When something is going wrong in your body, there will be signs. They may be subtle, but they are visible in close observation. If you are a smoker, you may be worried about the smell of smoke emanating from your mouth or clothes. However, there are other signs that tell whether you smoke or not and these signs are difficult to get rid of!

Smoking is the harmful act of inhaling tobacco infused smoke and is a common activity all over the world. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 480,000 deaths happen each year due to smoking or smoke inhalation. The organization explained that smoking causes harm to nearly all organs and quitting lowers the risk of early death and other smoking related diseases.

Like many other substances, there are clear tell-tale signs when someone is smoking. This is especially important for finding lung problems like Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe, sooner so people can get help.

Why Does Smoking Affect Your Physical Appearance?

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) explains that tobacco smoke has more than 7,000 harmful chemicals like nicotine, carbon monoxide, and various metals like arsenic, cadmium, and lead, quickly reach your lungs and then travel through your blood to all your organs, including your skin. Smoking damages your skin's ability to heal because it increases an enzyme metalloproteinase (MMPs) that breaks down collagen. Collagen is what keeps your skin smooth and elastic. As you lose collagen, your skin sags. Squinting from the smoke and puckering your mouth when smoking also cause wrinkles around your eyes and mouth.

Smoking also reduces blood flow to your skin, which means it gets less oxygen and nutrients. All these things together lead to what doctors call a "smoker's face." Quitting smoking can help prevent or slow down these skin problems."

Visible Signs Of Smoking

Here are some visible signs of smoking in people, according to 2013, Lung India

Fingers and Nails

When people smoke, the tar and other chemicals in the smoke stick to their fingers and nails. This repeated contact causes a yellow stain that's hard to wash off. It's a very common sign that someone regularly handles cigarettes or biris.

Moustaches

Especially in older people with white moustaches, smoking causes a yellowing effect. This is most noticeable in the center of the moustache, where the smoke from the nose directly hits the hair. The consistent exposure to smoke colors the hair over time.

Lips

Heavy smokers often have a bluish-black tint to their lips. This discoloration happens because the chemicals in tobacco smoke affect the blood flow and the color of the skin on the lips. The constant exposure changes the lip's natural color.

Teeth

Smoking causes teeth to stain both inside and out. The outside of the teeth turns yellow from the tar, while the inside develops a brownish-black stain. This happens because the smoke seeps into the enamel and discolors the teeth over time.

Premature Wrinkling

Smoking makes the skin age faster. This leads to wrinkles like "crow's feet" around the eyes and "cobblestone wrinkles" on the neck. This happens because smoking reduces blood flow, limiting oxygen to the skin, and damages collagen, which keeps skin elastic.

Nodular Elastosis

This condition, also known as "Favre–Racouchot syndrome," causes blackheads and wrinkles, especially around the eyes and temples. It is made worse by both sun exposure and heavy smoking. The skin becomes discolored with visible nodules and wrinkles.

Facial Wrinkling and COPD

A study published in Thorax 2006 found a connection between wrinkles on the face and COPD, a lung disease. It's thought that smoking affects both the skin and lungs through similar processes. If doctors notice signs like "crow's feet" on a smoker's face, they might recommend tests for COPD. This early detection can help people get treatment sooner and improve their lung health.

Former US Senator Ben Sasse is battling Stage 4 pancreatic cancer that has spread around his body. According to his doctors, he now has four types of cancer: lymphoma, vascular, lung cancer, liver cancer, and pancreatic cancer.

Speaking to The New York Times’s “Interesting Times” podcast, the Republican Senator from Nebraska reflected on his life and impending death.

Sasse was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December 2025, which remained in the shadows for a long time. Until late October, Sasse had no symptoms. But it started with a lot of back and abdominal pain. Initially, he thought it was due to “some ab muscles pulled from stupid forms of training”.

His doctors thought Sasse had some undiagnosed celiac disease or some dairy allergy. However, a full body scan in December revealed that Sasse’s “torso is chock-full of tumors.”

“In mid-December, I got a three- to four-month life expectancy,” he was quoted as saying.

