Smoking reduces the ability of bones to maintain, repair, and heal themselves. This leads to weak, brittle bones that are prone to fractures – especially for people older than 40.
What Smoking does to your Bones
Prof Shah Waliullah, senior faculty at the orthopedic department of King George’s Medical University (KGMU), said, ‘Bones have two types of cells called osteoclasts and osteoblasts. They are responsible for making and breaking bones.
Osteoclasts are the cells that break bones in so that they can be remodeled, while osteoblasts form new bones after breakage done by the prior and this procedure keeps going on continuously.’
‘Quitting smoking and other forms of tobacco consumption while maintaining a healthy lifestyle can prevent osteoporosis.’
However, it is seen that in those who consume tobacco for a long time, be it in the form of smoking or chewing, the number of osteoclasts increases while osteoblasts decrease. Eventually, it causes Osteoporosis because bone density goes down.
Source: IANS
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