Everyone knows that nicotine use is detrimental to your overall health. Some smoking side effects can lead to life-threatening consequences. It increases your risk of death from almost any cause. Smoking affects your lungs, heart, immune system, and many other organs. 

Here are some common complications associated with smoking and tobacco use. 

1. Dental issues

The first thing affected by cigarette use is your dental health. Smoking is a major risk factor for gum disease. Tobacco use restricts the blood flow to the gums, which results in them becoming weaker. This makes your gum tissues more vulnerable to the bacteria in your mouth. Gum disease is one of many unpleasant dental issues that contribute to bad breath and even tooth loss. Smoking makes it even worse if the person already suffers from gum disease. 

Another effect of smoking on your dental health is staining. When smoking, you inhale more than 7,000 chemicals, most of which remain on your tongue, gums, and teeth. Because you cannot remove them after each cigarette, over time, they turn into tobacco tar. This makes your teeth yellow, in worst cases, even brown. 

The most dangerous side effect of smoking is mouth cancer. It develops in the tissues of your mouth (lips, tongue, cheeks, the floor of the mouth, hard and soft palate). Mouth cancer looks like sores, never going away.

2. Lung damage

When you smoke, along with nicotine, you inhale chemicals, most of which are carcinogens. These chemicals damage your lungs and increase the risk of lung cancer by 25 percent. Smoking also increases your risk of other lung problems. 

Smokers put their health at risk of obstructive pulmonary disorder, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and can trigger asthma attacks. More than 80 percent of deaths from obstructive pulmonary disorder are linked to tobacco use. 

3. Vision issues

Most people don't realize the way smoking affects their vision and eye health. Tobacco use can increase your risk of consequential eye disease and even blindness. The two conditions associated with tobacco use are macular degeneration and cataracts. Macular degeneration affects central vision. It prevents you from seeing objects clearly and causes difficulty reading or recognizing faces. Cataracts cause blurry vision that gets worse over time and leads to blindness. 

Other eye disorders linked to tobacco use include glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and dry eye syndrome. It is crucial to stop smoking if you want to decrease your risk of grave vision issues. 

4. Heart disease

Smoking tobacco puts your blood vessels, blood cells, and heart at risk of serious diseases. The chemicals that enter your body when you inhale smoke can contribute to the buildup of plaque in your blood vessels. The blockages in your blood vessels restrict the blood flow and may cause life-threatening problems. 

The blockage and narrowing of the blood vessels can lead to another smoking-related condition, peripheral arterial disease. This disease is a major risk factor for heart issues like heart attack and stroke. Lifestyle changes can help you reduce the risk of these heart and blood vessel conditions significantly. 

5. Cause inflammation

Overall bodily inflammation is linked to a variety of serious health conditions. It increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and autoimmune conditions. When nicotine and its by-products enter your body, they activate certain white blood cells which release molecules linked to inflammation. Because of inflammation, smokers often experience pain in soft and hard tissues over the body. Quitting smoking can help you treat knee pain, back pain, and muscle stiffness. 

6. Fertility issues

Tobacco smoking is unsafe and dangerous for a woman’s reproductive system. Female smokers often have difficulty getting pregnant and carrying a healthy child. This happens because the chemicals in tobacco affect the hormones crucial for childbirth. 

Male fertility is also vulnerable to the negative effect of cigarettes. Men who smoke have a higher risk of erectile dysfunction. Smoking can decrease the quality of your sperm and cause difficulty conceiving.