How a smoker can cleanse the lungs of toxic substances

According to the World Health Organization,Tobacco smoking kills about 8 million people worldwide every year. The fact that this bad habit causes great harm to health is known to everyone without exception - people are also well aware of the dangers of passive smoking. Many smokers, even after many years of being a prisoner of their addiction, today are trying to start a new life without cigarettes. Many of them try to quit with the help of vapes, but this passion for "electronics" often becomes a new bad habit. It is best to quit smoking permanently, without switching to alternative ways of obtaining nicotine. In this case, the lungs of a person begin to recover on their own, thanks to which terrible diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer can be avoided. But how long does it take to clear the respiratory system and how can you help the body deal with it faster?

After quitting smoking, a person's lungs begin to clear, and this process can be accelerated

What happens when you smoke

When a man lights a cigarette and takes a puffsmoke, about 200 harmful substances enter his lungs. Among them are carbon monoxide, soot, various acids, arsenic, ammonia, and so on. According to scientists, smoking one cigarette can be compared to inhaling the air near a busy highway for 36 hours. Nicotine directly affects the brain, first stimulating its work, and then sharply slowing down - because of this, after a puff, relaxation is sometimes felt.

When smoking, the human body is clogged with hundreds of harmful substances.

While nicotine affects the brain,substances resulting from combustion have a detrimental effect on the respiratory system. Once inside, they first cause irritation of the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx, trachea, pulmonary alveoli and bronchi. Dangerous chemical compounds in large quantities settle on the surface of the cilia of the epithelium, which are responsible for tissue repair - because of this, in the process of smoking, the lungs only receive harm, without being able to cleanse themselves.

See also: Why don't all smokers get lung cancer?

How long does it take for the lungs to clear

However, if you quit smoking completely andresort to vaping, over time, the lungs can start the process of purification. But this does not happen in a day, a week or even a month - the body begins to get rid of accumulated toxins at least six months later. Gradually getting rid of harmful substances, lung cells begin to recover. But the effectiveness depends on how long and how often a person smoked - if the smoking experience is calculated in tens of years, it will not be possible to completely get rid of toxins. And if the experience of smoking is small, over time you can cleanse yourself very well.

The only way to cleanse the lungs of harmful substances is to completely stop smoking.

Required reading: Scientists say the best ways to quit smoking

How to restore lungs after smoking

Some drug manufacturers claim that theirmeans help in the shortest possible time to rid the lungs of all contaminants. But all this is nothing more than a marketing ploy, because there is no scientific evidence of their effectiveness. Instead of spending big bucks on dubious detox products, it's best to follow a few simple rules to speed up the process of restoring lung health.

After quitting smoking, a person begins to cough heavily, but over time this disappears.

First of all, you need to completely protect yourself fromtobacco smoke - do not forget about the dangers of passive smoking. Secondly, do not rely on the advertised harmlessness of electronic cigarettes, because they are also harmful, but in their own way. In order for the lungs to be as healthy as possible, it is worth being wary of viruses, so it is necessary to avoid people with signs of a cold and make vaccines in a timely manner. Finally, experts recommend exercising and eating right, because during physical exertion a person breathes more often and removes mucus from the lungs, and vitamins and minerals strengthen the immune system and help the body cope with harmful substances.

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It should be noted that earlier scientists believed thatQuitting smoking cannot help restore lung health. However, in 2020, it was found that by giving up a bad habit, people still become healthier. At the very least, people who quit smoking have more healthy cells than those who have not been able to overcome their bad habit. If you want to learn more about the study, read this material.