Smoking and exercising

I smoke about a pack a week and about 2 on weekends. I run 3 times a week and swim in between those days.
What is the affetc that this has on my heart?

If one gets a lot of exercise does it lessen or decrease the effects of smoking?

My guess is that they are independent with smoking having the dominant effect.
Sort of like taking a slow acting poison, but eating well in other respects.

If you think you are going to quit sometime, is there really any point in waiting?

Many Thanks for the help.
Quitting is going to happen, not a chronic smoker so it will happen.

Smoking constricts the arteries like a vise. An occasional smoker feels this effect as pleasure, alas, since the arteries have time between smokes to regain their flexibility. A chain smoker foregoes this twisted form of pleasure, since his arteries are permanently in a hardened state and essentially he is puffing away to get a fix of nicotine..

I wouldn't be surprised to find that heart attacks often occur upon lighting up a cigarette when the arteries suddenly constrict.
(I wonder if a study has ever been done about this ?)
To assess the damage that smoking does, you need to understand that the cardiovascular system works because of an active heart, but also because active arteries which adjust with flexibility to stresses in the system thereby protecting the heart from overloads.
It is this protection that is greatly decreased because of the stiffening effect from smoking.

A second item which I learned from my friendly cardiologist is that exercise can be detrimental to the cardiovascular system if it is too strenuous. That's why you should hew working out to the pulse rate guide lines published in exercise books. Non strenuous exercise is a must, however, in that it keeps the arteries supple and able to protect the heart.

Hey.. that's great!