Smoking also has an effect on the brain in that it creates psychological addiction to nicotine. Nicotine addiction is very powerful because it causes the release of opioids which results in a feeling of satisfaction and relaxation.

However, the chemical receptors that acquire the opioids lose their effectiveness by as far as 30% after a time which leads to smokers smoking more and more to achieve the same state of gratification. Addiction is close by.

Smoking is not good for the eyes. The forty odd carcinogenic chemicals in cigarette smoke are not good for eyes, nor is the actual smoke itself as smoking tends to dehydrate the skin and the eyes. Cataracts may be the result in some cases.

Smoking has an effect on your sense of smell which numerous people confuse with the sense of taste. Therefore, smokers may not smell their food properly but put it down to damaged taste buds. This lost sense of smell normally returns a whileafter quitting smoking.

Smoking has an effect on the thyroid because of the cyanide in the smoke. Smokers are more likely to develop hyperthyroidism which has an effect on all the body’s major organs including the skin because of the hormones that the thyroid produces to regulate them. Smokers are also more prone to get the bulging eyes linked with some thyroid problems particularly Graves’ Disease.

Smoking will result in premature aging particularly of the skin which will lose its elasticity early causing sagging and wrinkling. This is brought around by a restricted blood flow in the epidermis which means a restricted flow of oxygen to the upper skin. Collagen and elastin are damaged as a result.

It has been said that one cigarette a day kills all the germs in the mouth more effectively than toothpaste, but smokers smoke far more than this and that has a seriously harmful impact on oral hygiene.

Tar from smoke is not healthy for teeth and leaves them yellow and badly stained. Smokers are fur times more apt to suffer from periodontal disease than non-smokers.

Smoking will restrict the flow of blood to the gums as elsewhere, but the impact here is to cause the gums to recede revealing delicate nerves and bone which will react to hot and cold food and drink. Receding gums also allow germs easier access to your blood and a route into your body.

Tooth decay follows more rapidly as food and germ travel up behind the shrivelled gums. Smokers are six times more likely to get cancer of the mouth and throat than normal.

Smoking causes poor circulation which affects the extremities especially the feet and calfs. As the body strives to work more to deliver an adequate amount of blood to the feet, blood clots and varicose veins may be the result. In extreme cases gangrene might ensue leading to the amputation of toes, feet and even legs.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, is at present concerned with quitting smoking statistics. If you are interested in quitting, visit our website now: Health Risks to Smoking

You would be forgiven for imagining that maglev is new technology, but in fact the first American patent was filed by a German inventor in America in 1907. It then took 74 years before the first commercial maglev train came into existance in 1984 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. However, that particular system became quite unreliable and it was withdrawn in 1995.

The highest recorded speed of a maglev train under test circumstances was in Japan in 2003. It ran at an impressive 361 mph, but that is merely 3.5 mph faster than France’s TGV, which has been in service for four decades. The TGV’s top speed of 357.2 mph was surpassed by the Chinese Harmony Express in 2009.

However, these latter day wheeled services are based on tried and tested technology on which hundreds of billions of dollars has been spent during nearly 200 years. If more attention and money were lavished on the maglev, it would exceed conventional train speeds fairly easily.

The most flourishing maglev train in operation nowadays runs to Shanghai airport like the British one ran to Birmingham Airport. However, the similarity between the two ceases there. The British maglev travelled at up to 26 mph, whereas the Chinese, but German built, maglev runs at a top speed of 160 mph.

A lot of the early research and development was carried out in Britain by Professor Eric Laithwaite from after the Second World War to 1973, but Germany is the foremost influence on the maglev train now, although Germany is working closely with the Chinese and the Japanese to improve the technology.

One of the major stumbling blocks for maglev trains is infrastructure. Maglev trains are incompatible with conventional rail rack so they have nowhere to go. Laying new maglev track is not horribly costly, but it is dear and would involve having two sets of incompatible rails running alongside each other for several decades, which would naturally take up twice as much space.

Having said that, some advancement was achieved in designing rails that could be used by both technologies but the endeavour was allowed to fall fallow.

So, the story of magnetic levitation trains started with a German inventor over a hundred years ago and although they lost track of the project for thirty years or so during and after the War, German scientists and engineers are back at the forefront of this fascinating technology, which will surely replace our conventional train and track technologies in the future.

If the electricity required to run them were manufactured by methods other than fossil fuel, these very quiet trains would go a long way to decreasing pollution in both inner cities and the countryside.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a lot of topics, but is currently concerned with train sets for kids. If you would like to know more about train sets for kids, please go over to our website for some great offers.