Analysis Of A Silence That Kills

It is a killer that affects an estimated 40 million people in America. The weapon contains almost 5000 different chemicals, 69 of which cause cancer, and all you need to do to protect yourself from it not pick it up. The weapon isn’t a knife or a gun, and the killer is no psychopathic maniac. It is much deadlier. While protecting yourself from this killer is so easy, every day, 3,200 people under 18 smoke their first cigarette, and an estimated 40 million Americans smoke. It is a problem that needs to be addressed, but nothing seems to be getting done to address it.

In A Silence That Kills, author Lyndon Haviland expresses concern for the lack of awareness around smoking. She explains how deadly smoking is, citing examples from the Center of Disease Control and prominent members of the Medical Field about Tobacco disease, secondary smoke deaths, and lung cancer rates caused by smoking. She laments the lack of action surrounding the problem and

I have always known how harmful smoking is, and I have seen so many problems firsthand that could have been prevented if the individual had not smoked. During a clinical for my CNA class I was helping an older woman who had smoked since she was a teenager. She developed vascular disease which caused her to lose one arm at the wrist and another at the elbow, as well as all the toes on one foot and her leg beneath the knee. If she had not smoked, she would still have her limbs and be able to avoid many of the problems that resulted from her subsequent inactive lifestyle. She explained how when she began smoking there was nearly no awareness, and how she thinks that there is still nothing being done about it. This woman’s comment made me agree more with Haviland. Before talking to her, I did not think there was still a really big problem. I figured there was enough being done to stop smoking, but perhaps there is