Researchers managed to prove that smoking leaves a mark on your DNA. Their study revealed how human DNA is damaged by smoking cigarettes, affecting 7,000 genes. Those altered genes can contribute to a series of diseases. In order for this study to be conducted, there were 16,000 smokers or ex-smokers participating in it. They agreed to let the scientists take samples of their blood. In this way, researchers found out that for those who gave up smoking five years ago, their genes started recovering.
- Scientists proved that human genes become impaired because of smoking.
- Our body takes more than 30 years to eliminate the damaging effects of smoking.
Dr. Stephanie London, the deputy chief of the epidemiology branch of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, claimed that as soon one quits smoking, he or she gets further from the eventuality of smoking-related diseases coming up. Proof that shows that smoking leaves a mark on your DNA is the high amount of residues. After quitting, these residue remaining in the body is taking years to clean off.
Even these effects of smoking wear off after a period of time, scientists prove that not all of them happen to disappear immediately. London’s team found out that after 30 years of not smoking anymore, the body still keeps some damaged genetic changes, unwanted residues that still do harm.
Smoking is also known to contribute all sorts of illnesses like cancer, but also strokes and heart diseases. Annually, this addiction kills 6 million people worldwide. Even after decades pass since one had his or her last cigarette, the chances to still be exposed to one of the smoking-related illnesses is still high. Few are fully aware of the fact that smoking leaves a mark on their DNA.
London and her team developed a tool to help them understand DNA methylation better. The researchers’ team used this in finding what types of diseases an individual could develop, depending on how their genes became altered in the process of smoking. This has been proposed as a reason for the fact that the addiction still has its devastating effects on your body even years after quitting it. Scientists compared DNA methylation sites from former smokers to non-smokers. It’s this study through which they found out that one-third of human genes is affected by smoking and also that the bad effects preserved themselves even after 30 years of being a quitter.
How fascinating the human body can be! Are you a smoker? If so, is this study going to persuade you to quit? Don’t you want to have a long healthy life? You still have time!
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