Why are smokers often out of breath?

Answer 1

Basically, there liver gets damaged and filled up with tar, so when they breath it will bee filled up with it and very hard for them to breath :D xx if this doesnt help, then go to bbc bitesize xx :D

Answer 2

A) some smokers develop an asthmatic like condition which constricts bronchial tubes. This prevents air (and therefore oxygen) from reaching the alveoli where oxygen is transferred to the blood and eventually the cells of the body.

B) after years of smoking, the alveoli become damaged preventing them transferring oxygen to the blood. People with alpha 1 anti trypsin disease are more susceptible to the effects of smoking and damage occurs more rapidly.

C) smoking also increases carbon monoxide in the blood which binds to red blood cells better than oxygen preventing enough oxygen getting to the cells.

For most people, shortness of breath is more a symptom of increasing CO2 levels than low oxygen levels.

Answer 3

Chronic smokers often have difficulty breathing because they develop Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, or COPD. The two diseases that fall under that category are emphysema and chronic bronchitis. In emphysema, the alveoli lose the elasticity and break down due to inflammation from the cigarette smoke. Essentially, the patient begins to lose their ability to obtain oxygen and dispose of carbon dioxide and other gases. In chronic bronchitis, breathing becomes more difficult due to narrowed airways and increased production of mucus, which obstruct airflow. Both of these diseases are serious and progressively get worse over time.

Smokers can also develop lung cancer and other cancers, which can also obstruct airflow and also lead to difficulty breathing.

Answer 4

Puff, puff, cough, cough,

I can hardly breathe…HELP!

You knew it was bad for you when you started, but that's in the past. What tobacco did to you can be summarized by recalling that first cigarette. By the time you crushed the last inch, your body already knew it was under attack:

• Your heart rate increased;
• The cilia - broom-like hairs that keep your bronchial walls clean - became sluggish. Smoking for years paralyzes your cilia. Then, you're protective defense against lung infection is frozen in time.
• The hot smoke you took in assaulted the delicate tissues in your mouth, throat, bronchial tubes and lungs. Your lungs kept 85-95% of all the chemical compounds you inhaled. Among the most damaging - nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide.
• The nicotine constricted your blood vessels, so less oxygenated blood could flow through your body. Your heart had to pump harder.
• The tars in cigarette smoke, when cool, formed a brown, sticky mass on your lungs. These tars can be precursors for lung cancer.
• The carbon monoxide you inhaled drove oxygen out of your red blood cells.
• The mucus-producing cells in your lungs and airways grew in size and number because of increased mucus from tobacco smoke. Over time, the mucus gets thicker, and "smokers' cough" develops. The mucus is easily compromised by infection.
• Lungs and airways narrowed and reduced airflow. It became harder for you to breathe normally the longer you smoked.
• Chemicals in cigarette smoke can alter normal lung cells and change them into cancer cells.

Answer 5

Beacause smoking can damage your lungs and you use your lungs to breath and without lungs you can't breath. It will give you lung cancer and a big risk of heart diseas. Smoking can really damage your insides especially if you smoke alot.

Answer 6

Carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke (CO) displaces oxygen (O2) from the hemoglobin molecule. This reduced oxygen carrying capacity results in more hemoglobin manufacture by the body (and, hence, higher hiemoglobin levels in smokers).

The above process, coupled with destruction of lung architecture by toxins in cigarette smoke, results in increased work of breathing.

Answer 7

Because you lung get black and that isn't good.

Answer 8

People who smoke cigarettes have trouble breathing because inhaling tobacco smoke coats the lungs with tar.