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Cigarettes aren't good for us. That's hardly news -- we've known about the dangers of smoking for decades.
香烟对我们没什么好处。这已经不算是新闻了--几十年来我们一直都知道抽烟的危害。
But how exactly do cigarettes harm us?
但是香烟到底是怎么伤害我们的？
Let's look at what happens as their ingredients make their way through our bodies,
让我们看看当香烟的成分进入我们的身体时会发生什么，
and how we benefit physically when we finally give up smoking.
以及戒烟后对身体有什么好处。
With each inhalation, smoke brings its more than 5,000 chemical substances into contact with the body's tissues.
每一次吸入，烟就会把它本身超过五千种的化学物质带入体内，与身体的组织接触。
From the start, tar, a black, resinous material, begins to coat the teeth and gums, damaging tooth enamel, and eventually causing decay.
从一开始，焦油，一种黑色的树脂原料，会覆盖牙齿和牙龈，损伤牙釉质，最终造成蛀牙。
Over time, smoke also damages nerve-endings in the nose, causing loss of smell.
随着时间的推移，烟雾也会伤害鼻子中的神经末梢，导致嗅觉失灵。
Inside the airways and lungs, smoke increases the likelihood of infections, as well as chronic diseases like bronchitis and emphysema.
在气道和肺内部，烟雾会增加感染的可能性，以及诸如支气管炎和肺气肿等慢性疾病的可能性。
It does this by damaging the cilia, tiny hairlike structures whose job it is to keep the airways clean.
它是通过破坏纤毛来实现的，这是一种微小的毛发状结构，其功能是保持气道清洁。
It then fills the alveoli, tiny air sacs that enable the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and blood.
然后烟雾会充满肺泡，肺泡是一个微小的空气囊，能使氧气和二氧化碳在肺部和血液之间交换。
A toxic gas called carbon monoxide crosses that membrane into the blood,
一氧化碳是一种有毒气体，它会穿过薄膜，进入血液，
binding to hemoglobin and displacing the oxygen it would usually have transported around the body.
使血红蛋白结合，取代血红蛋白原本要在身体中运输的氧气。
That's one of the reasons smoking can lead to oxygen deprivation and shortness of breath.
这就是吸烟会导致缺氧和呼吸急促的原因之一。
Within about 10 seconds, the bloodstream carries a stimulant called nicotine to the brain,
大约只要十秒，血液流动就会把一种叫做尼古丁的兴奋剂带到大脑，
triggering the release of dopamine and other neurotransmitters including endorphins
触发多巴胺及其他神经递质的释放，包括脑内啡，
that create the pleasurable sensations which make smoking highly addictive.
它能创造出快乐的感觉，因此抽烟非常容易上瘾。
Nicotine and other chemicals from the cigarette simultaneously cause constriction of blood vessels
尼古丁和来自香烟的其他化学物质会同时造成血管紧缩，
and damage their delicate endothelial lining, restricting blood flow.
并伤害它们精细的内膜面，因而限制血流。
These vascular effects lead to thickening of blood vessel walls and enhance blood platelet stickiness,
这些对血管的影响会导致血管管壁变厚，增加血小板的黏度，
increasing the likelihood that clots will form and trigger heart attacks and strokes.
因此更有可能会有血块生成，触发心脏病或中风。
Many of the chemicals inside cigarettes can trigger dangerous mutations in the body's DNA that make cancers form.
香烟中有许多化学物质会触发人体DNA产生危险的病变，形成癌症。
Additionally, ingredients like arsenic and nickel may disrupt the process of DNA repair,
此外，像砷和镍这些成份可能会打断DNA修复的过程，
thus compromising the body's ability to fight many cancers.
因而危害到身体对抗癌症的能力。
In fact, about one of every three cancer deaths in the United States is caused by smoking. And it's not just lung cancer.
事实上，在美国，每三件因癌症过世的案例中就有一件是由抽烟造成的。并且不仅限于肺癌。
Smoking can cause cancer in multiple tissues and organs, as well as damaged eyesight and weakened bones.
抽烟会造成数个组织和器官的癌症，还会伤害视力，造成骨质脆弱。
It makes it harder for women to get pregnant. And in men, it can cause erectile dysfunction.
此外，女性也会更难怀孕。男性则可能会因为抽烟而引起勃起功能障碍。
But for those who quit smoking, there's a huge positive upside with almost immediate and long-lasting physical benefits.
但对于戒烟的人来说，有非常积极的一面，几乎可以说能让身体获得持久且即时的益处。
Just 20 minutes after a smoker's final cigarette, their heart rate and blood pressure begin to return to normal.
抽烟者抽完最后一根香烟之后二十分钟，他们的心跳和血压就会开始回到正常。
After 12 hours, carbon monoxide levels stabilize, increasing the blood's oxygen-carrying capacity.
十二小时后，一氧化碳的量就会稳定下来，血液运载氧的能力又会增加。
A day after ceasing, heart attack risk begins to decrease as blood pressure and heart rates normalize.
戒烟一天后，随着心跳和血压变正常，心脏病的风险也会开始下降。
After two days, the nerve endings responsible for smell and taste start to recover.
两天后，负责嗅觉和味觉的神经末稍会开始恢复。
Lungs become healthier after about one month, with less coughing and shortness of breath.
大约一个月后，肺会变得更健康，比较少发生咳嗽和呼吸短促。
The delicate hair-like cilia in the airways and lungs start recovering within weeks,
气道和肺部的脆弱纤毛会在数周内开始恢复，
and are restored after 9 months, improving resistance to infection.
九个月后会复原，改善对感染的抵抗力。
By the one-year anniversary of quitting, heart disease risk plummets to half as blood vessel function improves.
戒烟周年庆的时候，随着血管功能改善，心脏疾病风险只剩一半。
Five years in, the chance of a clot forming dramatically declines, and the risk of stroke continues to reduce.
五年时，形成血块的机会会明显下降，中风的风险持续减少。
After ten years, the chances of developing fatal lung cancer go down by 50%,
十年后，发展致命肺癌的机会会下降50%，
probably because the body's ability to repair DNA is once again restored.
可能是因为身体修复DNA的能力再次复原了。
Fifteen years in, the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease is essentially the same as that of a non-smoker.
十五年后，发展出冠状动脉疾病的可能性基本上会和不抽烟的人一样。
There's no point pretending this is all easy to achieve.
假装这一切都很容易实现是没有意义的。
Quitting can lead to anxiety and depression, resulting from nicotine withdrawal.
戒烟会导致焦虑和忧郁，造成尼古丁脱瘾症状。
But fortunately, such effects are usually temporary.
但幸运的是这些影响通常是暂时的。
And quitting is getting easier, thanks to a growing arsenal of tools.
现在也有越来越多工具让戒烟变得更容易。
Nicotine replacement therapy through gum, skin patches, lozenges, and sprays may help wean smokers off cigarettes.
通过使用口香糖、皮肤贴片、喉糖还有喷剂等在内的尼古丁取代疗法，都可能协助抽烟者戒烟。
They work by stimulating nicotine receptors in the brain and thus preventing withdrawal symptoms, without the addition of other harmful chemicals.
这些工具的作用是刺激大脑中的尼古丁接收器，因而避免脱瘾症状发生，且不需要用到其他有害的化学物质。
Counselling and support groups, cognitive behavioral therapy, and moderate intensity exercise also help smokers stay cigarette-free.
咨询和支持小组、认知行为疗法，以及适当强度的运动，也能协助抽烟者不去碰香烟。
That's good news, since quitting puts you and your body on the path back to health.
这是个好消息，因为戒烟能让你和你的身体走上恢复健康的道路。
