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The causes, consequences, and solutions of smoking
The causes, consequences, and solutions of smoking
The causes, consequences, and solutions of smoking
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The practice of smoking, whether it be the likes of tobacco, marijuana or other substances has been around for thousands of years. It has been a defining feature of many diverse ethnic and social groups and has been noted to take place in a variety of settings—ranging from sacred rituals and ceremonial meetings, private/ personal use, to simple or even somewhat elaborate get-togethers. The sacred and endowed side of smoking tobacco was generally believed to have medicinal as well as spiritual benefits. According to Jordan Paper, “[tobacco] was used in healing practices among Native peoples in Central and South America in ways similar to their use of powerful psychoactive plants.” It is true that, smoking has taken on many forms, but it is also critical to note that the spiritual aspect which was once prominent and wide spread in the Americas, has dwindled into a common-place recreational pleasure throughout the world.
Cigarettes (and its tobacco-related counterparts) have remained to this day, the most readily available and highly addictive substance that’s in legal America and “continues to be the leading cause of preventable death around the world” (Wascher). The production and sale of cigarettes should be made illegal in America because it manipulates people into adopting unhealthy lifestyles, encourages children to try smoking, and it subsequently shortens the lifespan of the smoker and those who surround them (second-hand smokers), by increasing the risk of adverse health effects.
The attitudes which surrounded cigarette smoking have seen a steady yet progressive shift from being ‘a [socially] acceptable and noncontroversial part of US life,’ to a seemingly chronic affliction that fuels a disgusting habit (qtd. in Graham...
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Paper, Jordan. "Sacred Use of Tobacco." The American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience (2013): n.p. ABC-CLIO. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
"Smoking Bans and the Tobacco Industry." Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 1 July 2013. Web. 4 Dec. 2013. .
Tan, Qian Hui. "Smell in the City: Smoking and Olfactory Politics." Urban Studies 50.1 (2013): 55-71. Web. 26 Nov 2013.
Wascher, Robert A. "Smoking Advertisements Influence Teen Smoking." How Does Advertising Impact Teen Behavior? 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
The smoking issue is very complicated and some of the arguments are beyond the scope of this essay. Still, we can obtain a balanced outlook if we consider the following: the facts of smoking, individual right, societal responsibility, and the stigma of smoking. Haviland and King write essays which contain very important points, but seem to contain a bias which may alienate some people. To truly reach a consensus on the smoking issue, we must be willing to meet each other halfway. We must strike equilibrium between individual right and societal responsibility.
Smoking tobacco has been a contentious issue ever since explorers brought tobacco leaves to Europe from the New World in the sixteenth century. In the 1960s, scientific reports conclusively linked cigarette smoking with certain forms of cancer. Despite this, anti-smoking legislation was virtually non-existent in Canada until the 1990s. Today, all areas of the country have legislation in place restricting the use of tobacco and very few allow smoking in public places, while others have banned it entirely. Anti-tobacco lobbyists say that while a lot of progress has been made, there are a number of areas that still need attention. Most Aboriginal reservations are considered exempt from smoking legislation. Many reservations and their surrounding areas are home to populations where 80 per cent of adolescents between the ages of fifteen and nineteen are regular smokers. In addition, since the introduction of smoking legislation, there has been an ongoing multibillion dollar battle between the big tobacco companies and the government. Tobacco companies feel that restrictions on the way they advertise, package and distribute their product is a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Many companies have brought their cases to the attention of the Supreme Court of Canada with
“Thank You for Smoking. ?” The genre of argument. Boston: Thompson/Heinle. P. 141-143 Kovac, Rachel. A. Study Shows Ignorance of Smoking Hazards.
The tobacco industry seems like a beneficial addition to our economy. It has basically been a socially acceptable business in the past because it brings jobs to our people and tax money to the government to redistribute; but consider the cost of tobacco related treatment, mortality and disability- it exceeds the benefit to the producer by two hundred billion dollars US. (4) Tobacco is a very profitable industry determined to grow despite government loss or public health. Its history has demonstrated how money can blind morals like an addiction that is never satisfied. Past lawsuits were mostly unsuccessful because the juries blamed the smoker even though the definition of criminal negligence fits the industry’s acts perfectly. Some may argue for the industry in the name of free enterprise but since they have had such a clear understanding of the dangers of their product it changes the understanding of their business tactics and motives. The success of the industry has merely been a reflection of its immoral practices. These practices have been observed through its use of the media in regards to children, the tests that used underage smokers, the use of revenue to avoid the law, the use of nicotine manipulation and the suppression of research.
