Halloween's History

Smoking

For many people, smoking all starts with teenagers because of cigarette advertising. Cigarette advertising is everywhere, for example, "They link the use of tobacco with precisely those attributes and qualities in life such things as happiness, wealth, prestige, sophistication, success, maturity, athletic ability, virility, creativity, sexual satisfaction, and others that the habitual use of drugs usually diminishes and destroys" (Lane). However, the long term effects of smoking are no so pretty. Later down the road they will come to find that smoking gives lung cancer and bad breath with yellow teeth. Essentially, everyone who smoked would die early in life and half of the life they lived, they would not even have a voice box. So there would be a huge whole in the middle of there neck. However, it has been discovered that smoking and second hand smoking do more damage then just lung cancer. Smoking has helped pave the way for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, many types of cancers and respiratory and cardiovascular disease. But its not too late; there are some benefits of quitting smoking.

Secondhand smoke has been a very significant problem in public areas. For example, the doctors say that "Children who live around secondhand smoke are more likely to have asthma than other children. These children are also prone to have underdeveloped lungs and more respiratory problems when they grow to be adults" (Jackson). The parents are stealing away their children's life. Asthma means no football, soccer, or any type of athletics. They have to be careful when they get scared. They will have to carry around an inhaler. Children should not have to deal with such stress early on in their lives. Secondhand smoking has been associated with the cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. A pregnant woman should not be smoking. It increases the risk of SIDS. For example, Sullivan wrote; smoking has become the number one preventable risk factor (qtd. in Tong 361). If women were to stop smoking while they are pregnant then there child is less likely to die from SIDS. They would have to stay away from cigarette smoking altogether. This would increase the likely hood of there child to live through infancy. It is highly recommended by doctors that parents do not smoke around their children. In addition, It has also been proven that second hand smoke exposed to non smokers has caused a large increase in there risk of getting lung cancer and heart disease ("Medicine and Health"). People should definitely not be smoking in public areas or even in buildings. The ventilation system will not stop the smoke. Smoking is a terrible habit that is hurting more then just the people addicted to it, but to the people around them.

Studies have continued to find more and more issues with smoking. It cause more then just lung cancer, bronchitis, and heart problems. For example, it also causes "cataracts; pneumonia; acute myeloid leukemia (a kind of cancer that affects blood and bone marrow cells); abdominal aortic aneurysm (an abnormal widening of the aortaÐ'--the artery that carries blood from the heart to the bodyÐ'--in the abdominal region); cancers of the stomach, pancreas, cervix and kidney; and periodontitis, or gum disease ("Hazards of Smoking? The List Grows Longer"). There are a great many things that smoking causes and people do not know about. This is a strategy that the tobacco company uses so that people continue to smoke. That is how they continue to make so much money. They keep everyone oblivious to all the problems. In addition, the list continues with liver, prostate, esophagus, throat and bladder cancer, and reproductive disorders ("Hazards of Smoking? The List Grows Longer"). Again not all people know about all these wonderful cancers that go along with smoking. Who would choose to smoke if they knew about all these things smoking causes? A great deal of people would not even attempt to smoke if they knew. But once again the tobacco company does not alert anyone. They only put on the cigarettes that it may cause cancer.,