The problem most commonly associated with smoking is lung cancer, but tobacco is hugely damaging to health from the first puff.

Immediate effects

Immediately upon inhaling cigarette smoke, carbon monoxide is taken into the bloodstream instead of oxygen. This means that the body's cells are starved of the oxygen they require and is part of the reason smokers get more breathless when exercising. During pregnancy, smoking can deprive the baby of oxygen, which is why if a woman smokes while pregnant, the baby is often born below their expected birthweight.

To compensate for this lack of oxygen, heart rate increases, as does blood pressure, yet blood flow to the extremities (hands and feet) is reduced €“ meaning the person feels cold €“ while the brain and nervous system are stimulated, which can give a jittery feeling.

Smoking also affects the cilia €“ hair-like structures in the trachea and bronchi €“ meaning they are unable to perform their usual function of moving mucus and other particles up and away from the lungs. This puts the smoker at a higher than usual risk of respiratory infections and can cause a cough to develop as the body tries to clear the chest of unwanted substances by an alternative mechanism.

Other immediate effects of smoking include:

• A reduction in the sense of taste and smell
• Ageing of the skin
• Yellow staining of the fingers and teeth
• Bad breath.