There is clearly no way tobacco will never be outlawed but I believe there should be tighter restrictions on age limits throughout the world, and restrictions on the materials that are used in cigarette processing. Who is just letting cigarette companies continue to poison people and cause cancer risk? Throughout my essay I will analyze the affects of cigarette use on the society of the world and the elaborate corruption that keeps cigarette companies in business.
Smoking tobacco in the cigarette form was extremely popular in the early part of the 20th century. Many people joined in the popular habit, got addicted, and had no fear of the future consequences or health concerns. Many people were under the impression that smoking was good for their bodies, and were unaware of the unhealthy side affects that cigarette smoking caused. Some famous people like Walt Disney, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth all were killed from their love of tobacco. Soon enough more and more cases of lung, throat, and mouth cancers began popping up all over the place, but people were reluctant to blame their beloved tobacco. It wasn’t until 1964 when Surgeon General Luther Terry stated that smoking causes lung cancer in people who smoke and inhale the fumes, that perceptions on smoking began to change. Since the findings of the Surgeon General, there has been an on going battle between pro-smoking, and anti-smoking groups over the rights of smokers. As the non smoking movement is growing at a rapid pace, and smoking bans have been ruled to not violate the 1st Amendment. In the last decade we have banned smoking in almost all public areas from bars and restaurants, offices, malls, and living quarters. The smoking bans are one effective way to abolish smoking, but it fails to address the major component in smoking; addiction to nicotine, and the psychological effect it has on users. Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy way to end smoking. This is because treatment plans have such a small level of success. Medical treatment such as prescription medication often have more side effects than positive effects for the user. But one product has been making huge gains in the fight to quit tobacco, and that is the electronic cigarette...
Smoking is a lifestyle, a habit, and a trend. Smoking has become a social activity among teens, connecting them through the craving of a smoke. Smoking is seen as seductive and cool in the media and movies which influences teenagers to smoke even more. The World Health Organization has stated that “Tobacco kills around 6 million people each year. More than 5 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.” As of April 2016, only 7% of teenagers in the U.S. smoke, but it is said that tobacco use will kill 8 million people annually by 2030. 99% of adult smokers start in their years as teenagers. Smoking is an epidemic that has taken control of people’s lives since 1881 and the media since the early 1900s. Smoking currently kills about 440,000 people a year in the U.S. I feel that it is an issue because it is the #1 most preventable way to die, but people still continue to smoke because of how it looks and how they are perceived as a person if they do. The fact that people become addicted to a trend that will attribute to their death for the sake of being thought of as cooler, is a problem that needs to be addressed.
This essay is aimed to explore, analyse and discuss smoking in adults. Smoking is a public health issue as such is one of the major contributors to high mortality and ill-health in the adults which is preventable (Health and Excellence Care (NICE) (2012). The United Kingdom (UK) is known to have the highest number of people with a history of smoking among people with low socio-economic status (Scriven and Garman, 2006; Goddard and Green, 2005). Smoking is considered a serious epidemic in the UK and the National institute for Health and Excellence Care (NICE, 2012) stated that 28% of adults with low economic status are tobacco smokers compared with 13% of those with economic status or having professional incomes. Furthermore almost 80,000 people died in England in 2011 as a result of smoking related issues and 9,500 admissions of children died due to being second hand smokers (WHO, 2005). This essay focuses on definition of smoking, the aim is to underline the relationship between smoking and the determinants of health and then, the size, prevalence, and morbidity trend of smoking will be explored. Furthermore, some public health policies introduced to confront the issues around smoking will be investigated and finally, the roles of nurses will identify health needs the public so as to promote good health and their wellbeing.
Every year cigarette smoking is responsible for 500,000 premature deaths (Nugel), you do not want to be just another statistic, do you? America’s first cash crop was tobacco. That means that tobacco has been around for a really long time. It was not until 1865, though, that cigarettes were sold commercially. They were sold to soldiers at the end of the Civil War (Dowshen). From then, cigarettes spread like wildfire, and it was not until 1964 that anyone made a stand about the negative effects of tobacco and cigarettes. People start smoking for all different reasons, some to fit in and some to “escape”. Regardless, it is a horrible habit. 3900 children will try their first cigarette today. Amongst adults who currently smoke, 68% of them began at age 18 or younger, and 85% at 21 or younger (American Lung Association). And of all those people, 70% say if they were given another chance they would never have picked up that first cigarette (Tobacco Free Maine). Smoking is responsible for 1 and 5 deaths in the united states, and is the number one preventable cause of death (NLH). Smoking burns and there is no doubt about that, but before one picks up that cigarette, understand the negative effects on not only oneself, but others affected by ones poor choices, like second-hand smoke. Because of smoking cigarettes, many types of cancer, decrease of life quality, and negative health effects have become all too common in the world today.
