Tobacco is counted as one of the most dangerous drug and is one of the leading preventable causes of deaths in U.S. Many people put their life in danger by the use of this life taking drug, tobacco. The way Nicotine (which is derived from the tobacco plant and has very powerful affects on human body) works in our brain is by mimicking the actions of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine (ACh). Acetylcholine (ACh) and its receptors perform various functions of our body, including muscle movement, breathing, heart rate, learning, and memory. Acetylochine is also involved in releasing other neurotransmitters and hormones that affect our appetite, mood etc. When nicotine is introduced to our body, nicotine molecules, which are shaped like acetylcholine, take over the actions of acetylcholine and perform all its functions. Although, many studies described the negative health issues caused by the use of tobacco, the article, “Gender and the tobacco-depression” emphases on the relationship of tobacco and depression and its possible variations by gender in African America young adults.
The article “Gender and the tobacco–depression” is a study performed to understand the relationship between tobacco use and depression and its possible variations by gender in African American young adults. The experiment was conducted on only African American college student of HBCU. The method used to perform this experiment was very old but rigid. With the approval of the University Institutional Review Board, under the supervision of trained staff a paper-and-pencil question-answer survey was given to students. Overall, 404 African American students took part in the experiment with 53% response rate but only 355 students were taken in account for the...
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...cessive amount of money being used to prevent the use of cannabis. There were 743,000 arrests in which 88 % were just because of the possession of cannabis. These numbers are very big compare to other countries. The money, which is being used to prevent the use of cannabis, can be used for other purposes like education.
These two articles discuss two different drugs, which are very popular in now days and have very dangerous affects on our society. One is a legal and the other is illegal. Tobacco is killing over 400,000 people yearly in United States and over 5million deaths yearly worldwide. Studies show that tobacco smoker dies 10 years before the non-smoker. On the other hand, there were no deaths recorded due to smoking marijuana. This leads us to a question, which is being asked for many years why are we not banning tobacco and the ban on marijuana remains.
The opinion of Marijuana during the 70’s was much more relaxed than it is today. Approval of Marijuana by 27 states, new medical studies, and its consequences on those convicted from use of the most common general, the argument about marijuana in this country is: should Marijuana continue to be given to citizens based on its health effects, medicinal values, and costs to the country? The reasons why this argument is so important are great. As previously stated, Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the world, and with millions of people using it regularly and almost 100 million that have ever used it in this country, the laws behind this drug hold great influence. It is because of this and the immergence of new evidence, that the justification behind prohibition of this drug is being rethought scientifically, socially, and economically. The use of Marijuana as both medicine and a recreational drug is being thoroughly questioned in the US. 27 states have Marijuana approved in some form, many of those for medical purposes however those users can still, and do get placed into prison by federal law. Currently, 830,00 people a year are in trouble with the law in regards to Marijuana and numbers seem to be on an uphill trend . Furthermore, the US invests 30 billion a year into the drug war, half of which is dedicated to Marijuana. Many are questioning its success all together. Both imprisonment and the war cost our country, and therefore our people, money. A change in laws is going to have a dramatic affect on America.
Tobacco is connected with a number of negative effects in humans and a few other organisms. For example, the long list of negative effects range from birth defects and lessened lung capacity, to sexual impotence. All of the previously mentioned result from extended tobacco exposure in varying mediums and although they are negative effects associated with tobacco, it has also been proven that tobacco to acts as a stimulant to some animals (Nice 135). In studying how tobacco effects the body of any living being and its uses, over time new developments may progress that would allow us to use tobacco only for its positive effects while bypassing its negative ones.
For many years now marijuana has built up its reputations as the gateway drug which destroys youths lives. Not saying this is false “...the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, "harder" substances” (Is Marijuana a gateway drug?). But what does it do to the body. “How marijuana affects health is determined by how it's consumed. Marijuana is most commonly smoked, such as from pipes, bongs, paper-wrapped joints, blunts and other items including devices that heat or vaporize marijuana...” (Marijuana and Lung Health). Any kind of smoke in general is dangerous to humans so it does not matter if it is firewood smoke or tobacco smoke it is not healthy for the lungs. It is already know that smoke from tobacco is harmful and kills 480,000 people annually. “There are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes. When burned, they create more than 7,000 chemicals. At least 69 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer, and many are poisonous” (What is a Cigarette).While marijuana does have some of the same chemicals in tobacco it does not have as much. So why is something that is recorded to kill 480,000 people annually legal but something that is not as harmful illegal.
The legalization of marijuana is, and has been a heavily disputed issue for decades. On one hand, marijuana could lead to a medical breakthrough, or at least provide relief to cancer and AIDS patients. On the other hand, legalizing a drug could expose it to too broad an audience. As a drug, marijuana has never proven to be anywhere near as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol. Each year in the United States, 400,000 people die from tobacco, 50,000 from alcohol, and from marijuana, zero. Regardless of what side one may take to this argument, there are some causes to this marijuana debate that everyone should know. Marijuana was not always illegal, and the reasons behind the history of narcotic regulation are interesting when viewed from today's perspective. The history of marijuana prohibition is a story of racism, political repression, and poorly represents the qualities this country claims to embody.
