a nursing mother, because the baby gets the whole “bouquet” with milk. harmful substances.

Smoking leads to infertility. What could be worse for a woman than the inability to give birth to a child? She feels incompetent, problems in the family may begin, family life Quite often, in such cases, it ends in divorce.

Dear women, you are responsible not only for yourself, but also for the future of your child. You need to quit smoking and also convince your husband to do the same. Cigarette smoke not only destroys your health expectant mother, but also my father. You should be aware of the dangers passive smoking. Inhaling cigarette smoke is dangerous, especially for a fragile baby. But many parents don’t think about it or simply don’t know anything.

Diseases caused by smoking

Nicotine increases vascular tone many times over, the number of heart contractions increases, blood pressure rises, and the load on the heart muscle increases. Normal operation heart rate is restored only 20-25 minutes after you smoke a cigarette. What if you smoke every half hour? This means that the vessels are constantly narrowing, causing hard work heart and thereby contributing to its rapid wear.

Let's face it. You need to know what terrible diseases smoking leads to. And you don’t need to console yourself with the fact that trouble will bypass you. Unfortunately, sometimes the price for smoking is too high.

So, let's look at the effect of cigarette smoke on a woman's body.

• Lips, pharynx, oral mucosa. The likelihood of developing cancer.
• Skin, teeth, hair. Negative effects of nicotine, caries, hair loss, skin aging.
• Trachea, lungs. The likelihood of developing cancer, emphysema, chronic bronchitis smoker
• Gastrointestinal tract. Ulcers, inflammation, cancer development.
• Pancreas. Development chronic pancreatitis, cancer.
• Skeletal system. Osteoporosis.
• Vascular system. Thrombosis, atherosclerosis, stroke.
• Peripheral vessels. Intermittent claudication, gangrene.
• Genitourinary system. Miscarriages, inflammation, dysfunction of the ovaries, kidneys, cancer, infertility.

Does it make sense to convince you that smoking is dangerous to health, and nicotine can harm any of the body systems. And your beauty, youth, freshness, the smell of well-groomed beautiful woman? Are you really ready to exchange all this for tobacco, which will kill the aroma of femininity and make you dull and devoid of attractiveness?

What women say to ease their conscience

There are several myths about smoking that girls and women firmly believe in. Or they want to believe in order to justify themselves to themselves.

1. Myth No. 1. Smoking light cigarettes is not so harmful to the body. But you must understand that such a statement is beneficial to cigarette manufacturers.
2. Myth No. 2. Anyone who quits smoking will definitely gain weight. It is necessary not to wallow in melancholy on the sofa, but to increase motor activity. Then overweight you are not in danger. It is better to be a healthy plump person than to suffer from incurable diseases.
3. Myth No. 3. Cigarettes help you relax. At first it may be like this. But then the stress increases, as the activity of the central nervous system is disrupted. And the inability to smoke for some time can lead to a feeling of discomfort, which can be compared to severe thirst.
4. Myth No. 4. Many women believe that they can quit smoking at any time. Dangerous misconception! Cigarette addiction deepens with every cigarette smoked. And at one “wonderful” moment you may discover that nicotine has become a part of your life, and you can’t think or live normally without it. It is better not to bring yourself to such a state, but to quit smoking before a stable addiction has formed.

If you are still sure that a woman holding a thin cigarette in her fingers evokes admiration and interest, then you are deeply mistaken. Men don't like women who smoke. Who wants to communicate with a friend who smells of tobacco, and not of cleanliness and perfume? Think not only about health, but also about this aspect.

Despite the fact that the world is actively fighting smoking, the number of people dependent on nicotine is not decreasing. At the same time, a completely negative trend is noted. Over the past decade there has been an increase in the number smoking women. In addition, there is a decrease in age limits.

Even very young girls begin to get involved in cigarettes. This is facilitated to some extent by public opinion. After all, if in the middle of the 20th century. smoking woman called negative reaction people around, today no one is surprised to see a young mother with a cigarette, leading her baby by the hand, or a pregnant woman.

Causes of tobacco addiction

According to psychologists and sociologists, the increase in the number of women smokers is associated with the following:

Their lack of awareness about the dangers of tobacco to health;
- active advertising of cigarettes.