Each year 440,000 people die, in the United States alone, from the effects of cigarette smoking (American Cancer Society, 2004). As discussed by Scheraga & Calfee (1996) as early as the 1950’s the U.S. government has utilized several methods to curb the incidence of smoking, from fear advertising to published health warnings. Kao & Tremblay (1988) and Tremblay & Tremblay (1995) agreed that these early interventions by the U.S. government were instrumental in the diminution of the national demand for cigarettes in the United States. In more recent years, state governments have joined in the battle against smoking by introducing antismoking regulations.
Smoking cigarettes is a detrimental practice not only to the smoker, but also to everyone around the smoker. According to an article from the American Lung Association, “Health Effects” (n.d.), “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year”. The umbrella term for tobacco use includes the use of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigs and chewing tobacco. While tobacco causes adverse health consequences, it also has been a unifying factor for change in public health. While the tobacco industries targets specific populations, public health specifically targets smokers, possible smokers, and the public to influence cessation, policies and education.
This year alone cigarettes will kill over 420,000 Americans, and many more will suffer from cancers, and circulatory and respiratory system diseases. These horrible illnesses were known to come from cigarettes for years. Recently the Food and Drug Administration declared nicotine, the main chemical in cigarettes, addictive. This explains why smokers continue to use cigarettes even though smokers are aware of the constantly warned about health dangers in cigarettes. Some researchers have also found out that smoking by pregnant women causes the deaths of over 5,000 babies and 115,000 miscarriages. The only way to get rid of the suffering and loss of life by cigarettes is to ban them. . For years cigarettes have been known to cause cancer, emphysema, and other horrible illnesses. The deaths of over 420,000 of Americans this year will be do to cigarettes. With all the other causes of deaths, alcohol, illegal drugs, AIDS, suicide, transportation accidents, fires, and guns, cigarettes still count for more deaths than those do combined. We can’t stand and watch people die because they smoke cigarettes. Thousands of smokers try to rid themselves of cigarettes but can't because of additive nicotine. Nicotine was recently declared addictive by the Food and Drug Administration, which explains why many smokers continue to smoke despite the health warnings on cigarette smoking. Nicotine makes it almost impossible for cigarette smokers to quit smoking because of its addictive nature, and with the cigarette manufacturers putting just enough nicotine in the so they cant be outlawed. The benefits of outlawing cigarettes greatly outnumber the disadvantages, for example, many scientists believe a link between smoking and a shortened life span exists between the two, a ban on cigarettes could increase life spans. Many studies suggest that billions of dollars now spent on smoking related. Smoking related illnesses could be reduced by outlawing cigarettes, families could save money by not purchasing cigarettes, and accidental fires costing millions of dollars caused by cigarettes would stop. Although a complete ban on cigarettes currently remains almost impossible, several organizations recently helped create a bill that could control cigarettes much in the same way the government now controls drugs. One such organization, the Food and Drug Administration, headed by David Kesslar drafted a major part, which would require manufacturers to disclose the 700 chemical additives in cigarettes, reduce the level of harmful chemicals, require cigarette companies to warn of the addictive nicotine, restrict tobacco advertising and promotion, and control the level of nicotine cigarettes contain.
The sale of cigarettes and tobacco is a multi-billion dollar industry, but is it truly worth all the problems that stem from their use? Health care costs are extremely high due to all the health problems associated with cigarettes and tobacco. Even though research has proven time and time again the harmful effects of cigarettes, and the rising cost of health care caused by cigarettes, our government will not take a stand and stop all manufacturing of the horrible toxins. Every year, new medical reports are issued regarding the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world die every year from diseases caused by smoking.
Although it is beneficial for the economy for the production of tobacco products it is extremely risky to use the product. According to researchers second-hand smoke is terrible for everyone in the world who walk by someone who is exhaling. In the article by Robert Proctor “Why ban the sale of cigarettes? The case for abolition” he states that cigarettes are the “most deadl...
One of the biggest problems that people are faced with on a day-to-day basis is cigarette smoke. The sole cause for 480,000 deaths each year just in the United States is accredit to cigarettes(CDC). For a lot of the smokers the habit of smoking happens to assist them when under stress and dealing with issues that are unmanageable. Some smoke to appeal to their peers or simply because it “feels good.” Smoking one cigarette can lead to a major addiction. The effects of smoking hurt oneself and those amongst us. Smoking Kills as the ad portrays this revolver and cigarettes as the bullets, and also lists the side effects of smoking. Cigarettes causes cancer, increases the risk of you getting a stroke, highly addictive and causes a lot of health problems. Nearly 16