Because you regularly smoke tobacco, which is one of the most avoidable risk factors for cancer, I wish to inform you of a research article that reveals progression toward understanding the mechanism by which tobacco smoke damages the genome, an organism’s complete set of DNA, and creates the mutations that ultimately cause cancer.
Ever since the federal criminalization of marijuana in the United States in 1937, there has been a large underground drug market (Paul). Much like how the prohibition of alcohol simply forced imbibers underground, those who chose to partake in marijuana are forced to stay away from the prying eye of the law because of present marijuana laws. This means the drug world is concealed from the average citizen, hiding the dangers of drug deals gone wrong, police shootings, and other dangerous occurrences. In a way this allows the government to mask the fact that their well-funded ‘War on Drugs’ is ineffective, a ‘War’ with a budget of roughly twenty billion dollars; which is not profoundly effective in the curbing the use of drugs (Jillette). If the average citizen does not know what is happening, in the eyes of the American zeitgeist, it is not happening. Criminalizing a harmless drug to cut down on its use simply turns its users into criminals, making the crime rate go up and clogging prisons with non-violent criminals. Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and tobacco and the laws pertaining to it should reflect that.
When it comes to some people 's opinion about tobacco they just think it is all terrible; however, many doctors have proven that it is not the case with smokeless tobacco. There are people in the world who say smokeless tobacco is awful because it causes mouth cancer, tooth loss, and gum disease because they have listened to the anti-tobacco corporations and the incorrect warning labels. There are also doctors and businesses in several countries that have proven that it does not cause any of these medical problems. Instead of people assuming that they should cut out all tobacco products, they should try to educate themselves in the benefits of chewing tobacco. In the end people will find that smokeless tobacco
There are 1.1 billion tobacco users in the world and it is set to increase to 1.6billion over the next two decades. Addiction to tobacco impacts poverty and development. In poorer countries, up to 30% of income is spent on tobacco, reducing funds available for nutrition, education and healthcare. Every year in the U.S., more than 480,000 people die from tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, making it the leading cause of preventable death in this country.
The prevalent use of tobacco products among Americans is an important issue that should be brought to the surface. This issue should be raised because many of the diseases and illnesses associated with tobacco use are preventable. Most individuals are aware of the health threats associated with tobacco use, but are unable to quit. As future healthcare professionals, part of our duty is to educate the public about these health threats as well as help tobacco users quit. Throughout this paper we will inform about the various tobacco products, the effects they pose on the body, cessation options and strategies available for users, and learning outcomes.
Cigarette addiction is responsible for over four million deaths every year. The question most people ask is why don’t people just put down their cigarettes? Well, the answer to that often asked question is nicotine. Nicotine is a neurotransmitter that targets certain receptors in the brain. It is a chemical messenger that induces feelings of pleasure. When someone takes a hit off of a cigarette, they ingest the harmful chemicals that can cause cancer and other serious health threats. They only inhale these chemicals to get one thing and one thing only, nicotine.
cheap and easy method of providing tobacco users a manageable product soon led to widespread use in the western world. This attitude soon began to change, however, as researchers began publishing reports on the ill effects of smoking and tobacco use.
People ask, “What good does legalizing Marijuana do? It is a drug for a reason.” Well, I, along with numerous others question, “What are those reasons? What good does keeping it illegal do?” One reason to legalize the “drug” is that it can save/earn the United States of America a great deal of money. “Nationwide, law enforcement officials made 1.5 million drug arrests in 2011, more than 40 perce...
Last year, a total of $7 to $10 billion was used towards arresting and processing marijuana. The big picture here is that 90% of those arrests were just for possession. It is crazy that as a country we spend most of our time trying to stop the biggest drug in America when it is just wasting our money. There are fewer arrests for violent crimes than marijuana charges combined. These “violent crimes” consist of assault, rape, robbery, and murder.
Smoking cigarettes is a very deadly addiction that, unfortunately, affects 42.1 million adults in the United States and 6.4 million children. The reason why so many people get addicted to cigarettes is because of nicotine. Medicinenet.com says that nicotine is “made by the tobacco plant or produced synthetically”. Nicotine has powerful pharmacologic effects (including increased heart rate, heart stroke volume, and oxygen consumption by the heart muscle), as well as powerful psychodynamic effects (such as euphoria, increased alertness, and a sense of relaxation). Nicotine is also powerfully addictive.”
There are many causes which make people smoke, however it can be divided into two main causes: physical and psychological. First cause which is physical concerns the human body’s needs. Nicotine contained in cigarette is an addictive substance. It is the chemical which causes addiction. Nicotine reduces tension in the muscles and allows smokers to relax so they feel that they can relieve stress by smoking. Nicotine can also have a calming effect on people who are anxious and worried. This is why it can bring a feeling of tranquility and help smokers to cope with stress. Thus, people smoke when they are depressed, lonely or bored. Nicotine is absorbed by the smoker’s lung and intestines. Very quickly, nicotine can stimulate brain and certain types of nerves so heart rate and blood pressure go up; respiration increases. A little nicotine makes smokers feel more energy and improve concentration. As a consequence, these physical effects created by smoking play an important role in making people feel the need to smoke.