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Health effects of cigarettes
The dangers of smoking cigarettes
Negative consequences of smoking
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On Washington Duke’s 300-acre farm in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1865 the first commercial cigarettes was made. When cigarettes were first invented they were given to the soldiers during the Civil War and it was not until James Bonsack invented the cigarette-making machine in 1881 that cigarette smoking became widespread (http://healthliteracy.worlded.org/docs/tobacco/Tobacco.pdf). During this time no one truly understood the dangers of smoking cigarettes because they had not began to see the side affects caused by the dangerous toxins produced by them. There are thousands of individual substances in tobacco smoke and approximately 150 of those individual substances have been identified as toxicants or otherwise named as harmful and potentially
Borio, Gene, “Tobacco Timeline: The Twentieth Century 1900-1949—The Rise of the Cigarette.” Chapter 6. 1993-2003.
Shmoop Editorial Team. “Cigarettes.” Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 1 April 2014.
The harmful carcinogens in cigarettes cause about 480,000 deaths each year. These amounts of casualties seem to me as a serious problem, which needs to be addressed and reduced immediately. Cigarettes are known to have a variety of chemicals inside of them ranging from acetone to tar. The chemicals inside of cigarettes have been directly linked to cancer related effects. Due to the poisonous effects and numerous complications involved with cigarettes, they should be made illegal to sell and consume within the United States. Although there are thousands of reasons why cigarettes should be illegal, in this argumentative essay I will closely examine three. The effects of carcinogens, stress of addiction and death prevention are the three main reasons why cigarettes should be illegal.
Nicotine illustrates one of the most popular addictive substances in the world. Since the early colonization of the united states, nicotine has increased in popularity with the first source originating from tobacco. Unfortunately, undesired health effects are present with tobacco use as a result of additives present in the smoke such as cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol, acetylene, and ammonia. The health effects of tobacco were publicized in the 1960s with large campaigns launching to spread awareness over the risks associated with its use; however, this attempt did not prove incredibly successful as a result of the nicotine dependence that developed with continued cigarette use.
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.
Every year cigarette smoking is responsible for 500,000 premature deaths (Nugel), you do not want to be just another statistic, do you? America’s first cash crop was tobacco. That means that tobacco has been around for a really long time. It was not until 1865, though, that cigarettes were sold commercially. They were sold to soldiers at the end of the Civil War (Dowshen). From then, cigarettes spread like wildfire, and it was not until 1964 that anyone made a stand about the negative effects of tobacco and cigarettes. People start smoking for all different reasons, some to fit in and some to “escape”. Regardless, it is a horrible habit. 3900 children will try their first cigarette today. Amongst adults who currently smoke, 68% of them began at age 18 or younger, and 85% at 21 or younger (American Lung Association). And of all those people, 70% say if they were given another chance they would never have picked up that first cigarette (Tobacco Free Maine). Smoking is responsible for 1 and 5 deaths in the united states, and is the number one preventable cause of death (NLH). Smoking burns and there is no doubt about that, but before one picks up that cigarette, understand the negative effects on not only oneself, but others affected by ones poor choices, like second-hand smoke. Because of smoking cigarettes, many types of cancer, decrease of life quality, and negative health effects have become all too common in the world today.
Smoking Smoking is an addicting habit on the rise worldwide. Smoking across the globe has many different forms from cigarettes and cigars to pipes and shisha’s. There are many different reasons for smoking whether it is for medicinal reasons or recreational use. Smoking has been around for a very long time and in this essay I will discuss the origins of smoking, the serious health risks, economical burdens, the addicting materials as well smoking among teenagers. Despite efforts from governments and organizations to bring awareness to people across the globe of the serious dangers and implications of smoking, the number of smokers worldwide generally remains on the rise. Brief History Of Smoking Smoking in one form dates back to as early as 5000 BC. It was used in shamanistic rituals to allow the users to achieve a state of trance and connect with the spirit world. Cannabis smoking quickly spread through Africa and the Middle East almost 3000 years ago. Smoking was sighted in England as far back as 1556 and then spread to France in 1560. Tobacco was then brought into Africa by French traders in the early 1600’s. Tobacco at that time was chewed or smoked. Around that time many religious leaders banned smoking and considered it immoral and even blasphemous. The first machine made to produce cigarettes was made by James Bonsack in 1881 after the civil war. The negative effects of smoking were brought to public attention in 1929 by the paper published linking cancer and smoking. During the Great Depression and in Nazi Germany, Hitler viewed smoking as unnecessary and a waste of money and also that woman who smoked as unsuitable to be mothers and wives. After the Second World War, anti-smoking groups lost popularity and smoking increas...
