The Tobacco Epidemic

2382 Words5 Pages

Introduction

Tobacco epidemic killed 100 million people worldwide in the 20th Century. Tobacco epidemic could kill 1 billion in the 21st century alone. Smoking is responsible for the death of one in ten adults worldwide (about 5 million deaths per year) and, if current smoking patterns continue, by 2030 the proportion will be one in six, about 10 million deaths per year (World bank, 1999). This means that about 500 million people alive today will eventually be killed by tobacco (Peto & et al, 1994).

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).

The 2009 Global Adult Tobacco Survey estimates that adult smoking prevalence in the Philippines is 28.3%, which is equivalent to 17.3 million Filipinos aged 15 years old and over who are cigarette smokers. 47.7% (14.6 million) and 9.0% (2.8 million) of the 15 years old and over population are male and female smokers, respectively. The 2007 Global Youth Tobacco Survey also estimates that about 17% or 4 million Philippine youths aged 13-15 years are also current smokers. (Department of Health, 2010) It is predicted that tobacco will kill over 175 million worldwide between 2005 and the year 2030 (Mathers &...

... middle of paper ...

...r 2010)

Benowitz, N.L. (1996). Pharmacology of Nicotine: Addiction and Therapeutics. Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 36, 597-613

Kozlowski, L.T., Henningfield, J.E., Brigham, J. (2001) Cigarettes Nicotine and Health. Sage Publications Ltd. London. United Kingdom

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses—United States, 2000–2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2008;57(45):1226–8 [accessed 11th of November]

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004 [accessed 11th of November]

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

  • E Cigarettes Essay

    1607 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper will focus on looking at if e-cigarettes and other therapies are a valid way to help stop smoking. Doctors and patients alike need a definitive answer for this. This is a topic which is relevant at the moment as e-cigarettes become more prevalent in the United Kingdom (UK). As “current use [of e-cigarettes has] more than doubled from 2.7% of smokers in 2010 to 6.7% in 2012.”3 This paper will cover nicotine as a neurotoxin and how it affects the brain and body, what mechanisms nicotine uses and adverse signs and symptoms of nicotine use and overdose. This paper will also cover nicotine replacement therapies (NRT’s) such as gum, patches and oral spray but will focus mainly on e-cigarettes. It should be noted that as e-cigarettes have not been tested thoroughly, therefore they can’t be marketed as a nicotine replacement therapy by UK law at time of writing.

    Read More

  • Tobacco Companies in Our Society

    2010 Words  | 5 Pages

    The tobacco industry seems like a beneficial addition to our economy. It has basically been a socially acceptable business in the past because it brings jobs to our people and tax money to the government to redistribute; but consider the cost of tobacco related treatment, mortality and disability- it exceeds the benefit to the producer by two hundred billion dollars US. (4) Tobacco is a very profitable industry determined to grow despite government loss or public health. Its history has demonstrated how money can blind morals like an addiction that is never satisfied. Past lawsuits were mostly unsuccessful because the juries blamed the smoker even though the definition of criminal negligence fits the industry’s acts perfectly. Some may argue for the industry in the name of free enterprise but since they have had such a clear understanding of the dangers of their product it changes the understanding of their business tactics and motives. The success of the industry has merely been a reflection of its immoral practices. These practices have been observed through its use of the media in regards to children, the tests that used underage smokers, the use of revenue to avoid the law, the use of nicotine manipulation and the suppression of research.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Electronic Cigarettes Market

    2318 Words  | 5 Pages

    According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2013), smoking is harmful for almost each organ and causes many dis...

    Read More

  • Lung Cancer

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in our society. During 1995, approximately 2.1 million people in developed countries died as a result of smoking. One tobacco use is responsible for nearly one in five deaths in the United States. Lung Cancer mortality are about 23 times higher for current male smokers and 13 times higher for current female smokers compared to a lifelong never-smoker.

    Read More

  • Public Health Issue: Smoking

    2016 Words  | 5 Pages

    Encyclopaedia of Children’s (2013) stated that smoking is a form of inhalation of smoking from different forms of tobacco which include cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Cancer Research (2012) and the World Health Organisation (2013) have confirmed that most tobacco products contain very high level of nicotine which can have additive effect and are made from tobacco leaf which are s...

    Read More

  • Smoking Cigarettes

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even though smoking cigarettes can lead to death and consider very bad for someone’s health, people all over the world do it every day.  No matter how many cautions cigarette companies place on cigarettes packs, people still smoke. There have been a lot of debate  about  the consequences of smoking cigarettes, as well as many studies have been  done,  showing the awful results of  smoking on people’s physical condition.  Despite all the consequences that smoking cigarettes can create on one’s health, people cannot seem to be able to stay away from them. At every gas station, almost everywhere people go, many advertisements try to influence people to smoke and make smoking looks cool. However, the smoke from cigarettes has life threatening chemicals in them which trigger to severe effects on people’s healthiness. Smoking can damage nearly every organ of the body and also causes nearly one of every five deaths in the United States each year.

    Read More

  • Tobacco: The Negative Health Impact Of Tobacco

    1457 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    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

  • Nicotine Addiction

    1719 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    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

  • Argumentative Essay On Smoking Cigarettes

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.”

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects of Smoking Cigarettes

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Dangers of Smoking Cigarettes for Smokers” healthliteracy.worlded.org. Copyright 1995 by Marjorie Jacobs revised 1997, n.d web 14 April 2011

    Read More

  • Essay On Tobacco Abuse

    1548 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to (Mackay, 2002), rapid increase in tobacco consumption and its spread around the world represent a great concern to public health both globally and at the national level. Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world and the fourth most common risk factor for disease worldwide; it kills 4.9 million persons per year therefore it weighs heavily on the health care system of countries. Tobacco undermines the wellbeing of populations. The cost of treating tobacco-related illness is very high, not only in the governments but also to individuals and their families. In addition, the diseases and deaths that result from tobacco consumption impose great suffering and grief on the close family of the tobacco user, effects which are exacerbated by poverty.

    Read More

  • Tobacco and Cigarette Smoking

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    One person dies every six seconds due to a tobacco-related disease, which results in a shocking amount of ten deaths per minute. Tobacco is one of the most heavily used addictive products in the United States. Tobacco contains over 4,000 chemicals; approximately 250 are dangerously harmful to humans. Smoking is a major public health problem. All smokers face an increased risk of lung cancer, cardiovascular problems, and many other disorders.

    Read More

More about The Tobacco Epidemic

Open Document