Smoking

Smoking

Smoking Outline

I. Introduction

II. History

A. Smoking Introduction into Europe

B. Link between Smoking and Lung Cancer

III. Health Effects

A. Smoking-Related Health Problems

B. Second-Hand Smoke

IV. Nicotine

V. Smoking Cessation

A. Quitting Benefits

B. Quitting Techniques

1. Prescription Drugs

2. Nicotine Replacement Therapy

VI. Conclusion

Smoking

Have you ever sat next to or near someone who is smoking? Is this bad for your body? Most probably know that smoking is bad for their health, but how bad? Second-hand smoke, which is received when you are near a person who is smoking, can be very harmful to your health, too. This paper will discuss the history of tobacco smoking. It will also discuss the health effects of smoking on the smoker and people around the smoker. This paper will even discuss nicotine, a chemical in cigarette smoke, and ways to quit smoking and the health benefits the smoker receives as a result of quitting.

The history of the smoking of tobacco dates back to the early 1500's when the European explorers came to settle the New World. The explorers saw Indians smoking tobacco plant leaves with pipes. Later on, in 1565, the first shipment of tobacco reached Britain (History). The majority of colonists grew tobacco to sell it for money. A lot of it that was sold went on ships to Europe to be sold there. When vast amounts of tobacco started coming in on ships from the New World, it became very popular in Europe. "Most tobacco was consumed by pipes and cigars or as snuff (finely pulverized tobacco inhaled into the nostrils) (Smoking)." In 1832 the first cigarette was rolled. Later, in 1856, the first cigarette factory started producing them (History). The tobacco consumption pattern changed from cigars and pipes to cigarettes, especially in the 1900's.

Over time more information began to be discovered about the link between lung cancer and smoking. In 1950, evidence for this link was published in the British Medical Journal (History). In 1964, the Surgeon General sent out a report saying, "Cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action (Smoking)." After this report was published the government of the United States and other governments around the world started putting more and more restrictions on cigarettes and their advertising. Now smoking is banned in a lot of public places in a lot of countries. In 1990 smoking was forbidden on all United States interstate buses and all domestic airline flights lasting six hours or less (History). In addition, New York City banned smoking in all public places in 2003 (History).

About 442,000 people in the United States die each year from smoking-related health complications (Smoking). "That is more than alcohol, cocaine, heroine, homicide, suicide, car accidents, fires, and AIDS all combined (Nicotine)." Smoking cigarettes does an enormous amount of damage to the smoker's body. Tar, which is in the cigarette smoke, damages the cilia, making it harder for the smoker to breathe. This is also why smokers are less active, because they lose their breath more easily. Most smokers also have a higher chance of getting cancer of the larynx, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, bladder, and oral cavity (Smoking). Ninety percent of lung cancer deaths are a result of smoking (Smoking). Death rates from cancer are twice as high in a smoker than they are in a non-smoker and four times as high in heavy smokers compared to non-smokers. Smoking also causes other lung diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema. "An estimated eighty billion dollars of total United States health costs each year is attributable to smoking (Nicotine)."

A woman who is pregnant and smokes is also posing serious health risks to her baby. "Pregnant women who smoke cigarettes run an increased risk of having stillborn or premature infants or infants with low birthrates (Cigarettes)." Nicotine enters the placenta and concentrates in the fetus, posing great danger to the infant (Nicotine). Also carbon monoxide, which is also in cigarette smoke, has been proven to slow the release of oxygen into the fetal tissues. Smoking during pregnancy is very dangerous to both baby and mother.

It is also bad for non-smokers to even be around people who are smoking. When you are, you breathe in the fumes from the cigarette ,too. This is called second-hand smoking. It is estimated that 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year among non-smokers are caused by second hand smoke (Nicotine). Furthermore, a major source of indoor contaminants is environmental tobacco smoke (Nicotine). It is very harmful to ones health to be around smokers.

"Nicotine is one of the most frequently used addictive drugs (Nicotine)." Nicotine is the most abundant of over