Smoking has a very negative impact on the health of people and causes serious long-term and short-term health problems for both the smoker and non-smoker. The act of smoking began since centuries ago. Today, many people still smoke knowing the fact that it can lead to seious heatlh problems and also possibly death.
Smoking has been around since the beginning of time. It is uncertain on how the practice of smoking first came about, but it is certain that the ancient Maya and Aztec Indians of Central America did smoke tobacco. Before cigarettes were invented, tobacco was consumed by chewing, in pipes, cigars, and also made into powder to be sniffed. The first cigarettes were hand-rolled, until the United States invented the automatic cigarette-rolling machines. This allowed smoking to spread even more rapidly around the world then before. In the sixteenth century, tobacco was also used for medical purposes. Even though tobacco was used for medical purposes, doctors did not support the idea of using it for smoking. When
the dangers of smoking were discovered, many countries passed laws against smoking. In the U.S., the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act was passed. This law was passed because of surgeon general’s report stating that smoking causes lung cancer and other deadly diseases. Smoking was also banned in twelve American states, but people ignored the laws.
Many people began smoking at an early age. “Statistics show that about 9 out of 10 tobacco users start before they are 18 years old” (“Smoking” 1). There are many reasons as to why people start smoking. Some people start smoking to fit in. They might have friends who smoke and will feel left out if they don’t smoke with them. Their friends might also pressure them into smoking. Parents who smokes can also influence their children into smoking without realizing it. Advertising and promotion also plays an important role. It attracts more people into smoking and also promotes a glamourous image of smoking. Many countries all over the world have banned advertising and promotion of cigarette brands in the hopes of decreasing the amount of smokers. Another common reason for people to start smoking is to look cool. Many people get influenced by celebrities and movie stars who smoke. They believe that it will give them a cool image if they smoke too. A lot of people who starts smoking never expect to be addicted to it. But once they start, it can be very hard to stop.
There are many dangerous chemicals in cigarettes that can cause harm to the body. According to the Center s for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 4,000 chemical components found in cigarettes and at least 250 of them are harmful to human health. One of the key ingrediant that leads to an addiction is the chemical nicotine. Nicotine is a very dangerous chemical that can cause addiction. It can cause an increase in blood pressure,
heart rate, blood flow and can also narrow arteries. It can also lead to heart attacks because it hardens the arterial walls. Nicotine can stay in the body for up to eight hours a day. Once it is inhaled into the body, it is carried to the brain and produces chemical changes in the brain which causes a craving for more. Another dangerous chemical is carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a damaging gas which moves to the bloodstream, once inhaled. It is harmful because it decreases the amount of oxygen the red blood cells can carry throughout the body. It can also increase the amount of cholesrerol in the inner lining of the arteries, that can causes the arteries to harden over time.
Smoking has negative effects on the body both internally and externally. The
external effects includes stained teeth, fingers, and nails. Early aging, hair loss and tooth loss can also occur on the smoker. Wrinkles can start to appear on the skin which can cause one to look older then they really are. It gives an overall unhealty apperance. Smoking also causes great harm to the body systems, especially the respiratory and circulatory system. The effects that smoking has on the respiratory system includes shortness of breath and permanent damage to the air sacs of the lungs. It can makes simple everyday tasks and activities hard to do. It also can increases the chance of developing chronic bronchitis and lung cancer. According to the Health Communities, one third of all cancer are related to the use of tobacco. “Smoking causes 90% ( or 9 out of 10) of all lung cancer deaths in both men and women”( “Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking” 1). Women are twenty-six times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers. More women die from lung cancer than breast cancer.
The effects that smoking cigarettes cause on the circulatory system can be very brutal. There is an increased risk of stroke and heart attack because of blockages of blood supply. This is because the blood becomes stickier which makes clotting more likely to happen. Vessels also become thin and hardended. There is also a decrease in blood flow to the arms and legs. Also known as peripheral vascular disease or PVD. This can cause open sores that does not heal. It also limits the amount of daily activities that can be performed, such as walking. Surgeries that can helps improve blood flows often fails for smokers. Blood pressure also raises. Heart rate also increases too. Also, there is a higher chance of heart disease and circulatory problems.
Smoking also causes a series of short-term and long-term effects. The short-term effects includes frequent respiratory illnesses such as coughs, colds, bronchitis, and pneumonia. The long-term effects are more serious compared to the short-term effects. The long-term effects includes severe lung damage, reduced blood circulation, narrow blood vessels, less oxygen, heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The more life threatening effects can be cancer. The types of cancer that can occur includes: mouth, throat, lung, stomach, kidney, bladder, cervical, and also pancreatic cancer. Tobacco cause one in three cancer deaths , according to American Cancer Society. “More than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all wars fought by the U.S. during its history”(“Health Effects Of Cigarette Smoking” 1).
A person that smokes does not only harm themselve, but also harms non-smokers around them. This is called secondhand smoking. Secondhand smoking refers to the smoke inhaled involuntarily from tobacco being smoked by others. The smoke inhaled by the non-smoker contains far more chemicals than the smoke inhaled by the smoker itself. The American Heart Association states that 46,000 heart diseases deaths and 3,400 lung cancer deaths are caused by environmental tobacco smoke. Non-sokers exposed to secondhand smoke are twenty-five percent more likely to develop heart disease. “Studies also shows that the risk of developing heart disease is about30 percent higher among people exposed to environmental tobacco smoke at home or work.”(“Smoking: Do You Really…” 2).
Secondhand smoking affects women more than men, especially a pregnant women. If a pregnant woman is exposed to tobacco smoke, her baby will be more likely to have a low-birthweight. This also implies to women who smoke during pregnancy.This is because smoking during pregnancy slows down fetal growth. It often causes the baby to have many health problems due to the result of being born underweight. Smoking while preganant can also cause the unborn baby to have respiratory illnesses and also causes premature birth. There is also an increase chance of miscarriages and many other complications during birth and during the pregnancy. After the baby is born, substances in a tobacco can still be passed to the baby by breastfeading. For women who are not pregnant, there is a less chance for them
to get pregnant. Menopause can also reach a year or two earlier for women who smokes than a women who is healthy and does not smoke.Women who smokes also have an increase chance of developing cervical cancer.
For children, secondhand smoke can cause more serious health problems. These includes servere asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections and also sudden death syndrome. Their lungs grow less than the children who are not exposed to secondhand smoke. Wheezing and coughing are more common in children who breathes in secondhand smoke. They also have severe and frequent asthma attacks that can put their life in danger. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 40% of children who go to the emergancy room for asthma lives with smokers. Secondhand smoking can also cause childrens with no history of asthma to develop asthma. Childrens who lives with smokers can also get more ear infections and often have to get surgery to drain the build up liquid out of their ears.
Knowing that smoking can cause health problems not only to the smoker, but also to the non-smokers, people still risk their lives on it by starting. Quitting smoking can be a very long and hard process. It is better not to start considering all the damages it can cause to the health.