May 21, 2008

Smoking and Lung Cancer


Tobacco smoke is a complex mixture of more than 3,000 different substances, including the addictive stimulant nicotine, benzene, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and tar. The burning tar elements in the smoke are known to be strongly cancer-causing (carcinogenic). The risk of developing lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day, thair tar content, the number of years that a person has smoked, and the depth of inhalation into the lungs. Another risk factor is regular exposure to other people's cigarette smoke, whish is known as passive smoking.

Tar is just one of thousands of chemicals in tobacco smoke. In smokers, healthy lung tissue becomes dotted with deposits of tar.

The process:
1. In healthy airway lining, the columnar cells topped by tiny, hairlike cilia line healthy airways (bronchi). Basal cells constantly divide to replace naturally damaged columnar cells.
2. Initial damage: Over time, columnar cells damaged by smoking become squamous cells, which gradually lose their cilia. The mucus-secreting goblet cells die
3 .Cancer begins: to replace the damaged cells, basal cells start to multiply at an increased rate. Some of these new basal cells develop into cancerous cells.
4. Cancer spreads: the cancerous cells replace healthy cells. If these cells break through the basement membrane, they can enter blood vessels to travel elsewhere

Source:
The Human body book, Steve Parker, Robert Winston, DK.p143
http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

dari sejumlah orang2 perokok yang gw kenal, cuman 2 yang totally berhenti gara2 penyakit yang menyerangnya ataupun keluarga terdekat. mank yang bisa ngelawan perokok adalah penyakit yak..

Daniel Witanto said...

Yah memang sulit membuat orang sadar untuk berhenti merokok, padahal tidak harus sampai menjadi sakit untuk berhenti merokok ya

Anonymous said...

Rokok dan ca paru. saya punya sejawat dokter Bedah. Meninggal karena Ca paru, ironisnya diantara temannya seangkatan dulu waktu masih residen hanya dia yang tidak merokok.

Daniel Witanto said...

@erik thanks commentnya..
Banyak faktor mempengaruhi, perokok pasif pun resikonya tinggi, nenek saya juga meninggal karena Ca Paru, sama sekali tidak merokok,tetapi menghirup asap rokok secara pasif terus menerus bertahun-tahun.. Sungguh menyedihkan..