How one packet of cigarettes affects your lungs in one video

'It’s never too late to quit'

Rachel Hosie
Wednesday 20 September 2017 04:14 EDT
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CEO of Piala Inc, Takao Asuka, hopes the scheme will be an incentive for staff to quit smoking
CEO of Piala Inc, Takao Asuka, hopes the scheme will be an incentive for staff to quit smoking (Getty)

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We all know smoking is bad for us, but when you’re addicted, it can seem impossible to quit.

Sometimes, it takes something striking to hammer the message home, and a new video may help do just that.

YouTuber Chris Notap conducted an experiment using cotton wool to show what just one packet of cigarettes does to the lungs.

In the video, Notap uses a bell jar filled with cotton wool to represent the lungs and a suction pipe to mimic someone inhaling.

We see the bell jar fill up with smoke with each cigarette, and the cotton wool gradually turns brown, alongside the inside of the jar.

The experiment set-up
The experiment set-up
The stained bell jar
The stained bell jar

The suction pipe - representing the smoke - is also stained brown.

“I decided to do my own small test with cotton balls to determine the real effects of smoking a pack a day and what it does to your mouth, throat and lungs not to mention how it compromises every system in your body in order to try to tell you to stop smoking and stop slowly killing yourself,” Notap wrote.

“The effects of smoking on your body is no secret and if you don’t know by now, here is another reason why you need to quit smoking.

“It’s never too late to quit and once you see what a pack a day does to your lungs it will give you the fuel you need to fire up the willpower and quit! Good luck on your journey to quit smoking. Remember, waiting another day could be too late.”

The smoking rate in the UK has been declining in recent years and it’s now the second lowest in Europe.

The latest report reveals that average cigarette consumption amongst smokers has dropped to 11.3 cigarettes a day, which is the lowest level since 1974.

However, 15.5 per cent of adults still smoke in England, rising to 18.1 per cent in Northern Ireland, 17.7 per cent in Scotland and 16.9 per cent in Wales.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness, causing more than 100,000 deaths a year in the UK.

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