Smoking: The Leading Cause of Death and Solutions to Help

Tobacco: Deadly, Addictive, and Environmentally Hazardous "It has been conservatively estimated that regular smokers of cigarettes sacrifice 7 years of life. If one divides the number of cigarettes smoked in a lifetime on average into this 7 year loss, it turns out to be 5 ½ minutes for each cigarette." (Petty 1). This fact should sound astounding to anyone. Tobacco use has a huge effect on society.

Cigarettes are not only destructive to the smoker, but everyone around. Second hand smoke is the non-filtered smoke from the end of people’s cigarettes. Smoke may carry more than over 7,000 different chemicals all different from one of another, hundreds of those chemicals are toxic and as much as 70 (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013) are known to cause cancer. Since second hand smoke is an epidemic across the world there are many ways it can affect a person’s wellbeing. Second hand smoke can and may cause heart disease, lung cancer, SIDS and many others. Second hand smoke is committed when the adult or child is near the smoker; smoke then travels from the end of the cigarette or the breath of the person in a space of 20 feet and enters the victim.

As for the smokers, their health is at a high risk. Smoking causes cancers to the voice box, esophagus, lungs, throat and mouth. Also it helps in developing cancers in the kidneys, bladder, pancreas and cervix of the body. Smoking can cause cardiovascular disease such as heart disease, diseases of the blood vessels and stroke. According to CNN “The landmark U.S. Surgeon General 's report linked smoking with bad health.” In this study, lung cancer was the first cancer to be linked to smoking in between the 1940s – 1950s. It is also the number one cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Between 80 to 90 percent of all lung cancer today is smoking related and there are eight other cancers linked to smoking. According to the CDC, “Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. Smoking causes more deaths each year than all of these combined, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, and firearm-related incidents.” If smoking cause 480,000 deaths each year in the United States then people should stop smoking. People are still smoking today. Therefore, they don’t care for their health. Smoking can also cause respiratory diseases. About 8,000 people die each year from respiratory diseases from inhaling smoke from cigarettes which can permanently damage their lungs and airways. This is way people

Smoking is a dangerous and addictive habit; each year about 440,000 people perish in the United States due to tobacco smoking (Maugh). From those 440,000 more than a third of them are from heart disease. Cigarettes increase the chance of heart disease and stroke and various types of cancers ranging from lung to pancreatic cancer, and is the leading cause of premature death in developing countries. In adults, smoking causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, for infants it causes sudden infant death syndrome and causes low birth weight (WHO). The most common diseases that tobacco cause involve the lungs and the heart.

Smoking can cause many lung and heart diseases as well as many forms of cancer.

The cigarette can be seen as one of the most fatal substances in the world. Cigarettes kill around 6 million people annually. The cigarette potentially kills about half of its longtime users and harms nearly every organ of the body. Smokers lose an average of 14 years off their lives. Smoking can cause cancer of the Bladder, Blood (acute myeloid leukemia), Cervix, Colon and rectum (colorectal), Esophagus, Kidney and ureter, Larynx, Liver, Pancreas, Stomach, Trachea, bronchus, and lungs. Smokers are also at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and lung disease. Smoking causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, and asthma. Smokers are also at a higher risk of contracting influenza. Influenza c...

...el and formation of thrombi. Over 7000 chemicals found in tobacco smoke cause breathing difficulty, wheezing, lung infections and chest pain. The long-term effects of smoking can cause many cancers as it contains many carcinogens. It is the leading cause of cancer affecting the lungs, mouth, throat, kidney, stomach and many other areas. Not only do tobacco products affect the user, but also the ones around them. Second-hand smoke can increase lung cancer, heart and breathing problems, as well as a premature death. In pregnant women, the unborn baby may be subject to health problems. By eliminating tobacco products, not only do previous smokers reduce the risk of developing cancer, but also can reduce their chance of dying prematurely by a very large percentage. For example, quitting at the age of 30 can reduce their chance of dying prematurely by over 90 percent.

Furthermore, smoking can influence a person’s mental and physical life. Smoking is prone to causing many diseases in the way that it enters the human body. Starting with the mouth, the smoke is known for causing cancer of the

Smoking and cancer have a huge connection between between each other. Smoking has a huge impact on causing cancer. Research has shown that smoking has increased the chance of getting cancer. Every time you smoke you are increasing your chance of running the risk of having cancer later in life. People belive that smoking does harm them because they feel fine but what they don’t know is that tobacco has a huge impact on the risk of cancer.

The Negative Health Impact of Tobacco Smoking cigarettes is a detrimental practice not only to the smoker, but also to everyone around the smoker. According to an article from the American Lung Association, “Health Effects” (n.d.), “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year”. The umbrella term for tobacco use includes the use of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigs and chewing tobacco. While tobacco causes adverse health consequences, it also has been a unifying factor for change in public health. While the tobacco industries targets specific populations, public health specifically targets smokers, possible smokers, and the public to influence cessation, policies and education.