At the same time, experts considered young girls and women to be the most promising group of future smokers of all the people inhabiting our planet. It is in their minds that the image of a “lady with a cigarette” is most easily formed, which is characterized by independence, self-sufficiency and irresistibility.

However, for those who are able to soberly assess the situation, it becomes unclear how all of the above qualities can be consistent with psychological dependence from nicotine, daily spending of money on cigarettes, and also with the constantly deteriorating condition of the body?

So, what should lovely ladies know about smoking?

Effect of tobacco

Addiction to cigarettes negatively affects everyone's health. However, the harm of smoking for women is especially great. Indeed, according to the results of numerous studies, the body of the fairer sex is more susceptible to tobacco than men. This suggests that the risk of various pathologies in female smokers is several times higher than in non-smokers. This has been confirmed by numerous studies.
What is the harm of smoking for women and the effect of tobacco on their body?

Negative consequences for appearance

It's no secret that every person who prefers to look good must certainly lead healthy image life. The harm of smoking on a woman’s body is that beauty and a cigarette are incompatible concepts. Those ladies who want to always be attractive simply need to forget about tobacco. After all, those representatives of the fairer sex who do not have a harmful addiction to nicotine look much younger than their peers who carry packs of cigarettes in their purses.

The harm of smoking for women is the negative impact of tobacco on the skin, which is why it simply begins to lack oxygen. This leads to the fact that the aging process on a woman’s face begins ahead of time. What happens then?

1. The harm of smoking for women (see photo below) is that nicotine leaves a very noticeable mark on the skin.

For smokers, the signs of aging occur in complex ways and become noticeable to others very quickly. Skin aging occurs due to the cessation of the production of natural proteins, collagen and elastin. Her surface layer gradually begins to acquire a yellowish-gray tint. At the same time, the face, despite all efforts, seems unkempt. In addition, smoking leads to the body losing vitamin C, which is responsible for skin elasticity. This is why it becomes thin, dry and flabby.

2. A woman who smokes gets her first wrinkles very early. Moreover, they are five times more noticeable than in non-smokers. Early wrinkles caused by a decrease in oxygen levels in the blood due to nicotine entering the body. At the same time, the skin lacks the nutrition it needs, and it begins to deform.

3. The harm from smoking cigarettes for women is also expressed in the appearance on the face. acne and comedones. This happens because there are microscopic particles in the smoke inhaled by smokers. They settle on the skin and clog its pores. This leads to disruption of the process of sweating and saturation of skin tissue with oxygen, which provokes the occurrence of inflammation and blackheads. In addition, under the influence of nicotine, vitamin E is destroyed in the body, which is responsible for the health and purity of the skin. Passive smoking carries the same danger.

4. Over time, smokers develop rosacea. This phenomenon is characterized by a noticeable capillary mesh on the skin. It occurs due to the fact that under the influence of nicotine the blood vessels are noticeably weakened. Their walls become thinner and less elastic, which is why congestion occurs in the circulatory system.

5. The harm of smoking for women is expressed in the occurrence age spots. Of course, with age, this phenomenon affects almost every person. However, in smokers such spots are more pronounced in nature and appear much later. more. This happens due to general deterioration a condition of the skin that loses its ability to reflect harmful influence sun rays.

6. Smokers can also be identified by dark circles under the eyes. They arise due to severe constriction of blood vessels due to a decrease in the supply of oxygen to the skin tissue. The harm of smoking is especially harmful for women after 40 years of age.

The effect of nicotine on the oral cavity

The yellowness of the tooth enamel also gives away women who smoke. At the same time, it is also possible bad smell from the mouth. The harm of everyday smoking for women is also obvious.

Heavy smokers often suffer from inflammatory processes in the gums and tooth loss.

The effect of nicotine on hair

The harm of smoking for women also lies in the loss of health of her curls. Hair suffers from nicotine no less than facial skin. After all, in this case there is a lack of oxygen. At the same time, the disadvantage nutrients experience hair follicles and scalp. Of course, this leads to weakening of the hair and dullness. In addition, smokers' scalps become dry. It begins to peel off and pockets of irritation appear on it. Over time, hair loses its elasticity, becomes brittle, begins to split and fall out. Heavy smokers begin to notice the appearance of gray hair very early.

Nicotine is no less dangerous for internal organs women. Let's consider it negative influence more details.

