...Why Smoking Cigarettes Should Be Considered a Drug Mathew Wright ECPI University Why Smoking Should Be Considered a Drug Smoking cigarettes was once viewed as fashionable throughout the majority of the last century. Smoking was glamorized with beautiful woman though history. The most iconic is Marilyn Monroe. Others such as the Marlboro man who was a handsome cowboy on his steed, and I still haven’t forgotten the smooth stylish camel that could bring the cool to any party. Those times are long behind us now as we have become aware of the significant risks in smoking cigarettes. With nearly twenty percent of the United States’ population currently smoking, it is clear that this recreational habit has become an epidemic (American Cancer Society, 2011). However, I believe that even with mandated health risks printed on packages, countless numbers of anti-smoking ads on billboards, and the spamming of our television sets since 1998, individuals still refuse to kick the habit. With cigarettes being extremely addictive and the majority of smokers are not considerate to others, I believe cigarettes should be considered a drug. I hope discussing these three negative effects of cigarette smoking will help to re-evaluate a person’s stance on this completely legal drug; realizing that smoking is a bad decision for everyone. Besides the obvious possibility of death, one should be concerned with the likelihood of lung cancer, a diminished physical appearance, and the inadvertent...
Words: 1838 - Pages: 8
...Effects of Taxation on Cigarette Smoking In economics the demand elasticity refers to the sensitivity of the quantity demand for a product to the changes in price. This relationship correlates to the basic law of demand which states that if the price of a product or good increase, then the consumer demand would fall and decrease because of the change. However not all products follow this fundamental theory. In fact products that are considered addictive substances, such as tobacco and cigarettes can be the exception to this basic law because we must take into account not just the pricing but other factors such as time, usage, limitations, and restrictions. Imposing higher taxes on cigarettes will have a mix effect as to who the price increase affects. As noted in the Chaloupka article, “The effects of prices and tobacco”, paying higher taxes on cigarettes as well as placing stronger controls as to who is able to purchase them will lead to a reduction in the consumption of cigarette smoking. The article is supported by studies done in the early eighties and late ninnies, confirming the reduction is towards both adults and youths alike. However price sensitivity is significant in its responsiveness between youths and young adults than compared to adults; up to three times more sensitive. Some reasons as to why this may be, is due to the strict regulations and laws set by states and local governments that enforce and control the purchase of tobacco products to the consumer...
Words: 893 - Pages: 4
...Differential Effects of Cigarette Price on Youth Smoking Intensity 1Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago 2Health Research and Policy Centers, University of Illinois at Chicago 3Health Economics Program, National Bureau of Economic Research ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Support for this research was provided by grants from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (ImpacTeen – A Policy Research Partnership to Reduce Youth Substance Use) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Price, Availability and Youth Tobacco Use) to the University of Illinois at Chicago. We thank Lloyd D. Johnston and Patrick J. O’Malley of the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research for providing us with selected data from the 1992, 1993 and 1994 Monitoring the Future Surveys. The Monitoring the Future Project is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse Abstract Objectives: Data from the 1992, 1993, and 1994 Monitoring the Future Surveys were used to investigate the differential effects of cigarette price on the intensity of youth cigarette smoking. Methods: Respondents are classified into nonsmokers; individuals who smoked less than one cigarette per day; individuals who smoked one to five cigarettes per day; individuals who smoked one-half pack a day; and individuals who smoked one pack or more a day. A Threshold of Change Model was estimated with information on cigarette prices as the main explanatory variables. Results: Dummy variables...
Words: 3595 - Pages: 15
...Cigarette smoking There is a major concern about banning cigarette smokers in the U.S. the mortality among both males and females smokers in the USA is more than three times higher than that among non-smokers. I agree that smoking should be prevented because it leads to many types of cancer and heart disease; secondly health affects exposure of secondhand smoke, thirdly it affects the health of the youth smoking tobacco, and fourthly the cost of treatment associated with cigarette smoking (healthcare). Cigarette smoking increases the risk of dying from cancer of the lungs, esophagus, larynx and oral cavity (as we studied in biology). The harmful effect of cigarettes is the chemical makeup of cigarette. According to Quitsmokingsupport.com Cigarettes contain over 4,000 chemicals , some of those chemicals are the heavy metals, humectants, casting agents ,pesticide, insecticides and nicotine which is an addictive substance added into a cigarette; that is why it is very hard for smokers to stop smoking right away . A friend’s mother who smoked up to 3 packs of cigarette per day for more than 25 years. She looked healthy and often cited that cigarette kills those who were already predisposed to suffer from those diseases. Years later she died, suffered from ventricular arrhythmia which means heart did not beat properly as a result it pumped little or no blood to the body organs; usually caused by nicotine in cigarette. According to Medical News Today (MNT), cigarette smoking...
