The Smoking Truth
There are three major stereotypes when it comes to people who smoke. The three stereotypes are; all smokers are unhealthy, all smokers can’t stop smoking because they are so addicted, and they all started smoking to fit in with the group. Growing up I can remember everybody telling not to smoke because it was bad for you, but I never understood why until I took notice to my dad. My dad smokes maybe a half a pack a day and his teeth and clothes show it. He is always out of breath and coughing up Phlegm but you just can’t judge all smokers by just one smoker. So I chose a specific group of smokers to observe them because they were the perfect group to prove or disprove the stereotype since they resembled many of the groups of smokers around the campus.
On the balcony right beside my window is the perfect place for a group of smokers to socialize because there is a nice view of Morgantown and it’s not really in the open so they have some kind of privacy to talk about what ever they want. I watched a specific group of smokers who got together about five times a day to share stories and make plans for the night to come. This group consisted to two girls and three guys. The first guy always wear’s a white West Virginia University hat turned around backwards, looks as if he works out, about five foot eleven and usually has on a T-shirt and shorts. The second guy is what you would call chubby. He’s not really sloppy fat but he’s not skinny either. He has a couple of chins and a pretty hefty gut. Like the first guy he always a white West Virginia hat with a slightly different logo and he tip’s the hat up slightly so it looks as if a strong breeze could blow it off. The third guy is huge. I think he may play football because I see him wake up early every morning with his gym gear on walking down the street with the other football players. He usually wears a tight t-shirt to show off his bulging muscles and a pair of Kaki shorts. The first girl has blond hair and deep blue eyes. She likes to wear tight t-shirts and pants even though she isn’t the fittest girl.
“I’d Rather Smoke than Kiss.” is Florence King’s very astute retort to anti-smokers. In this writing she advocates for smoking as a simple enjoyable thing to do. To emphasize this she recalls her first smoking experience, which is for the most part very normal and unexciting. However, this inconsequential account is not indicative of the rest of the story. King quickly switches gears as she goes on the attack. In the first section she labels hatred of smokers as a form of misanthropy which she goes on to say is “the most popular form of closet misanthropy in America today” (King 32). This perspective is further augmented by the fact that she considers second-hand smoke an invention; a means for the “Passive Americans” (King 32), to justify prejudice towards smokers.
Growing up with a best friend who has been smoking since middle school, I have seen many of the negative effects it has on a person. Football was a passion and way of life for Andy; however, smoking caused him to struggle with breathing while running up and down the field. He would cut down on his daily amount of cigarettes before and during the season, but cutting down was little help for him. Not only was his breathing affected by smoking, but he also had yellow teeth, smoker’s cough, and would get “the shakes” when in need of a smoke.
Previously, there had been an intense social stigma associated with female smoking; in fact, a
Over the last 50 years, smoking and the public image of smoking has changed dramatically. Americans have learned the harmful effects of smoking and have put a heavy disdain on the use of it. The number of new smokers has drastically dropped over the years and many that had previously smoked have stopped. Some have turned to electronic cigarettes as a safer way to intake nicotine. Over the years, smoking advertisements have changed drastically. Nowadays, tobacco advertisements are virtually non-existent in our society, but when they were abundant they depicted smoking as a cool and sophisticated activity. Today, smoking advertisements are shown by electronic cigarette companies. These companies emphasize the healthier lifestyle these products
"we are seen as losers, rejects of society." In reality anyone can be a smoker, a
This essay is aimed to explore, analyse and discuss smoking in adults. Smoking is a public health issue as such is one of the major contributors to high mortality and ill-health in the adults which is preventable (Health and Excellence Care (NICE) (2012). The United Kingdom (UK) is known to have the highest number of people with a history of smoking among people with low socio-economic status (Scriven and Garman, 2006; Goddard and Green, 2005). Smoking is considered a serious epidemic in the UK and the National institute for Health and Excellence Care (NICE, 2012) stated that 28% of adults with low economic status are tobacco smokers compared with 13% of those with economic status or having professional incomes. Furthermore almost 80,000 people died in England in 2011 as a result of smoking related issues and 9,500 admissions of children died due to being second hand smokers (WHO, 2005). This essay focuses on definition of smoking, the aim is to underline the relationship between smoking and the determinants of health and then, the size, prevalence, and morbidity trend of smoking will be explored. Furthermore, some public health policies introduced to confront the issues around smoking will be investigated and finally, the roles of nurses will identify health needs the public so as to promote good health and their wellbeing.
Smoking is a lifestyle, a habit, and a trend. Smoking has become a social activity among teens, connecting them through the craving of a smoke. Smoking is seen as seductive and cool in the media and movies which influences teenagers to smoke even more. The World Health Organization has stated that “Tobacco kills around 6 million people each year. More than 5 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.” As of April 2016, only 7% of teenagers in the U.S. smoke, but it is said that tobacco use will kill 8 million people annually by 2030. 99% of adult smokers start in their years as teenagers. Smoking is an epidemic that has taken control of people’s lives since 1881 and the media since the early 1900s. Smoking currently kills about 440,000 people a year in the U.S. I feel that it is an issue because it is the #1 most preventable way to die, but people still continue to smoke because of how it looks and how they are perceived as a person if they do. The fact that people become addicted to a trend that will attribute to their death for the sake of being thought of as cooler, is a problem that needs to be addressed.