Digestive system

What is the harm of smoking to the gastrointestinal tract? Heavy smokers are more likely to develop intestinal inflammation and gastritis. They often suffer from stomach or duodenal ulcers.

During the process of smoking, a more intense secretion of saliva occurs in a person's mouth. It absorbs part of the nicotine contained in cigarette smoke. Together with saliva, this toxic substance enters the stomach, irritating its mucous membrane. Similar phenomenon provokes increased secretion of gastric juices, which increases acidity.

Numerous studies have proven that smoking leads to spasms of blood vessels located in the walls of the stomach. In this regard, the central nervous system stops receiving signals about hunger. Appetite is artificially suppressed. This factor, as well as violation metabolic processes leads to weight loss. Many women who smoke are happy with this effect. However, it should not be compared to healthy weight loss.

Respiratory system

Under the influence of tobacco smoke, various nonspecific diseases begin to develop in the organs responsible for supplying oxygen to our body. The harm of smoking to the body of women is quite great. Exposure to tobacco smoke, which contains a wide range of toxic substances, leads to pathological changes respiratory organs. In this case, the mucous membrane atrophies, in the lower and upper tracks are developing inflammatory processes, which subsequently take on a chronic nature, and also lose their elasticity of the alveoli.

It is worth noting that almost 80% of patients suffering from chronic bronchitis are experienced smokers. In addition, such people have a high risk of developing emphysema, pneumonia, tuberculosis, bronchiolitis and pneumosclerosis, as well as malignant neoplasms in the lungs.

The effect of cigarettes is sometimes compared to the effect of a strong poison, since the mortality rate for those who suffer from this addiction is nine times higher than for those who prefer to lead a healthy lifestyle. It is worth remembering that intoxication in representatives of the weaker half of humanity occurs much faster than in men. This is due to the fact that in the female body there are more active metabolic processes, which makes the harm caused by tobacco smoke more obvious.

Heart and blood vessels

The harm of smoking on a woman’s body is manifested in the constant narrowing of blood vessels, which leads to increased blood pressure. Moreover, this phenomenon can be observed after every cigarette smoked. Constant exposure to nicotine forces the heart to work harder, which significantly exceeds the capabilities of this organ. However, he is trying to adapt to the situation. As a result, there is an increase muscle fibers, increasing the volume of the heart. In smokers with 3-5 years of experience, such changes become noticeable during examination.

Negative changes also occur in blood vessels. They begin to lose their elasticity, and the resulting atherosclerotic plaques make their walls more brittle and fragile. All this leads to a decrease in blood flow activity, and the heart begins to receive less of the amount of nutrients and oxygen it needs. Arises serious risk development of heart attacks, strokes and other pathologies.

Nervous system

Nicotine is a neurotoxic poison. Its negative effect on the body is also manifested in disruption of the harmonious flow of electrochemical processes occurring in the nervous system, which causes the death of neurons.

Initially, cigarette smoke has a stimulating effect on a person. But soon this effect is replaced by depression, which is caused by vasoconstriction. Smokers are more likely to suffer from fatigue and neurasthenia. In this case, a vicious circle is formed. A hard-working smoker begins to smoke more and more often, trying to fuel his body. As a result, he becomes even more overtired.

People exposed to the negative effects of nicotine experience sleep disturbances and memory disorders, decreased performance and headaches. They are more often diagnosed with “polyneuritis”, “radiculitis”, “neuritis” and so on. In heavy smokers it is possible frequent change moods. It is also related to the effects of nicotine.

Brain

How does nicotine affect this main body human psyche? Over time, this harmful substance turns into a kind of stimulant for the brain. Initially, nicotine speeds up the passage of nerve impulses. But then the brain’s need for rest kicks in. All its processes begin to slow down greatly. After getting used to tobacco, the brain stops working independently, requiring a “dose”. Moreover, if a person does not have the opportunity to smoke, he begins to show anxiety and severe irritability, becomes inattentive and cannot concentrate.

Sense organs

They also get their negative dose of nicotine. Heavy smokers will certainly notice impaired sense of smell, taste, hearing, as well as decreased visual acuity.