Words: 1360 - Pages: 6
...INTRODUCTION Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use, or vaping, in the worldwide is increasing. Less than a decade ago, the e-cigarette was an obscure product marketed as a safe, tobacco-free alternative to conventional cigarettes by a single company in China. Seven years ago, the electronic nicotine delivery device entered the US market. Today, health officials, policy makers, and researchers are all scrambling to keep up with a rapidly expanding, wildly controversial, and largely unregulated $3 billion global industry that has, at last count, 466 brands, 7,764 flavors (bubblegum, cherry crush, bacon, java jolt, menthol), and slick, youth-oriented Big Tobacco marketing designed to create the perception that e-cigarettes are not only safe, but cool. Non-nicotine, but an abundant amount of toxic chemicals produced by the combustion of tobacco are the cause of well-known health problems. E-cigarette vapor contains no or only minimal quantities of potentially harmful substances. Hence it can be assumed that vaping in adults is much less harmful than smoking of cigarettes. Furthermore, no data exist that e-cigarettes will encourage youngsters to become cigarette smokers. E-cigarette vaping has the potential to reduce the daily number of cigarettes smoked or facilitates cessation of smoking in heavily nicotine-dependent smokers, who keep on smoking despite a structured smoking cessation program. Health professionals should be aware of this type of nicotine substitution, since the...
Words: 2569 - Pages: 11
...Smoking has been very popular throughout the years all over the world. It’s quite common to see people smoke cigarettes on the street and other nonpublic areas. Smoking has been seen in the movies, TV shows and so forth, from which we could see how commonly it is applied in human behavior and life habit. I wouldn’t be surprised if my dad or uncle smokes, and from what I’ve noticed, the population of women that smoke increases nowadays. So here comes the question, why do people smoke cigarettes? Don’t they know the consequences? What are the good reasons people choose to smoke or what are the disadvantages? Smoking as we have heard of, is judged as an unhealthy behavior that could lead to a lot of diseases and impairment of the health. There are a lot of associations and offices that actually help people quit cigarettes because they are bad for our health. It would harm our lungs, heart and immune system by using cigarettes too frequently. Smoking cigarettes could cause cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, aging, lung, heart, stomach, kidney, nose, bladder, mouth and so forth of the diseases that could be deadly and dangerous. As we learned before, tobacco is the largest cause of preventable death now and for the past in world. Even second-hand smoke could be detrimental. For the health part, smoke is definitely the most dangerous. Due to the nicotine and carbon monoxide it has in it that could actually kill a person if using too much of the amount accumulatively. Smoking usually...
Words: 2360 - Pages: 10
...The Effects of Cigarette Smoking No Smoking SignThere have been numerous campaigns against cigarette smoking communicating that this vice causes death. But a threat to health doesn’t seem to be a good reason for quitting anymore. People somehow block themselves and ignore all the information that is given to them. The purpose of this essay is to discuss three effects of cigarette smoking, besides the broadly mentioned possibility of developing cancer or dying, which are the smell of smoke, the stained teeth, and the cost of doing it. The first effect of cigarette smoking, and probably the one that the non-smokers hate the most, is that it permeates everything around it. Smokers usually have smelly hair, breath, clothes, and, if they smoke indoors, a smelly room. The stench of cigarette smoke is very penetrating and hard to remove. Even if the person quits smoking the odor remains for a long time. The second effect of cigarette smoking is one that most people don’t even take into consideration. It stains the teeth yellow or sometimes even brown. Since this effect is long term, most people are not aware of it when they begin smoking. The truth is that a cigarette stain is very hard to eliminate from the teeth, and it will probably end up costing a considerable amount of money. Yellow teeth are disgusting because they give an unhygienic image and make people look older. The third effect of smoking is that it will eventually end up affecting the smoker’s personal economy...
Words: 358 - Pages: 2
...Cigarettes should be made illegal Name Institution Affiliation Cigarette smoking is estimated to cause more deaths than all other controlled substances combined each year. Cigarette related illnesses are believed to cause more than 400,000 deaths in the United States each year (Jha, 2014). People choose to smoke a cigarette without considering the adverse effects it will have on them. Cigarettes should be made illegal because they are addictive, very harmful to the smokers, the people who inhale second-hand smoke and the environment. Cigarettes should be made illegal because they cause different kinds of cancer. Cigarette smoking is known to be one of the main contributors of the deaths caused by cancer. It causes lung, throat, oesophagus, nose, and stomach cancer among others with cigarettes causing ninety percent of all lung cancer issues. The cancer harm caused by smoking should be one of the reasons why cigarettes should banned (Jha, 2014). Smoking affects not only the smoker alone but also the people who inhale second-hand smoke and the surrounding. Second-hand smoking is said to cause more harm than smoking the cigarette itself. The smoke also pollutes the environment to a big extend. It would not be unfair to allow people who do not smoke to face adverse effects of smoking because of second-hand inhalation of smoke. Cigarettes are bad for the mouth and teeth. They cause tooth decay that makes the teeth wear away. The smoke also stains the teeth leaving them yellow...