A smoker knows the effects of smoking as well as the obvious outcome. Some smoke for the image of smoking and most continue to smoke due to the affects of nicotine. Everyone seems to have an opinion on smoking regardless if they do or don't. Recent television commercials that are against smoking has impacted a lot of the population's opinion on smoking. Recent laws in cities around the country are now banning smoking in a lot of public places.
According to Slater (2006), many risk-taking teenagers may believe in the use of smoking or alcohol is part of defining who they are. The adolescences who have a reputation of being “cool” or rebellious teenagers believe that they need to smoke to maintain their reputation. Smoking is not considered a health hazard in all cultures. For instance, a young child whose parents are involved in health and wellness will be taught how undesirable smoking is. On the other hand, the family, where the parents smoke, a young child may not be taught about the dangers smoking. Smoking can be a part of certain cultures and at the same time be an example of what not to do in another culture.
There is little to no mention of any statistics that might show when, and thereby, why, cigarette smoking gained popularity. The author also fails to provide cultural context in many areas. Alleged masculine values in America are presented as fact, when there is no evidence, aside from the author’s word, that this is true. The arguments would be much stronger had the author successfully differentiated between correlation and causation. At times, the article is unbalanced, such as the argument surrounding post-World War Two advertising. Within the article, it is unproven that there was a spike in cigarette smoking in men. It was also unproven that the advertisements had an effect. The article ignores the possibility that the increase in smoking among men was merely a consequence of reaching a few opinion leaders. As cigarettes are such an addictive product, simple curiosity in the privacy of one’s home may have turned some men into smokers.
How Smoking Affects Your Life and People Around You I have watched a man try to convince me he's not a smoker, as he holds a cigarette in his. hand. The sand is a sand. People come up with many intricate and clever excuses to assure themselves, as well as others, that they are not smokers. Whether you decide to call it "social smoking", or try to label it.
In recent years, smoking has started to take over the lives of many teenagers. The number of teenagers smoking has increased dramatically in the last several years. This is a major problem because smoking can lead to sickness and major diseases that can lead to death. Teens tend to participate in this while out of the presence of an adult figure. Although teens should not be smoking in the first place, an adult figure should be around to help insure that their children are doing the right things, even when they are behind sealed doors with their peers. Teenagers as they mature become a model for younger children and when they set the example of smoking can ruin their respectable image to the children that look up to them.
About a month ago I was standing in the main aisle of Ace chatting with Lambert, one of my coworkers. As we were talking, I noticed a guy approaching us. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw him stare right into my eyes, so I knew he needed some help. This was a big guy. He must have been 5’10” and 350 pounds, but it wasn’t exactly like he was fat. He was the kind of guy that had a lot of muscle, and then he had a layer of fat over that. This dude’s forearms were bigger than my lower legs. He had short, brown hair with a receding hairline. He had on work clothes, and he was sporting a big pair of wire-rimed glasses. These are the kind of glasses my grandpa would wear. This guy was probably in his late 40’s, but his karma made him appear much older. Anyway, as he’s approaching, I asked him if...
Teen Smoking Teen smoking. Those two words mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. To some it means nothing. They are just two meaningless words found under T and S in the dictionary. To others it is as if these words symbolize some sort of treason or crime against society. Yet to others it is just another stereotype to be placed under. And to some it is a salvation. An escape. Unfortunately I am writing this paper so you will get my positions on teen smoking rather than other peoples. Teen smoking gathers a lot of emotions when I think about it. It makes me very angry sometimes. My first draft of this was good but I saw myself getting angry and lashing out on everyone, so I revised it. But enough of that, I find teen smoking to be a very controversial subject. To be completely honest with you I am smoking right now as I am writing this. Obviously I am a smoker. I am 17 years old and I am a smoker. In the late 1990’s, the statistics showed that approximately 25% of teens smoke. That’s one out of every four teenagers. High school is a tough time for teens. These years are critical to a teens future. This explains why a vast majority of smokers start at 16 years or younger with the most common age being 14 years old(freshman). It has also been proven also that teens who score lower in school smoke more than higher scoring students do. It seems that everyone smokes in our school. Our school is overrun with smokers. It is right now at least 50% smokers and 65% if you count the people who will smoke before their high school career is up. We practically encourage it. I mean Fireman’s Field practically condones teen smoking. Teen smoking is defiantly a problem in our school, as well as schools all over the United States. I feel that teen smoking is a huge problem. I feel that too many teenagers smoke cigarettes. It is something that needs to get dealt with. But before I get into that I should probably start with the causes of teen smoking. There are several factors that start teens on smoking cigarettes. There has to be considering that over 1 million new teenagers will start smoking annually. The most common is peer pressure.
Second main cause of smoking is psychological which seems to be a very important factor for people to get the habit. One of the psychological situations which drive people to smoke is low self esteem. Low self esteem is linked not only to smoking but also other behavioral problems such as drinking. It leads to feeling like a dependent individual who can not make decisions for himself or herself and just follow the crowd. So one conclusion to be drawn from this aspect is that people with low self esteem tend to smoke by imitating the people that they see around themselves especially in public place...