Smoking Kills... Your Looks

Everybody knows the consequences of smoking – increased chances of contracting lung diseases (such as cancer), cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, among others. But what many fail to remember is that smoking can destroy your good looks.

Smoking is bad for your skin. It causes your skin to look dry and wrinkly, especially facial skin, because cigarette smoke leads to the breakdown of elastin and collagen, which keep your skin soft and supple. Premature wrinkling also occurs because smokers tend to have less vitamin A in their skin; vitamin A protects skin from damaging chemicals. So basically, individuals who smoke one pack per day are estimated to look 1.4 times their normal age. That might not sound like a lot but a 20-year-old smoker would look like a 28-year-old; this can only get worse with time.

Cigarettes also makes your skin look grey and dull. Cigarettes release carbon monoxide that causes blood vessels near the surface of the skin to constrict. The reduced flow of oxygen and nutrients would destroy your skin's natural glow.

That isn't all smoking does to your skin. It reduces your skin's regenerating abilities, thus increasing the chances of scarring when you have injuries. Don't assume this just applies to “battle wounds”. If you're already struggling with acne and like to squeeze your pimples, you face is going to look like a mess!

Smoking causes hair loss. Smoking cigarettes starves your hair of oxygen, making it lifeless and brittle and leading to breakage. So picture it, your hair will be dull, falling out and don't forget smelly.

Smoking leads to teeth discolouration and staining. It can also cause bad breath, tooth decay, premature tooth loss, gum disease, and not to mention oral/mouth cancer. Part of the reason all of these things happen is because smoking makes it harder for saliva to remove germs from your mouth. When you think about it that way, kissing someone who smokes is pretty gross.

Your lips get ugly. Smoking affects the cells in the epidermis, leading to the unattractive darkening of your lips.

Smoking can change the shape of your body, for the worse. Although smoking may aid weight loss for some people because it curbs appetite, it can alter your body shape in the process. It affects the glands that secrete hormones, changing your waist-to-hip ratio. By upsetting the hormonal activity, a normal amount of fat could be distributed in an abnormal way. So, the smoker may lose weight but she may also end up with a pot belly and scrawny legs.

Smoking wrecks your body, inside and out. Put down the cigarettes and it might not be too late to save your health and your looks.

Ways to Increase Metabolism Boost your metabolism naturally by eating right.