This was a pamphlet that you would probably see in a doctor’s office. It provided a lot of good facts about the harms of smoking and what it can cause to the world around the smoker. This paper seemed very professional, so I thought that it was a reliable source that provided honest facts. I used quite a few quotes from this paper and I believe it provided me with great talking points all with emphasizing the point of my paper. Definitely the best source I came across.
In 1919, there was the first discovery of lung cancer. Dr. George Dock asked his students to come and observe the autopsy of a man with the first sight of what we now know of as a cancerous lung. One of the students who witnessed the autopsy later saw nine soldiers with the same cancerous lungs who had all been heavy smokers during World War I. This was the first connection doctors made between the smoking of tobacco and lung cancer (Meyer 72). Tobacco became a hot commodity once soldiers brought it back from war; however, the discoveries of the health effects of smoking tobacco increased right along with it. In 1939, more research had been performed and it was now scientifically proven that smoking tobacco lead to higher instance of cancer and heart disease. It was not until the late 1950s when the sale of cigarettes became illegal to minors. In the next decade, the Cigarette Smoking Act was placed in full effect (Meyer 72). It was at this point where ever...
Smoking! Why do people do it? Do they want to be cool? Peer Pressure? What people don’t realize is that smoking is the number one cause of preventable deaths in the United States. (http://community.healthgate.com) Another thing people don’t realize is all the kinds of sickness the can get or even give to there children due to secondhand smoke. Some of the most popular ones are heart attacks and strokes, lung problems, and what happens to there children when around it.
Ethical dilemmas involving harmful products have proven to be tough cases to crack. When dealing with the basic right to the freedom of expression, it can be very difficult to determine where the line should be drawn. It is common knowledge for the average person to understand the negative affects cigarettes can have on the health of a human being. But just like any other product on the shelf, they can be bought and sold legally. Cigarette companies also have the freedom to advertise their deadly products by means of magazines, newspapers, and billboards for all of America to see.
Although it is beneficial for the economy for the production of tobacco products it is extremely risky to use the product. According to researchers second-hand smoke is terrible for everyone in the world who walk by someone who is exhaling. In the article by Robert Proctor “Why ban the sale of cigarettes? The case for abolition” he states that cigarettes are the “most deadl...
Cigarettes are also defective because they have been made to produce an inhalable smoke. Tobacco smoke was almost never inhaled before the nineteenth century; it was to harsh. “ Smoke first became inhalable with the invention of flue curing, a technique by which the tobacco leaf is heated during fermentation, preserving the sugars naturally present in the unprocessed leaf. Sugars when they burn produce acids, which lower the pH of the resulting smoke, making it less harsh, more inhalable.” There is a little irony h...
Smoking is a simple process of inhaling and exhaling the fumes of burning tobacco, but it has deadly consequences. According to the American Cancer Society, smoking is the most preventable cause of death in America today (Encarta, 2002). Until the 1940?s, smoking was considered harmless. It was at this time that epidemiologists noticed a dramatic increase in the cases of lung cancer. A study was then conducted between smokers and nonsmokers to determine if cigarettes were the cause of this increase. This study, conducted by the American Cancer Society, found increased mortality among smokers. Yet it was not until 1964 that the Surgeon General put out a report acknowledging the danger of cigarettes. The first action to curb smoking was the mandate of a warning on cigarette packages by the Federal Trade Commission (Encarta, 2002). In 1971, all cigarette advertising was banned from radio and television, and cities and states passed laws requiring nonsmoking sections in public places and workplaces (Encarta, 2002). Now in some cities smoking is being completely banned from public places and workplaces and various people are striving for more of these laws against smoking.
“Dangers of Smoking Cigarettes for Smokers” healthliteracy.worlded.org. Copyright 1995 by Marjorie Jacobs revised 1997, n.d web 14 April 2011