There are a number of ways that smoking is bad for you. Every time you light up a cigarette and inhale, some very dangerous chemicals enter your lungs.

Continued exposure can bring the lungs' natural cleansing process to a complete halt:

1. Your lungs are forced to work harder to bring in the same amount of oxygen.

2. Noxious gases like ammonia cause chemical burns to the sensitive tissues of your lungs. This increases the production of mucus, leading to coughing up phlegm.

3. This very excess mucus is a breeding ground for all manner of disease-causing bacteria and viruses, making the smoker at higher risk of colds, flu, bronchitis and respiratory infections.

4. The lining of your bronchi thickens, predisposing you to lung cancer; most cases of lung cancers begin in the bronchial lining.

5. Tobacco smoke damages the scavenger cells that remove foreign particles from the air sacs of the lungs.

6. A layer of sticky tar composed of the compounds inhaled during smoking are deposited on the lining of your throat , the bronchial lining and in the delicate air sacs of your lungs.

If you smoke a pack a day you are pouring about 16 ounces of this tar, which is rich in cancer producing chemicals, directly into your lungs each year.

The sooner you quit smoking, the sooner your body can start to cleanse itself of all the toxins that have built up since your first cigarette.