El efecto del tabaquismo en la salud humana

TOBACCO

Tobacco (Nicotiana rustica and N. tabacum) is a plant that was and is used as a pscyhoactive substance, a narcotic, a pain killer, and a pesticide and, as a result, it is and was used in the ancient past in a wide variety of rituals and ceremonies. Four species were recognized by Linnaeus in 1753, all originating from the Americas, and all from the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Today, scholars recognize over 70 different species, with N. tabacum the most economically important; almost all of them originated in South America, with one endemic to Australia and another to Africa.

A raft of recent biogeographical studies report that modern tobacco (N. tabacum) originated in the highland Andes, probably Bolivia or northern Argentina, and was likely a result of hybridization of two older species, N. sylvestris and a member of the section Tomentosae, perhaps N. tomentosiformis Goodspeed. Long before the Spanish colonization, tobacco had been distributed well outside its origins, throughout South America, into Mesoamerica and reaching the eastern Woodlands of North America no later than ~300 BC. Although some debate within the scholarly community exists suggesting that some varieties may have originated in central America or southern Mexico, the most widely accepted theory is that N. tabacum originated where the historical ranges of its two progenitor species intersected.

The earliest dated tobacco seeds found to date (that I could find anyway) are from early Formative levels at Chiripa in the Lake Titicaca region of Bolivia. Tobacco seeds were recovered from Early Chiripa contexts (1500-1000 BC), although not in sufficient quantities or contexts to prove use with shamanistic practices.

EFFECTS

Inhaling tobacco smoke causes damage to many of the body’s organs and systems.

Effects of smoking on the respiratory system

The effects of tobacco smoke on the respiratory system include:

• Irritation of the trachea (windpipe) and larynx (voice box)

• Reduced lung function and breathlessness due to swelling and narrowing of the lung airways and excess mucus in the lung passages

• Impairment of the lungs’ clearance system, leading to the build-up of poisonous substances, which results in lung irritation and damage

• Increased risk of lung infection and symptoms such as coughing and wheezing

• Permanent damage to the air sacs of the lungs.

Effects of smoking on the circulatory system

The effects of tobacco smoke on the circulatory system include:

• Raised blood pressure and heart rate

• Constriction (tightening) of blood vessels in the skin, resulting in a drop in skin temperature

• Less oxygen carried by the blood

• ‘Stickier’ blood, which is more prone to clotting

• Damage to the lining of the arteries, which is thought to be a contributing factor to atherosclerosis (the build-up of fatty deposits on the artery walls)

• Reduced blood flow to extremities (fingers and toes)

• Increased risk of stroke and heart attack due to blockages of the blood supply.

Effects of smoking on the immune system

The effects of tobacco smoke on the immune system include:

• Greater susceptibility to infections such as pneumonia and influenza

• More severe and longer-lasting illnesses

• Lower levels of protective antioxidants (such as vitamin C), in the blood.

Effects of smoking on the musculoskeletal system

The effects of tobacco smoke on the musculoskeletal system include:

• Tightening of certain muscles

• Reduced bone density.

Effects of smoking on the sexual organs

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