Fertility

A woman who smokes 10 cigarettes a day runs the risk of becoming infertile. This happens due to the fact that over time there is an accumulation of toxic components of tobacco smoke in the egg. This reduces her ability to fertilize. After some time, under the influence of aromatic, polycyclic hydrocarbons from tobacco smoke, the egg dies.

Very often, smokers experience irregular menstrual cycles and even absence of menstruation. More often they have unusual and unusual healthy women vaginal discharge which are sometimes accompanied by bleeding. These women experience menopause earlier than usual. This is also due to the effects of toxins contained in cigarette smoke.

Smoking and pregnancy

Numerous scientific research It has been proven that women who are addicted to cigarettes are less likely to give birth healthy child. The negative impact and harm of smoking for pregnant women is undeniable. In addition, at expectant mother who prefers not to deny herself a cigarette, miscarriages are possible. The death of the fetus occurs due to oxygen starvation. After all, red blood cells lose their ability to supply oxygen to the placenta due to the fact that the walls of its vessels are narrowed by nicotine.

What other harms of smoking are for pregnant women? They are 5 times more likely to give birth to stillbirths. But even if a healthy child is born, the baby will invariably have problems a little later. First of all, they will consist of disturbances in the body's metabolic processes. This will cause the child to lag behind his peers in development, for example, in slow growth.

A woman's body is more vulnerable to such destructive addictions as alcoholism and smoking. At the same time, in most civilized countries there are very disappointing statistics, noting the rapid growth of smokers among women of childbearing age.

The effect of smoking on female body colossal. In Russia alone, about a third of all heavy smokers are representatives of the fair sex. Next we'll talk about the consequences of addiction and methods of overcoming it.

The effect of smoking on the female body in facts and figures

Tobacco smoke not only weakens the immune system and poisons the entire body as a whole, but also has a most detrimental effect on the reproductive system. Literally with every cigarette smoked during the three-year period before conceiving a child, the risk of miscarriage and various pathologies and abnormalities in fetal development increases significantly. Smoking mothers often give birth to children who are lagging behind in mental and physiological development, which is expressed in mental retardation or underweight.

German scientists who studied the harm of smoking on a woman’s body were able to identify very disappointing statistics, according to which:

• More than 40% of women who smoke suffer from infertility (among the non-smoking half of the female audience, such figures do not exceed 3%).
• Almost 90% of miscarriages are associated with systematic poisoning of the body with nicotine and tobacco tar.
• Premature babies are born mainly to women suffering from addiction to cigarettes.

For a woman who smokes half a pack a day, the chance of conceiving is reduced by exactly half. The fact is that the egg accumulates toxins and poisons that enter the body through tobacco smoke, which ultimately leads to the inability to conceive a child. In case simultaneous use tobacco products while taking hormonal contraceptives pose a huge risk various complications affecting primarily the cardiovascular system.

Is smoking harmful for women? Many ladies clearly underestimate the risks of such addiction, which leads to periodontitis, pneumonia, acute myeloblastic leukemia, abdominal aortic aneurysm and other dangerous diseases.

Expectant mothers who smoke even 1/4 pack a day or less during pregnancy expose the fetus to oxygen starvation, and due to vasoconstriction due to exposure to nicotine, red blood cells lose the ability to deliver oxygen to the placenta. Pregnant women who smoke half a pack of cigarettes per day or more increase the risk of placental abruption by up to 70%.

Smoking mothers often give birth to children with diseases caused by systematic poisoning of the body with tobacco smoke. Moreover, they appear already during the first year of a child’s life. The harm of smoking for women is not limited to problems with cardiovascular and reproductive system. In women suffering from an addiction, the likelihood of inflammation of the eye membrane and age-related degenerative damage to the retina increases three times.

The vessels regain their lost tone only 30–40 minutes after smoking a cigarette. If a woman smokes more often without observing this interval, the vessels become critically narrowed, their walls lose elasticity, and cardiovascular system works in literally for wear.

Important! According to statistics, children who from the very first years of life are forced to observe the harmful addiction of their mother or father to nicotine, try smoking already at the age of 6–8 years, imitating their parents.

How does smoking affect a woman’s appearance and health?

