Smoking

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How shocking is it that 18.1% of Americans are smokers? The percent may not appear very large, but this number estimates to 42.1 million people (Smoking). Statistics show that the majority of smokers, started from an early adolescent age. The highly addictive stimulant of nicotine makes it troublesome to quit the habit. Although many are aware of the dangers and warnings of smoking, they persist on to grasp a cigarette and puff away. Cigarettes and all tobacco products should be outlawed because they impair health, create risks for non-smokers, and destroy the environment.

The hazardous health factors that are involved with cigarettes and tobacco products can easily harm and destroy a person’s general well-being. The National Cancer Institute has acknowledged these chemicals consisted in cigarettes and tobacco products, as the direct cause of cancer. Tobacco smoke for example, dwells with 4,000 chemicals, and at least 250 known to be dangerous to health (Quitting Smoking). Puffing away on cigarettes abuses almost every organ in the body and provokes cancer of the lungs, esophagus, larynx, mouth, kidney, bladder, etc (Quitting Smoking). Even with knowing this information, people resume to smoking these cancer sticks. The result from smoking has caused approximately 443,000 deaths each year in the United States, and this number is increasing by the day (Smoking). Once a person starts smoking a cigarette or tobacco product, the urge of wanting to stop can be very challenging to do. The effects of the nicotine consisted in the product, are highly addictive, as some research has even claimed it may be more addictive than heroin (Why is smoking addictive). The balance of chemicals in the brain is adjusted from the effects of the nicot...

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...f the Surgeon General. N.p.: n.p., 2006. 22-24. Rpt. in Tobacco and Smoking. Ed. Susan Hunnicutt. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
"Cigarette Butts Are Toxic Waste1." Environmental Impact of Tobacco Smoking.
TobaccoFreeCA, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
"Cigarette Litter --impacts." Cigarette Litter --impacts. Cigarette Butt Litter, n.d. Web.
18 Mar. 2014.
"Quitting Smoking: Why to Quit and How to Get Help." N.p.: n.p., 2007. N. pag. Rpt. inChemical Dependency. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
"Smoking." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. N. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
"Why Is Smoking Addictive?" - Health Questions. NHS Choices, n.d. Web. 24 Mar.
2014.

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