The Costs of Smoking

1192 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The causes and effects of smoking cigarettes

The Costs of Smoking

Humans are the only animals to inhale smoke intentionally. Humans have

found many ways to inhale smoke, but there are no known benefits.

Cigarettes, the most popular method of inhalation, appear deceptively

basic, just a paper cylinder containing processed tobacco. In fact,

they are highly designed to deliver a steady dose of nicotine, from

the three main types of tobacco, virginia, burley and oriental, which

each contain varying levels of nicotine. Cigarettes also contain

thousands of other chemicals, though these include some which may seem

harmless, such as sugar, chocolate and vanilla, which are added to

make smoke appear milder and easier to inhale. However, even these

harmless substances, may become toxic when combined with other

substances. There have been many studies by medical professionals to

investigate the effects of the inhalation of smoke, nicotine and the

cocktail of chemicals, on our bodies. The physiological cost of

smoking is sustained by the highly addictive nature of nicotine, which

makes it difficult for the smoker to give up. This will be examined

later in the essay along with the reversal of damaging effects if the

smoker quits. The many damaging physiological effects on the human

body have been proven consistently over the past few decades,

including diseases of the circulatory and respiratory systems, various

cancers and premature ageing, which will now be discussed.

There are various diseases of the circulatory system, which may be

smoking related, the greatest 'killer' being coronary heart disease.

As soon as you inhale the smoke from a cigarette, it affects your

heart. In less th...

... middle of paper ...

...ts of smoking are clearly huge and indisputable, though this

essay has only dealt with the physiological affects. Smoking is also

extremely expensive, not only regarding the cost of the actual

cigarettes, but also the extra cost to health services having to treat

patients with smoking-related diseases. It has become increasingly

less socially acceptable to smoke in public, due to heightened

awareness of the affects of passive smoking. Hopefully, the decreasing

acceptance of smoking by the public will prevail until smoking is made

illegal in public. However the addictive nature of nicotine cannot be

under-estimated and even legal steps may have little effect on smokers

as they have continued to smoke for decades, knowing the damaging

costs.

www.ash.org.uk

Kent M. (2000) Advanced Biology. Oxford: University Press

Show More
Related

  • Tobacco On Goldfish Metabolism

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Public Health Issue: Smoking

    2016 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Smoking

    2015 Words  | 5 Pages

    Smoking tobacco in the cigarette form was extremely popular in the early part of the 20th century. Many people joined in the popular habit, got addicted, and had no fear of the future consequences or health concerns. Many people were under the impression that smoking was good for their bodies, and were unaware of the unhealthy side affects that cigarette smoking caused. Some famous people like Walt Disney, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth all were killed from their love of tobacco. Soon enough more and more cases of lung, throat, and mouth cancers began popping up all over the place, but people were reluctant to blame their beloved tobacco. It wasn’t until 1964 when Surgeon General Luther Terry stated that smoking causes lung cancer in people who smoke and inhale the fumes, that perceptions on smoking began to change. Since the findings of the Surgeon General, there has been an on going battle between pro-smoking, and anti-smoking groups over the rights of smokers. As the non smoking movement is growing at a rapid pace, and smoking bans have been ruled to not violate the 1st Amendment. In the last decade we have banned smoking in almost all public areas from bars and restaurants, offices, malls, and living quarters. The smoking bans are one effective way to abolish smoking, but it fails to address the major component in smoking; addiction to nicotine, and the psychological effect it has on users. Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy way to end smoking. This is because treatment plans have such a small level of success. Medical treatment such as prescription medication often have more side effects than positive effects for the user. But one product has been making huge gains in the fight to quit tobacco, and that is the electronic cigarette...

    Read More

  • Economics of Tobacco Sales

    1614 Words  | 4 Pages

    Each year 440,000 people die, in the United States alone, from the effects of cigarette smoking (American Cancer Society, 2004). As discussed by Scheraga & Calfee (1996) as early as the 1950’s the U.S. government has utilized several methods to curb the incidence of smoking, from fear advertising to published health warnings. Kao & Tremblay (1988) and Tremblay & Tremblay (1995) agreed that these early interventions by the U.S. government were instrumental in the diminution of the national demand for cigarettes in the United States. In more recent years, state governments have joined in the battle against smoking by introducing antismoking regulations.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Nicotine And Tobacco