How does smoking affect appearance women? First of all, chronic smokers have a hoarse voice with an unpleasant timbre. In addition, the absolute majority of women who cannot imagine their life without a cigarette experience the following metamorphoses:

• The skin of the face and other parts of the body becomes dry and dull, bags and puffiness appear under the eyes, as well as wrinkles and other signs of aging.
• The menstrual cycle is disrupted, and severe pain occurs in the ovarian area.
• Reproductive ability is rapidly lost, which is reflected in the death of eggs and menopause, which develops prematurely.
• Teeth and nail plates become yellow, losing their healthy hue. Nails lose strength and split.
• Body weight is rapidly falling, but those who want to achieve slim figure At such a price, they expose their own body to unjustified risk.
• Nicotine reduces production female hormone estrogen, which leads to a decrease in mental abilities.

A woman who is systematically exposed negative impacts tobacco combustion products are pursued by: increased fatigue, headaches, irritability, sweating and depression vitality. Heavy smokers are susceptible to developing diseases such as: hypertrophy thyroid gland, myocardial infarction and inflammatory processes of organs responsible for reproductive function.

Nicotine interferes with the absorption process important vitamins and microelements, as well as collagen synthesis, which makes the skin wrinkled and pale. In the body smoking man There is a violation of the absorption of phosphorus and calcium, which leads to the destruction of tooth enamel.

Excess carbon monoxide provokes thrombosis and ischemic disease, which entail hemorrhage in the placenta and a number of others serious problems with gestation. Nicotine, in combination with carbon monoxide, binds hemoglobin and disrupts tissue respiration, which has an extremely negative effect on the functioning of all body systems without exception.

Bad breath brittle hair and nails, wrinkled skin, intense aging and exacerbation chronic illnesses- not far full list changes occurring in the body of a smoking woman

How to give up a bad habit

If a woman stops smoking before pregnancy, her chances of giving birth to healthy offspring will be much higher. Scientists have proven that the most favorable period for a woman, during which it is easier for her to give up an addiction is the time immediately after ending menstrual cycle, since the body at this moment is most resistant to withdrawal symptoms caused by stopping smoking.

First of all, a woman who has decided to give up a destructive addiction should get rid of psychological factor, influencing the formation of addiction on a subconscious level: for some, the first cigarette was associated with the desire to demonstrate to the outside world (including parents) their own independence, for others, on the contrary, the habit arose as a desire to get away from problems and offenders , surrounding himself with an impregnable curtain of acrid tobacco smoke.

Having recognized that smoking is harmful not only to future children, but also to health and appearance, a woman should minimize the number of situations that make her nervous, relax more and spend time with non-smoking friends. fresh air or visit entertainment venues such as theaters, cinemas and bowling clubs.

During the refusal nicotine addiction the body is actively recovering, and taste buds are getting worse. Therefore, during the period of getting rid of a bad habit, it is recommended to adhere to healthy eating, full of fresh fruits, vegetables and natural juices.

That's right, today's article will talk about girls, cigarettes and smoking. I think you could have repeatedly seen a girl with a cigarette in her mouth on the street or in a club. Some are against this, because girls are expectant mothers, but there are also those who approve of girls smoking. IN modern society the opinion has developed that a girl who smokes achieves everything more easily by attracting attention to herself.

Today, young girls want to look liberated and independent. Many of them believe that smoking cigarettes is a fashionable addition to their modern image. Not everyone has enough common sense and basic medical knowledge to understand the harm they cause to their health by picking up a cigarette.

They have no idea that in a few years only memories will remain of their beauty.

Just five cigarettes a day are enough, and the smoker's skin, thanks to constant oxygen starvation will become gray and dull, circles under the eyes will appear much faster than with non-smoking girlfriends. Hair will become dull, teeth will turn yellow, and nails will begin to break off and peel. All of the above applies only female beauty, is it worth talking about the risks of being left without children.

Smoking and pregnancy

According to statistics, women who smoke about ten cigarettes a day are twice as likely to remain infertile as non-smokers. The egg accumulates all the harmful substances that tobacco smoke introduces into the body, and the ability to fertilize is lost.

There's nothing scarier than a woman trying to kill her child. But this is exactly what all pregnant women who smoke do. Fortunately, most pregnant ladies try to quit this bad habit during pregnancy. But almost always the child manages to receive a dose of poison, because not everyone succeeds in quitting smoking, even temporarily.

