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Drugs, alcohol, and smoking

How tobacco affects your body

Brain

Nicotine, the drug that makes tobacco addictive, goes to your brain. It makes you feel good when you are smoking, but it can make you anxious, nervous, moody and depressed after you smoke. Using tobacco also causes headaches and dizziness.

Mouth

Tobacco stains your teeth and gives you bad breath. You won't be able to taste your favorite foods as well either, because some of your taste buds are ruined. Tobacco use also causes bleeding gums (gum disease) and cancer.

Heart

Smoking increases your heart rate and blood pressure. If you try to do activities like exercise or play sports, your heart has to work harder to keep up.

Lungs

Smokers have trouble breathing because smoking damages the lungs. If you have asthma, you can have more frequent and more serious attacks. Smoking causes a lot of coughing with phlegm (mucous). Tobacco can also increase emphysema (lung disease) and lung cancer.

Skin

Smoking causes dry, yellow skin and wrinkles. The smell sticks to your skin too.

Muscles

Less blood and oxygen flow to your muscles, which causes them to hurt more when you exercise or play sports.

Content last updated March 28, 2008

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