Smoking Tests

Smoking tobacco is an extremely unhealthy habit that can have serious consequences on one\'s health. Most people start smoking or using tobacco fairly early and find it difficult to quit even when faced with the consequences. Smoking has been attributed as a cause for many serious health conditions including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, lung diseases, diabetes etc. apart from being a contributing factor in many health issues. If you smoke tobacco or are exposed to tobacco smoke then it is highly advisable to get a Smoking Test done to assess the damage it might have caused to your body.

A Smoking Test includes tests that help in determining the damage to various functions and organs in the body, that smoke is causing; these include tests like Complete Blood Test, Iron Studies, Kidney Function Test, Liver Function Test, Lipid Test, Folic Acid, Hemoglobin Test, Vitamin D Test, etc. In the Smoking Test , a sample is taken by the phlebotomist and sent to the lab to perform specific tests.

Why Smoking Test is important?

Smoking is associated with multiple health risks, it has been extensively studied and observed that smoking can have a negative impact on various body functions and organs and overall quality of life of an individual. Cigarettes, bidis, and other forms of tobacco that are smoked, usually, contain many harmful chemicals that enter the body and cause extensive damage.

People are generally unable to quit smoking because cigarettes contain a substance called nicotine which is highly addictive and habit forming.

Some serious illnesses that are caused by smoking:

• Cancer
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Lung diseases
• Diabetes
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Erectile dysfunction
• Weakened immune system

Some lesser known effects of smoking:

• Unhealthy Teeth
• Poor Vision
• Increased risk of nail infections
• Increased risk of balding and greying hair

If you are a smoker or are exposed to second-hand smoke then it is extremely important to get a Smoking Test done to understand its impact. Smoking also has a negative impact on women, especially pregnant women. Smoking during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage. It can also cause asthma, ear infections and growth problems, oxygen deprivation, physical deformities, and sudden infant death syndrome in the newborn. Children who are exposed to smoke are also more likely to develop asthma, pneumonia, and other lung diseases later in life.

How Smoking Test is performed?

While there is no one specific Smoking Test that looks for the signs of damage due to smoking, there are many tests that a doctor may recommend, determining where and how extensive the damage is. Generally, a Smoking Test would include a blood test for Iron Studies, Kidney Function Test, Liver Function Test, Lipid Test, Folic Acid, Hemoglobin Test, Vitamin D Test, etc. and others as recommended by the doctor. For all these tests the phlebotomist will collect samples of your blood, these samples will then be sent to the lab and tests will be performed to check for each parameter.