Why do girls smoke

First of all, it must be said that the reasons for the development of smoking addiction in absolutely everyone who smokes, whether boys or girls, are hidden in the upbringing and environment of such a person in childhood. Influence environment and lack of education are the main factors in a teenager's decision to start smoking.

If the mother smokes, the daughter will also start smoking, because children tend to imitate adults. Girls follow fashion in everything, and the media today impose on society the idea that young people, especially girls, look more attractive with a cigarette in their mouth. The same glossies and various fashion magazines print photos of celebrities with cigarettes, and the child, seeing this and not realizing that it is harmful, tries to imitate his idols.

To assert oneself through good education and high intelligence, you need to study for a long time and read a lot. It’s not a fact that you will be noticed in society even after this. It’s much easier to pick up a cigarette, slowly bring it to the lighter, showing off your impeccable manicure at the same time, and blow a ring of smoke from your brightly painted lips.

All these gestures attract the attention of men, and it is beneficial for girls to consider smoking as a norm of behavior. Alas, the thought that this is the beginning of a chain, the first link of which is a cigarette, and the last link is lung cancer and the collapse of all hopes, does not flash in their minds.

It's no secret that smoking has become a part of our everyday life. Scientists express the opinion that this bad habit has become one of the types social behavior people.

How to try to stop a girl from smoking

I can’t say that at least one of these tips will help your loved one leave this bad habit, and yet, if you care about your girlfriend, I’m sure you will try to do everything possible and impossible for this.

If the habit of smoking has become a necessity for a girl, it will not be possible to forcibly wean her off it. Any pressure leads to confrontation. First of all, you need to show patience and care. It is advisable to develop an action plan. Let your girlfriend, daughter or granddaughter know that her smoking habit is making you suffer.

If a girl really loves you, sooner or later she will think about how to solve this problem. In order for her to quickly understand how detrimental smoking affects her health, try to discreetly give her specialized literature to read, and unobtrusively give examples of the negative impact of an addiction.

If a girl who smokes cannot realize that with her habit she creates discomfort for the people who surround her and who love her, she will have to resort to another, more radical method.

I warn you right away that after using it there may be negative consequences. And the method itself is to give an ultimatum - either smoking, or something that the girl incredibly values: love for you, favorite food, business, person, restriction of freedom, etc. And the negative consequences lie in the fact that there is a possibility that something from the list given earlier will prevail. Therefore, you need to be very careful with this method.

A girl can quit smoking only when she realizes that she needs it. No matter how many books by Alan Carr she read, no matter how much advice she listened to, everything will be useless until she herself wants it.

When a girl agrees to give up her smoking habit, help her with your advice. This is important! You must always be on hand and, in case of “danger,” stop the hand reaching for a cigarette.

You should not quit smoking immediately, but gradually, during this period you should drink more water, and also do breathing exercises every day.

Be that as it may, remember: when a girl smokes, she gradually kills not only herself, but also all those children she could give birth to. Smoking is a harmful habit, and you should get rid of it, if only in order to raise healthy and happy children.

– today it is common occurrence on city streets. Unfortunately, this fact suggests that the symbol of femininity and purity, the symbol of the mother, is being lost. A cigarette in the mouth of a girl or woman looks at least funny, not to mention the harm it causes to the female body.

In this article, I bring to your attention a letter from Fyodor Grigorievich Uglov addressed to a smoking girl, and to all young people in general.

Uglov F.G. is a world famous surgeon, academician Russian Academy Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences. He was simply a great Russian man. He was the most senior practicing surgeon in the world. He was the chairman of the Union of Struggle for National Sobriety. He died at the age of 104.

So read on "Letter to a Smoking Girl"

I meet hundreds of your smoking peers on the streets. I have operated on hundreds of people for lung cancer. And hundreds - I didn’t make a mistake - I had to refuse hundreds, because nothing could be done... There is nothing more difficult for a surgeon than refusing to help a patient due to his own powerlessness. And more than once I had to admit my powerlessness when it came to saving the affected lungs and the lives of long-term smokers.

IN recent years A lot of women smokers come to the operating tables. I'm not scaring you. Smoking is “voluntary”. Just since you have already started reading my letter, let me express your opinion so that later your despair does not tear my heart. The opinion of not only the surgeon (unfortunately, unable to clearly show you on these pages cancerous tumor, strangling the lungs), but also a person who knows the value of suffering.

