Even if you threw away your last cigarette 30 years ago, your DNA may tell a different story. The effects of smoking are longer lasting than we think.
The Effects of Smoking: DNA Rewritten
We've always said that quitting smoking is the most important step to regaining our health. But what happens if our DNA retains traces of that smoky past? A groundbreaking study has discovered that effects of smoking on our genetic heritage can persist for over three decades. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, led by the Italian-American endocrinologist Andrea Baccarelli, revealed that epigenetic markers (the “switches” that regulate gene expression) they never return to their original condition after exposure to smoke.
Invisible scars on the genome
Epigenetics teaches us that the environment can modify the expression of our genes without altering the DNA sequence. The effects of smoking leave invisible scars that can contribute to the onset of cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks and strokes, even decades after the last cigarette.
“The epigenetic markers of gene 'switches' never return to their previous state, even decades after quitting cigarette smoking,” he says. Andrea Baccarelli.
It's not just smoking that leaves an indelible imprint on our DNA. Environmental pollutants impact our health even before we're born. Liborio Stuppia, rector ofUniversity of Chieti, highlights how these epigenetic alterations are responsible for the obesity epidemic and the decline in fertility worldwide.
Effects of smoking and pollutants: a dangerous combination
The combination between the effects of smoking and exposure to environmental pollutants amplifies the risks to our health. Heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium, pesticides and fine dust (PM2.5) interact with our DNA, increasing the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.
“Today, alterations to the epigenetic 'switches' of our genes due to contact with environmental pollutants are the cause of as many as 3,5 million cases of asthma in the world,” he says. Priscus Piscitelli, vice president of SIMA.
Preventing the effects of smoking: a priority
If you effects of smoking and pollutants are so persistent, what can we do? The answer lies in true primary prevention. We need a new vision of medicine, focused on removing the environmental causes that contribute to the onset of disease, especially in children. Perhaps it is time to look beyond personal habits and reflect on the world we are building. Every cigarette, every polluting emission, leaves a mark not only on us, but also on future generations, and literally produces millions of deaths every year. DNA, the guardian of our identity, reminds us that our actions have profound and lasting consequences. Can we ignore these signals?
- effects of smoking and pollution are not an inevitable condemnation. With awareness and commitment, we can reverse the trend. Science offers us the tools to understand, but the responsibility is ours to put the solutions into practice: it is up to us to decide which story we want to leave imprinted in the code of life.