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nicotine is an infamous chemical substance that is often found in tobacco. Tobacco contains several hundred chemical compounds and has been known to cause many dangerous health issues, primarily to the respiratory system, such as coughing, asthma, and in many cases, lung cancer. However, it is not nicotine itself that causes these health issues, but rather, it is other chemicals, mainly tar, that lead to damage in the respiratory system. That is not to say that nicotine is harmless. On the contrary, nicotine is a stimulant and it is the major cause of why tobacco is so addicting (Benowitz, 2008). An advocate for this claim, could argue that nicotine is more dangerous than tobacco itself due to the addiction that it can cause. This point of

    Read More

  • Nicotine Research Paper

    1286 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A History of Tobacco and Smoking in America

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Tobacco Epidemic

    2382 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since the 1950s, more than 70,000 scientific articles have left no doubt that smoking is an extraordinarily important cause of premature mortality and disability around the world. In populations where cigarette smoking has been common for several decades, about 90% of cases of lung cancer, 15–20% of cases of other cancers, 75% of cases of chronic bronchitis and emphysema and 25% of deaths from cardiovascular diseases in those 35–69 years of age are attributable to tobacco. Studies have shown that half of all long-term smokers will die of a tobacco-related disease and, of these, half will die before the age of 65 (World bank, 1999).

    Read More

  • Smoke Inhalation Essay

    752 Words  | 2 Pages

    This paper will be exploring the process of smoke inhalation; the events leading up to and the effects after the smoke has been inhaled. I will go over the dangers of smoke released in a fire as well as smoke from cigarettes; Such as what toxins and chemicals are released from the burning materials. Carbon monoxide and hydrogen chloride are two of the toxins found in both smoke from burning materials in home fires and cigarettes. The paper also reviews the short term, long term and permanent effects that occur to the body with different levels of exposure to smoke inhalation. Common effects of smoke inhalation include but are not limited to cough, shortness of breath, changes in mental status. Smoke inhalation is life threatening in any fire; meanwhile cigarette smoke can have the same effect on tobacco users over time of continuous use. I will cover the treatment and outcome of exposure to smoke inhalation and tobacco use as well as possible ways to prevent injuries.

    Read More

  • What Is Cigarette Smoking In The United States?

    319 Words  | 1 Pages

    For this paper, I will to focus on smoking in the United States population as smoking causes a significant burden on health care systems and on the economy. Smoking negatively affects most organs, causing cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other diseases. Tobacco use costs more than $300 billion per year in medical care and lost productivity due to premature death and secondhand smoke in the United States. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States (US), causing more than 480,000 deaths per year in the US and contributing to smokers dying ten years earlier than nonsmokers. Additionally, nicotine, an ingredient naturally in

    Read More

  • Cigarette Smoking Should Not Be Banned

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: The Dangers Of Smoking

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the biggest problems that people are faced with on a day-to-day basis is cigarette smoke. The sole cause for 480,000 deaths each year just in the United States is accredit to cigarettes(CDC). For a lot of the smokers the habit of smoking happens to assist them when under stress and dealing with issues that are unmanageable. Some smoke to appeal to their peers or simply because it “feels good.” Smoking one cigarette can lead to a major addiction. The effects of smoking hurt oneself and those amongst us. Smoking Kills as the ad portrays this revolver and cigarettes as the bullets, and also lists the side effects of smoking. Cigarettes causes cancer, increases the risk of you getting a stroke, highly addictive and causes a lot of health problems. Nearly 16

    Read More

  • Smoking Ban - Smoking In Public Places

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects of Smoking Cigarettes

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    Smoking cigarettes can be very harmful to your life with so many health issues, such as heart disease, cancer and emphysema. Some people think it’s not a huge issue smoking cigarettes but it’s a great way to lose ten years of your life. You lose lots of money, a lifetime of health issues, and cause you to have yellowing of the teeth and bad breath .There is way too many health risks involved to start using this drug. Say no to cigarettes you will be healthier in the end then to continue on this wrongful path.

    Read More

  • The Causes and Effects of Smoking

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    Scientists and health officials have been arguing the detrimental effects smoking has on our health for many years. Smoking can lead to serious complications including asthma, pancreas, lung and stomach cancer due to the large number of carcinogens (cancer causing chemicals) and other various substances added to it. It is a health hazard for both smokers and non-smokers and it is especially harmful to unborn babies. Although smokers claim that it helps them to relax and release stress, the negative aspects of the habit take over the positive. As it has been stressed by the scientists and experts, there are some very severe reasons of smoking but its crucial consequences should also be taken into consideration.

    Read More

More about The Costs of Smoking

Open Document