Hundreds of people have passed through my hands and my heart, suffering precisely because they could not part with them in time. bad habit. The complaints are the same and begin with the phrase: “There’s something wrong with my lungs...” Once a good friend of mine turned to me with the same words. We agreed to meet, but he came only a few months later. When on operating table they opened it up for him chest, it turned out that everything had already metastasized and nothing could be done to help him. It is difficult to find out that a patient is dying. It’s even harder that this is your close friend...

These lines addressed to you will contain facts and figures found by my like-minded people. But I, a surgeon, understand with particular clarity what is behind these numbers and percentages.

No, I will not scare you with the already banal examples that a drop of nicotine kills a horse - you are not a horse, you are a person, or that 20 cigarettes smoked daily shorten your life by 8-12 years; you are young, and life seems endless to you. According to English doctors, each cigarette smoked costs the smoker 15 minutes of life. It's not a big deal if you're only twenty. What does it matter to you that hardcore people get lung cancer 30 times more often than non-smokers, and the reason for this is terrible disease in 95-98 cases out of 100 - smoking. American cardiologists give the following figures: middle age those who died from heart attacks are 67 years old, smokers are 47. You are only twenty years old, and you still have until you are forty-seven... Of course, this will not scare you. And yet...

With great chagrin, I see girls smoking near the school, holding a cigarette in their fist (as they say, “in the pioneer way”) so that they cannot be seen from the windows. I regret to learn that they learned by taking the teacher as a model.

Pain grips my soul from the fact that in the student dormitory the girls are going to smoke and chat about their future marriage. I can admit that marriage is not yet visible in your plans. And so I’ll tell you about something else.

Sociologists conducted an anonymous questionnaire in which they asked: why do you smoke? 60 percent of girls answered: it is beautiful and fashionable. And 40 percent smoke because they want boys to like them. Let's say. And we will even “justify” them in some ways. Because the desire to be liked is inherent in you by nature. But let’s justify it temporarily: it’s useful to know the boys’ opinions as well.

256 young men were interviewed. They were offered three questions and, accordingly, three answer options: positive, indifferent, negative.

Question one:
“Girls in your company smoke. How do you feel about this? - 4% positive, 54% indifferent, 42% negative.
Question two:
“The girl you’re friends with smokes. How do you feel about this? - 1% positive, 15% indifferent, 84% negative.
Question three:
“Would you like your wife to smoke?” - Storm of protests! Out of 256, only two answered that they did not care. The rest categorically objected.

Now let's think together. Your surgery is a long way off. You're not going to get married. Everything is fine, and you are smoking. Where did this come from? In my opinion, people smoke in groups where they gather to have fun. A cigarette in your hands is like a signal: you are modern. This means that you treat both love and friendship with a considerable amount of frivolity.

Boys with smoking girls behave more relaxed, and girls, in their naivety, believe that they are successful, hardly thinking that they are temporary fun. Yes, yes, you smoking girl - temporary fun. It seems to me that when you smoke, you cheapen yourself, humiliate your dignity, becoming not modern in the true sense of the word, but rather frivolous and more accessible. Who instilled in you the “fashionability” of this terrible habit? Who programmed you to do an activity in which your youth does not allow you to see the whole catastrophe that awaits you?

Don’t be angry, but I’ll try to draw your future as it seems to me. And if you doubt this, look around, look at older women smoking.

Smoking will make your voice hoarse, your teeth will gradually turn black and deteriorate. The face will take on an earthy tint. Your sense of smell will suffer sharply and deteriorate taste sensations. You've probably already noticed how often smokers spit. I don’t know if you’ve noticed that there’s a constant smell coming from a smoker’s mouth... This smell is so unpleasant that don’t be surprised if one of the guys you know avoids you. You will wake up with a bitter taste in your mouth and a headache from coughing all night. Very early on, your facial skin will become wrinkled and dry. Women smokers at 25 look much older than their non-smoking peers. This is the real price of your smoking! You will not attract, but, on the contrary, you will repel any serious guy.

Try to imagine yourself next to a non-smoking peer. And if this comparison doesn’t scare you or you don’t see the difference between you, let me tell you that your appearance is not the main indicator.

