Smoking (Essay Sample)

Smoking
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Institution
Date
Smoking
Abstract:
The 21st century came with numerous changes in terms of lifestyle, developments, diseases and challenges. As much as smoking is a practice that dates back to the ancient days, smoking in the 21st century took a wholly different toll in terms of lifestyles and smoking intensity. In the past, smokers in the world used to smoke tobacco or cigarettes. Nonetheless, there is more than just tobacco rolled in small tubes for people to some in the world today. Apart from cigarettes, people also smoke Hookah and Marijuana. Different people smoke for different reasons, with the number of smokers in the world increasing with the wake of each day. Some people smoke for fun; others smoke to relieve stress, while others still smoke for health benefits; medical marijuana. The latter is a rather strange phenomenon, prescribed by some doctors and it is associated more with the 21st century as compared to the rest. The one common characteristic among all smokers in the world is the effects that smoking has on their health statuses. This study paper seeks to focus on smoking, the different factors associated with smoking, the effects of smoking and smoking cessation. This study paper will incorporate information obtained from different scholarly journals and research papers, which provide information on this topic.
Tobacco Smoking
Tobacco smoking is the most popular smoking practice, in the world, with approximately 19% or 43.8 million adults having been listed as smokers in the U.S. in 2011. There was also an additional 18% of the entire population of students in the U.S. that were found to be cigarette smokers. A single puff of cigarette smoke contains thousands of different chemical agents with approximately 60 of these chemicals having the tendency to cause cancer. The most addictive agent in cigarettes is nicotine, which is absorbed into the bloodstream rapidly and reaches the brain within 30 seconds after inhalation. Nicotine causes the brain to release some special chemical in the body that boost energy and create feelings of pleasure. This is the high caused by tobacco or cigarette smoking. Nonetheless, the high usually disappears within half an hour after smoking and the smoker is usually left feeling tired and depressed. This leads a smoker to light up again, and the cycle flows in the same trend every day, in the life of a smoker (Smoking-The Facts, 2010).
The most disturbing fact about smoking, despite its ability to relax smokers, is the high number of deaths it causes among smokers. The (American Lung Association, 2010) observes that at least 443,000 people die every year in the United States from tobacco related complications. As a matter of fact, tobacco kills more people than alcohol, accidents, illegal drugs, homicide, AIDS and suicide combined. Moreover, cigarette smoking accounts for more than 30% of all deaths caused by different cancers in the body of the smokers. Apart from cancer, cigarette smoking also causes other diseases including cardiovascular diseases, stroke, bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia, asthma and aneurysms, among others. Some smokers get consolation for smoking cigarettes by believing that there are safe ways to smoke cigarettes, including lacing tobacco with menthol or smoking light cigarettes, as opposed to strong cigarettes. The undeniable fact is that there is no safe way to smoke cigarettes, whether they are light or heavy or whether they are flavored or not (American Lung Association, 2010).
Apart from cigarettes, there is also another way of smoking tobacco using a water pipe known as Hookah smoking. Hookah smoking is gaining popularity especially among the youth, in different parts of the world. The only difference between smoking cigarettes and hookah is that the tobacco smoke in a hookah passes through water and the water lowers the temperature of the tobacco smoke. Most hookahs use tobacco mixtures made with flavorings and other additives. The tobacco mixture used vary in types and flavors, and they include; shisha, goza, boory, hubble bubble and narghile, among others. The side effects of smoking using the hookah are similar to the side effects of smoking cigarettes because they both contain tobacco and nicotine. As a matter of fact, hookah smoking may be far more dangerous than cigarette smoking as hookah smokers may be exposed to more nicotine as compared to cigarette smokers (American Lung Association, 2010).
Second Hand Smokers
Apart from the actual tobacco smokers, there are also second hand smokers, and these are people who inhale cigarettes smoked by other people. Second hand tobacco smokers suffer from the same effects as actual tobacco smokers because the same chemicals in the tobacco smoke also reach their brains. Among the most affected second hand tobacco smokers are children from families with smoking parents. Other second hand tobacco smokers also include pedestrians walking alongside smokers, workmates in working setups where people can smoke, people in social or public areas where smoking is allowed, and even people with partners who smoke. Most people may not realize the effects of second hand smoking, but it is pretty much the same as ordinary smoking.
Diseases caused by Tobacco Smoking
Lung Diseases
The chemicals contained in cigarettes have far-reaching effects in the bodies of the smokers. Most of these effects on the body are caused by the toxic gases that smokers inhale and fact that some chemicals get into the bloodstream of the smokers. First of all, the toxic gases damage the lung lining, as the lining is very smooth and delicate in healthy people. These toxic gases scar the lining of the lungs making it thick and black. This makes it difficult for lungs to allow for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide from the bloodstream. Continued smoking finally ends up causing diseases such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Emphysema, bronchitis and reactive airway disease.
Cancer
Some of the chemicals in tobacco interfere with the cell division process causing the development of cancers. Cancers spread from their points of origin to other parts of the body and when the smoker cannot keep up with growth of cancer in the body he dies. Smoking causes the development of different kinds of cancers including lung cancer, cancer of the breathing tube or larynx, oral cancer, and cancer of the esophagus or the feeding tube.
Cardiovascular and Other Diseases
Smoking also causes the narrowing or blocking of blood vessels, in extreme instances. This is because smoking triggers the deposition of cholesterol in blood vessels and causes blood to clot inside the vessels. Smoking also accounts for at least 30% of all deaths related to coronary heart diseases. It causes poor blood flow in the legs and arms and worsens cases of diseases, such as cataracts, gum diseases, peptic ulcers and bone thinning, among others. The use of tobacco also increases the risks of miscarriages or early delivery in expectant women, and the general health of women’s reproductive system, which may be harmful to unborn babies. Smok...