“They told me over the course of the next couple of days that I already have five forms of cancer: lymphoma, vascular, lung cancer, bad liver cancer, and pancreatic, where it originated,” the former senator added. “So, it was pretty clear that we’re dealing with a short number of months left to live.”

Sasse represented Nebraska in the Senate for eight years before resigning to become the president of the University of Florida in July 2024.

During the interview, Sasse said his condition has improved since last December -- his pain is 80 percent reduced.

"I’m at Day 99 or something since then, and I’m doing a heck of a lot better than I was doing at Christmas," he said.

However, the former senator noted that he deals with nausea, as well as bleeding on his face due to intake of the investigational new drug daraxonrasib.

During the interview, the former lawmaker’s face was covered in dried blood.

Death A Wicked Thief, Says Ben Sasse

Sasse, a father of three, said he felt a “heaviness” with respect to realizing he did not have much time left with his family.

“I didn’t like the idea of my 14-year-old son not having a dad around at 16,” he remarked. “I didn’t like the idea of my daughters, who are 22 and 24, not having their dad there to walk them down the aisle. I felt a real heaviness about that.”

However, the Nebraska Republican said he has “continued to feel peace about the fact that death is something that we should hate.”

“We should call it a wicked thief,” he continued. “And yet, it’s pretty good that you pass through the veil of tears one time and then there will be no more tears, there will be no more cancer.”

What Is Pancreatic Cancer? Know The Warning Signs

Pancreatic cancer has long been one of the toughest challenges in oncology. With a five-year survival rate hovering around 13 percent and recurrence rates approaching 80 percent after treatment, the odds have historically been stacked against patients.

The prevention and early detection remain vital.

Experts warn that pancreatic cancer often masquerades as common ailments, delaying diagnosis. Here are some early symptoms that should never be ignored:

• Abdominal or back pain that worsens over time or eases when leaning forward.
• Unexplained weight loss without changes in diet or exercise.
• Jaundice, including yellowing of the eyes and skin, sometimes with intense itching.
• Changes to urine or stool, such as dark urine or pale, greasy stools.
• New-onset diabetes without obvious risk factors.
• Persistent fatigue unrelated to poor sleep or lifestyle

Three simple lifestyle changes, such as regular physical activity, cutting down sedentary time, and improving sleep duration, may significantly boost your brain's cognitive abilities and reduce the risk of dementia later in life, according to a new study.

Dementia is a neurodegenerative condition affecting an estimated 55 million people globally. It is characterized by a decline in memory, thinking, and social abilities.

Together, the three simple lifestyle changes cut down the risk of late-onset dementia by 25 percent.

Published in the open-access journal PLOS One, the systematic review and meta-analysis of over 69 prospective cohort studies involving millions of cognitively healthy adults aged 35 and above showed the potential benefits of lifestyle behaviors such as regular physical activity, cutting down sedentary time, and improving sleep duration.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, a person’s overall risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease—the most common form of dementia—is about 11 percent. However, the study found that with the simple suggested lifestyle changes, the average person’s risk decreases to approximately 8 percent.

The study emphasized that people do not need elaborate and expensive longevity hacks to stay mentally sharp as they age.

The reduction is “fairly comparable to the effect sizes sometimes seen with medications for chronic diseases,” said Akinkunle Oye-Somefun, a researcher at York University in Toronto, who led the study, NBC News reported.

Sitting For Long Periods Worst For Your Brain

The findings showed that avoiding sitting for longer periods had the greatest effect and can have a long-term benefit for the brain.

Sitting for more than eight hours a day increased dementia risk by almost 30 percent, at the same time being regularly active, even just going for a walk every day, decreased dementia risk by an average of 25 percent.

Long sitting hours can also spike a person’s risk of other conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity, all of which in turn raise dementia risk.

Getting between seven and eight hours of sleep each night also had a greater benefit on the brain.

Also read: 'Game Of Thrones' Actor Michael Patrick Dies After Battle With Motor Neurone Disease

The risk of dementia increased by 18 percent among those who slept less than seven hours, while sleeping more than eight hours per night also raised the risk of the neurodegenerative disease by 28 percent.

Importantly, moderate physical activity “offsets dementia risks even when other risk factors are present,” said Oye-Somefun, NBC News reported.

