The Harmful Effects of Smoking
ANSWER
Numerous negative health, social, and psychological effects of smoking can severely harm a person’s life. People grow tobacco trees whose leaves are mostly smoked, chewed, and sniffed for various effects. Smoking involves tobacco, which contains a chemical known as nicotine. Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical, and a smoker who is not cautious the first time can become a slave to nicotine for a very long time. Tobacco, besides nicotine, contains nineteen cancer-causing chemicals, collectively referred to as tar. People smoke for various reasons, including the desire to feel better, improve their mood, and improve short-term concentration and memory. Until recently, smoking was considered a good thing, and there were numerous advertisements for it in newspapers, television, and other mass media.
Smoking is a major health risk, but people continue to smoke for various reasons, many of which are irrational. Smoking usually begins at a young age because teenagers believe that if they start smoking, they will be considered mature, but they are wrong and putting their health at risk. Many people smoke to relax, but it has a higher risk of brain damage. Smoking is a very bad habit that should be broken; smokers endanger their own lives and those who inhale the smoke (Greaves, 2002).
The effects of smoking differ from person to person, depending on cigarette chemical exposure. Smoking is a public health issue and has a significant financial impact on nations. Until we stop smoking, more people will become addicted, more people will become ill, more families will be devastated by the loss of loved ones, and the nation’s medical systems will suffer greatly. The dangers of smoking on a person’s body are enormous, and smoking should be prohibited in all public places. Smoking can easily weaken the body and lead to a slow and steady death. There are many facts about smoking and deaths. For example, in the United States, there were approximately 443,000 smoking-related deaths per year, accounting for approximately one in every five deaths. It is also believed that smoking causes more deaths each year than HIV, alcohol, suicides, illegal drugs, murder, and vehicle injuries combined. Smoking is responsible for 90% of all lung cancer deaths in men and 80% of all lung cancer deaths in women. It is also estimated that smoking causes 90% of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung disease.
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The human body is extremely vulnerable to the negative effects of smoking, which can harm our heart, lungs, blood circulation, bones, stomach, mouth, eyes, skin, reproduction, and fertility. Smoking hurts both the heart and the lungs. Nicotine raises blood pressure and makes blood clot more easily. Carbon monoxide depletes the blood of oxygen and promotes the formation of cholesterol deposits in artery walls. Smoking causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the lungs, a group of diseases including asthmatic bronchitis and emphysema. COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is well known as a silent killer disease. Most smokers are unaware that they are affected until it is too late to save them. There is no cure for such diseases, and nearly 15% of smokers develop the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Smoking causes harm to blood circulation because veins and arteries harden, narrow, and become coated with fat deposits. This can cause problems such as cold skin, ulcers, cramps, pain, and vein blockages, leading to a stroke or heart attack. Smoking weakens and breaks bones, and women must exercise caution because they are more likely than nonsmokers to develop osteoporosis. Tobacco use can harm the stomach, eyes, and skin. Stomach injuries can harm vital organs and increase the risk of stomach cancer. The eyes have additional risks, such as Graves’ ophthalmopathy, glaucoma, and cataract. The worst thing that smoking can do is cause permanent blindness because it reduces the amount of oxygen available to the skin. This can cause your skin to age faster, making you appear dull and grey. The effects of smoking on reproduction and fertility are severe. Smoking increases the risk of frailty and can harm sperm by lowering sperm count and increasing the risk of testicular cancer (Team, 2009).
Everyone is aware of the dangers of smoking, but no one wants to quit; this attitude toward smoking should be changed. Smoking is the most heinous habit of approximately 1.2 billion people who are addicted to smoking. It serves no purpose for smokers or society. The impact of smoking on society extends beyond health and illness. Smoking regularly impacts a smoker’s financial resources, especially when people have limited resources. For example, economically disadvantaged households in England spend about 2.5 percent of their weekly income on smoking. The economic burden of smoking is estimated to be greater than one percent of the European GDP. Smoking costs society money in terms of morbidity and mortality. The direct cost of smoking is associated with health care.
In contrast, the indirect cost is associated with the loss of human capital due to premature deaths, productivity losses, and unpaid income taxes. The total smoking attribute cost of two leading groups of smoking-related diseases, COPD and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), is currently estimated to be between 105.83 and 130.31 billion euros. The net social cost of smoking in Australia ranges from 2.1 to 3.4 percent of the GDP (Kaiser S, 2009 ).
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The effects of smoking on children and adolescents are severe. According to leading researchers, passive smoking can impair a child’s ability to learn mathematics and read. A study of the smoking environment is essential, and one such study found that if parents smoke regularly, their children perform poorly in school. In the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers found that children exposed to smoking at home have higher cotinine levels. Cotinine is commonly found in children as a result of secondhand smoke. Smoking in the home is a serious issue that the government must address to keep children safe (Society Guardian, 2005 ). Teenagers begin smoking at a young age, laying the groundwork for developing diseases in their bodies. Teenagers generally regard smoking as a fashionable activity and engage in it. Children and teenagers are the foundation of our society; if they are safe, then our society is safe. Because of the consequences of smoking, an average person loses 10 to 15 minutes of beautiful life every time they smoke. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of unintended deaths worldwide. Smoking causes more than twenty-five diseases, most of which are life-threatening and strongly linked to smoking. Smoking reduces total life expectancy to 6.8 years on average, and heavy smoking reduces total life expectancy to 8.8 years. Furthermore, smoking reduced disease-free life by 5.8 years. Stop smoking at the age of forty, and your life expectancy will increase to 4.6 years (Baijal, 2010).
Smoking has proven to be harmful to our society over the years, and one such harm is psychological. Smoking appears to take control of our minds and cause us to act irrationally. Some heavy smokers are increasingly becoming a threat to their families and a burden on society. Most smokers start when they are young, which leads to risk-taking or rebellion later in life. The presence of a high-status model and peer also encourage smoking. Smokers claim to smoke to relieve stress, but they have a higher stress level than nonsmokers. Psychologist Hans Eysenck developed a smoker’s personality profile, and Extraversion is a trait in smokers who are impulsive, sociable, and thrill seekers (Eysenck, 1965). Psychologists also believe that personality and social factors play a significant role in smoking. It is now the responsibility of governments all over the world to take action against smoking and prohibit it in public places. Governments all over the world should provide smoking cessation treatments in order to eradicate diseases from our societies.
To summarize, smoking is harmful not only to you but also to those around you. People who smoke are more likely to develop heart disease and lung cancer. Smoking is a bad addiction; the sooner we can quit, the better for those around us. We should reduce the number of smokers because smoking destroys our society from within. It is critical to fully comprehend the dangers of smoking and to prevent it from taking the lives of good people. Smokers should quit avoiding financial losses and the negative health effects of smoking. Because smoking contributes significantly to sterility, men and women should avoid it. We know almost every disease linked to smoking causes death, so it is time to say no to smoking’s harmful effects.