Audio By Carbonatix
At this point, we're all aware that smoking is bad for us, but that's not quite enough to kick the habit for most people. That makes sense, because nicotine is highly addictive and smoking is a go-to for a lot of people who need to relieve stress. These are stressful times!
But it's even more stressful to be aware of the potential long-term consequences. Smoking causes all sorts of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, according to the Center for Disease Control.
Smokers live, on average, ten years less than non-smokers, but if you manage to quit before the age of 40, your chances of recovery go up 90 percent. That's probably nothing that smokers don't already know, but knowing isn't the same things as seeing.
A nurse named Amanda Eller in North Carolina shared two videos on Facebook that are making people think about smoking in a brand new way. Eller featured two sets of human lungs. One is a normal healthy pair, the other is a set of lungs that belonged to someone who smoked a pack of cigarettes every day for 20 years. Just looking at them side-by-side is pretty shocking:

But then Eller inflated them. The healthy lungs are creepy to look at for me personally, because they're an organ outside of the human body. That's disturbing. But they work normally:
You can see them expand and then slowly deflate, which allows the organ time to process the oxygen.
Then she inflates the black lungs. They fill with air fairly normally, but almost immediately snap back into their deflated position because they have no elastance: elastance is the elastic resistance lung tissue has.
“Because these lungs are COPD, cancerous lungs, the elastance is gone, so they will stretch out but then the recoil of them just snaps right back,” says a voice in the video.
There is something very recognizable about how the lungs deflate if you have ever seen someone struggling with emphysema or lung cancer. It's incredibly difficult for them to draw a breath, because the air enters the body, but can't stay long enough to give oxygen.
Commenters who had given up smoking started sharing their stories, according to Bored Panda:









Latest Stories
-
GTA 6 leaks – a nightmare or a blip for the biggest video game of the year?
1 hour -
Two injured in stabbing attack at Canada Sikh temple
1 hour -
Modi spent years building his strong image – why is he making Gen Z reels now?
1 hour -
Canada ‘should fight’ as US trade deadline looms, Manitoba premier says
2 hours -
Man Utd agree ÂŁ70m fee for Brighton’s Baleba
2 hours -
Inter-Agency Football Gala: YEA organize event as part of National Youth Month celebration
2 hours -
Receiver fights High Court order to hand over No.1 Oxford Street Hotel to Cheddar’s company
2 hours -
Partey begins new chapter in Saudi Arabia with Al Shabab
2 hours -
NSMQ 2026: St. Francis Xavier deny debutants Pentecost SHS one-eighth spot
3 hours -
One killed in sword attack at Swedish school
3 hours -
NSMQ 2026: Tamale SHS sweep aside Kalpohin, Wenchi Methodist to reach one-eighth stage
3 hours -
Tupac murder accused told police in 2008 his nephew fired fatal shots
3 hours -
Heart of the Beast to Practical Magic 2: 10 of the best films to watch this September
4 hours -
NSMQ 2026: Tears of relief as Labone SHS survive Notre Dame Sem. in thriller to secure one-eighth spot
4 hours -
Onga Tomato Mix unveils Diana Hamilton as Brand Ambassador
4 hours