However, “many people assume that being physically active cancels out the harm of sitting for long periods. It doesn’t,” Oye-Somefun said. “We shouldn’t do one of these things alone; we should do them all.”

Also read: Simple Brain Training Exercise Cuts Dementia Risk For 20 Years, Study Finds

What Is Dementia?

Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a significant decline in mental function that is serious enough to affect everyday life. It commonly impacts memory, thinking, and reasoning skills.

Dementia itself is not a single disease but a collection of symptoms caused by underlying conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia.

Common signs include

• memory problems,
• confusion,
• difficulty finding words,
• changes in mood or behavior,
• trouble completing familiar tasks.

These symptoms usually worsen over time and are not considered a normal part of ageing. Although there is no cure, treatment options can help manage symptoms, and early diagnosis plays an important role in care planning.

It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that Annabelle Gurwitch, an American author, actress, and television host, developed a "a little persistent cough".

Suspecting it to be a COVID symptom, Annabelle went for a check-up. Her doctor alarmingly informed her about something suspicious on her lungs. Soon after, an X-ray and a biopsy confirmed her diagnosis of stage 4 cancer.

But, here's the catch. Annabelle is a non-smoker. She also lived a healthy lifestyle and exercised every day, and felt like she was in really good health, besides the persistent little cough.

Also read:American Author Annabelle Gurwitch Writes New Memoir On Stage-4 Lung Cancer Diagnosis

HealthandMe spoke to health experts to understand how a persistent cough signals the risk of lung cancer.

If you, too, are a non-smoker who is leading a healthy lifestyle and has no medical conditions other than a persistent cough, then you must visit your doctor right away, advised the experts.

"A persistent cough can be an early warning sign of lung cancer, especially when it shows specific features rather than behaving like a routine respiratory illness," Dr Sameer Khatri, Principal Director - Medical Oncology, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Patparganj, told HealthandMe.

The doctor noted that the cough becomes suspicious when it persists beyond three weeks without a clear cause or fails to respond to standard symptomatic treatment such as cough syrups, bronchodilators, etc.

"A change in a pre-existing smoker’s cough—for example, becoming more frequent, severe, or different in character—is particularly important. In non-smokers, a new, unexplained chronic cough should not be ignored," Dr. Khatri said.

Certain associated symptoms further strengthen the suspicion of cancer. The most significant is hemoptysis, the coughing up of blood or blood-stained mucus, even if minimal.

Other red flags include

• unintentional weight loss,
• chest pain,
• breathlessness,
• hoarseness,
• recurrent pneumonia in the same lung region.
• age >40 years,
• smoking history, occupational exposures.

Persistent cough: TB Vs Lung Cancer

Persistent cough also signals the risk of tuberculosis (TB) -- the world's most deadliest infectious disease. Understanding the differences between these two causes is critical for early diagnosis and timely treatment.

Dr Seema Jagiasi from MOC Cancer Care Center told HealthandMe that the cough in TB may sometimes produce blood-tinged phlegm, but it is usually associated with signs of infection, such as fatigue and a general feeling of illness.

TB is more common in younger populations and in individuals with weakened immunity or poor living conditions.

"In contrast, a cough associated with lung cancer tends to be more insidious. It may start as a dry, persistent cough that gradually worsens over time. Unlike TB, it may not initially present with fever or infection-related symptoms," the doctor explained.

Also read: Suffering From Mid-back Pain? Doctors Say It May Be Spinal TB

One of the key differences lies in progression and response to treatment.

TB is treatable with a course of antibiotics, and symptoms often improve within weeks of starting therapy. However, a lung cancer-related cough persists or worsens despite routine medications.

Dr Jagiasi emphasized that any cough lasting beyond three weeks, especially when accompanied by alarming symptoms, should not be ignored.

"Early investigations, such as chest imaging and further diagnostic tests, can help distinguish between the two conditions," the doctor said.

While both TB and lung cancer may present with a persistent cough, their underlying causes, associated symptoms, and progression differ significantly.

The health experts called for more awareness and the need for timely medical evaluation for the effective management of the disease.