The sooner you start smoking, the more dangerous the effects of poison are for you. And if you become addicted to smoking long before you start age-related changes, then the development of the organism will proceed more slowly. Under the influence of nicotine, persistent contraction occurs blood vessels(the oxygen content in the blood decreases due to the combination of hemoglobin in the blood with carbon monoxide- one of the components of tobacco smoke). When smoking under the influence high temperature tobacco releases 30 harmful substances: nicotine, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and various essential oils. Among them, benzopyrene is especially dangerous - it is a 100% carcinogen (“cancer” - in Latin - cancer).

If you are curious, you may be interested in the data of American researchers. They found in tobacco smoke a significant amount of polonium-210, which emits alpha particles. If you smoke one personally, you will receive a radiation dose seven times greater than that established by the international agreement on radiation protection.

Nicotine is a drug. This is the only way the highest body of world medicine calls it - World organization healthcare. And this means that every year it will be more and more difficult for you. Tobacco, by constricting blood vessels, not only causes increased work of the heart, but also worsens and destroys the activity of many body systems.

You lit a cigarette... Then everything follows a long-known pattern. Nicotine on short time causes dilation of blood vessels, increasing blood supply to brain cells. This is followed by a sharp spasm of blood vessels, resulting in various brain disorders. Next. Nicotine disrupts the functions of the nervous system, lungs, liver, digestive organs, and gonads.

It has been irrefutably proven: you will get sick three to four times more often than your non-smoking friends. The time will inevitably come when you will feel bad and constant illness will turn your life into a burden.

But let's talk about something else. Maybe you will be interested to know that women suffer heavily from smoking due to the more delicate structure of the body, which by nature is designed for procreation. Facts have long been known that indicate that heavy smokers cannot give birth to children, since profound changes have occurred in the embryonic apparatus. The most a common complication caused by smoking is premature termination of pregnancy - up to 36 weeks. It happens twice as often in smokers. It doesn't hurt you to know that women who smoke are much more likely to have prematurity and lower birth weight of their newborn (yes, the newborn, your baby, which you probably don't think about, but your smoking will affect its viability). Smokers have a higher percentage of stillborn children and more often pathologies during childbirth. And there is an undoubted fact - smoking has an extremely negative effect on the development of an already born child. Knowing this, it makes sense to think about marriage, about a husband who will be waiting for a son, but there may not be a son... And the day may come when doctors tell you: “Unfortunately, you will never be able to give birth.”

It's hard for you to understand now. But my experience suggests hundreds of such cases. The critical moment is imperceptibly approaching, after which she can no longer give birth, although for the sake of this she is ready to do anything, for any operations, for any sacrifices. And believe me, you will not be an exception: nature created you to be a mother. And no matter how you swagger today, she will force you to live in the interests of the children.

Believe me, a cigarette can ruin your life. Yours first. And when they prove to you that smoking is to blame for everything, you will curse both yourself and your whole life. Think about not having children. And your husband can leave you. He will go to someone less worthy than you, just for the right to be called a father. Believe me, he can do this, because fatherly feelings are no less strong than motherly ones.

And if you smoke while pregnant, then know that the experiment has established: as soon as a pregnant woman lights up, within a few minutes nicotine enters (through the placenta) into the heart and brain of the unborn child. And with this poison you unwittingly poison him. Scientists have traced the developmental features of children born to mothers. These children, observed until the age of 5-6, were significantly behind in their physical and mental development. By the way, among children whose fathers are heavy smokers, developmental defects are twice as likely to be observed.

And your child will be sick all the time. Both pneumonia and bronchitis await him. In desperation you will look for reasons, not knowing that they are in you. Even if you smoked in the corridor, on the landing, even a tiny fraction of smoke entering the room will be enough for your child to suddenly develop a fever.

One hundred percent of children of smoking mothers smoke. And your child, who regards you as the smartest, most affectionate, kindest, seeing you with a cigarette, will also start smoking. This means that you have programmed him in advance for the same torment that awaits you.

My experience suggests a terrible case involving teenage smoking. In one of the boarding schools they could not wake up the boy in the morning. He died at night. An autopsy showed that he had sick heart- because he learned to smoke early, smoked a lot, and on the eve of his death, as the guys said, he smoked “to his fill.”

In families where parents smoked but then stopped, 67 percent of boys and 78 percent of girls nevertheless start smoking.