Essay, Research Paper
Smoking and its effects on the body
I am doing my drug project on smoking. In some countries, smoking causes one-third of all cancer deaths. It causes diseases of the heart, lung, digestive tract, kidney, bladder. There are many other health risks. There are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke and 200 of those are known poisons. Pregnant women who smoke may have miscarriages, low birth weight, still birth, and premature birth.
There are a few reasons why people smoke. Most teenagers smoke because they want to rebel, they think it will make them cool, and, if everyone is doing it, it makes them feel like part of a group. Adults usually smoke because they find it relaxing or refreshing. These two opposite effects are caused by nicotine. Another reason people smoke is because ads such as Joe Camel and Marlboro Man, that make smoking seem cool, sexy, and attractive. Also, because it is seen in movies, on T.V., and at sporting events.
Cigarettes have one main dangerous ingredient in them. That dangerous ingredient is nicotine. It is a poisonous alkaloid and is what makes smoking addictive. It can act like a stimulant or a tranquilizer. In tobacco smoke, there are two really dangerous elements. They are carbon monoxide and tar. Carbon monoxide is a gas. Carbon monoxide disrupts the supply of oxygen to tissues and organs, which includes the brain and heart. Tar is made up of different particulate substances. Tar collects on the airways of the lungs and impairs their functioning. If a person gets too many particulates on their lungs, they can cause chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Smoking causes many diseases and health problems. One major health hazard caused by smoking is lung cancer. Lung cancer is caused by particulates, from tar, that gather on the airways of the lungs. Another health problem caused by smoking is Bronchitis. Tobacco smoke aggravates the membranes lining the bronchial tubes. Smoking also causes emphysema, pregnancy problems, and heart disease. 191,000 people in the U.S. die of smoking related heart disease in one year. Another problem smoking causes is a cataract. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world, over 50,000,000 people suffer from them. Smoking may also cause Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis decreases bone mass and expands the space between bone cells. Some scientists say that smoking may block the intestines’ ability to absorb calcium. If you smoke, you have an increased chance of cancer of the bladder and kidney, leukemia, eye problems, and a higher risk of AIDS. The chances of a person developing cancer from smoking depends on how long they smoked, number of cigarettes smoked per day, tar content of the cigarette, and how deeply they inhale.
Smoking reduces your sex appeal! It is the leading cause of male impotency and decreases male fertility by reducing sperm and lowering testosterone levels. Smoking causes skin to wrinkle, fingers to turn yellow and bad breath. In women, it reduces fertility, causes pregnancy problems, and causes cancer of the reproduction organs. It also increases chances of osteoporosis and diabetes.
If those aren’t good enough reasons to stop smoking, here are some more. Quitting smoking will improve your respiratory system, and your performance, mentally, physically, and sexually. It will also save money and reduce medical bills. Quitting will also enhance taste and smell. People who have quit smoking are less likely to die of lung disease and heart disease. After 15 years of not smoking, an ex-smokers risk of cancer are about the same as a person that never smoked.
As I mentioned before, cigarette ads, such as Joe Camel and Marlboro Man, influence people to smoke. The tobacco industry spends over five billion dollars a year on advertising. They have even been banned from having television and radio commercials. Some say that the cigarette companies target teenagers in their ads, but the companies deny that their ads are directed towards anybody under legal smoking age. One tobacco company’s lawyer said,”Nicotine is addictive. We are, then, in the business of selling nicotine, an addictive drug effective in the release of stress mechanisms”, in response to people saying that tobacco companies are intentionally adding nicotine to keep people addicted.
Second-Hand smoke causes 3,000 deaths from lung cancer, 13,000 deaths from other cancers, and 37,000 deaths from lung disease in the United States, each year. Second-Hand smoke, or passive smoke, is not as hazardous as mainstream smoke, it is still a dangerous matter. More people die each year from second-hand smoke than from car accidents. A report by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, declared that second-hand smoke had killed 62,000 people from heart attacks and had caused 200,000 nonfatal heart attacks. Half of all American children live with a person who smokes and nine million kids breathe cigarette smoke regularly. Recently, there has been a law passed to protect waiters and waitresses from second-hand smoke. There have been several other efforts to control second-hand smoke. One act to stop non-smokers intake of cigarette smoke happened in 1969. ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) filed a petition to stop people from smoking on airlines. It passed and now there is no smoking on public airlines.
Smoking is a major problem in the U.S. Over 430,000 Americans die each year from the effects of cigarette smoking. Every day, 4,000 teenagers start smoking. Most teens start smoking at age 13. Remember, no matter how long you have been smoking, once you stop, the health hazards are immediately reversed. It is never too late to stop and there are plenty of people and products to help you quit.