Words: 393 - Pages: 2
...Cigarette Smoking The effects of cigarette smoking can be horrifying. Smoking is dangerous not only to those who smoke, but to non-smokers and unborn children as well. Cigarette smoking is also physically and socially harming. The large particles in cigarette smoke, commonly known as "tar", collect in the branching points of the lungs. The tar contains carcinogenic compounds that increase the risk of lung cancer. The small particles in cigarette smoke, including carcinogens, irritants, and corrosive chemicals, collect in the small air sacs in the lungs called cilia, and damage them. These air sacs are where the blood absorbs oxygen from the air. When the small particles from the cigarette smoke are absorbed into the blood stream and transported to other parts of the body, they include a variety of diseases. The smoke from a burning cigarette is a mixture of hot gasses and different sized particles that fills the air with over 4000 chemicals, including 43 carcinogens and over 400 other toxins (Glantz & Daynard, 1991). One of the gasses emitted by cigarettes is carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless poison. By attaching to hemoglobin, the carbon monoxide lessens the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. There are many effects of cigarette smoking on the actual smoker. They include lung cancer and other cancers, cardiovascular malfunctions, strokes, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. Cigarette smoking may even lead to changes in the smoker’s appearance such as early wrinkling...
Words: 1605 - Pages: 7
...Wawrzyniak February 19, 2012 Eng-106 Prof. Eleanor Smoking Smoking has been the center of many health studies and controversy around the world. There are many reason people smoke, but the one thing every smoker has in common is that they are becoming less healthy with every cigarette that they consume. These health issues are a direct cause of the cigarettes and the toxins that are incased in a small piece of paper. How can such a small 3-inch item contain so many harmful elements that can be so detrimental to the body? Also, why do so many people insist on continuing to smoke even though they know the side affects and how it can deteriorate your body? As many research studies have shown smoking has a direct correlation to lung disease. With smoking, there are many other problems such as; lack of breathes, rotten teeth, coughing spells, smelly odor and others. With all of these problems that stem from smoking, why would anyone continue to smoke? Starting with the first problem, lung disease. The toxins that are inside of the cigarette are the cause of the lung disease. Of these toxins include tar, butane, formaldehyde, arsenic, and many other terrible ingredients (Breyer, 2011). So every time you smoke a single cigarette you are ingesting dead body preservative, lighter fluid, and poison. There is no reason to smoke and put these harmful products into your body. Cigarettes will change your life and not for the better. Cigarettes not only cause health issues but also become a...
Words: 705 - Pages: 3
...Effect of Cigarette Smoking Eric Kiruja Dr Ondieki 4th October, 2015 Tobacco smoking remains a global concern, as the tobacco industry continues to penetrate even into the developing and least developed nations. This practice has been associated with a myriad of problems and, as a result, its use should be me minimized if not outlawed. The following effects present the grim effects of cigarette smoking through which people can gain useful insights as to why they should not adopt this behavior. These effects can be classified into: Social effects While, for some people, cigarette smoking can be viewed as a way of socializing and connecting with others, it has its drawbacks. First, it leads to the users being subjected to isolation and social stigma. As the rate of which the number of people who have taken up this habit increases so is the number of individuals who are intolerant to smoking. As a result, the users tend to feel as if they are being despised and are socially unaccepted. In addition, more and more countries have placed restrictions on smoking in public areas. These restrictions serve to limit the freedom of the smoker in that he/she is always preoccupied with worrying about whether the area they intend to go will allow smoking. Also, smokers may find themselves having their prospects for any form of romantic engagement or dating reduced significantly to other smokers who only constitute less than 21% of the average adult...
Words: 947 - Pages: 4
...Introduction Cigarette smoking is tremendously widespread and is the most crucial problem that many countries are facing up to now. Despite all laws that restrict smoking and the emphasis of media that smoking kills, it still remains as the most addictive vice that begins early in childhood and adolescence which results to a lifetime habit. Tobacco use is one of the preventable causes of death, yet, will be the leading cause of preventable and premature deaths globally in next few years (Salazar, 2004). As years come, the average age of smokers is declining. The youth is greatly and easily influenced by smoking especially if proper guidance for them to avoid it was not established. Indisputably, smoking creates a big impact on people, and year by year, the population of smokers increase thus tobacco-related illnesses that may lead to death also increase. Even the expression that “Warning: Smoking is bad for your health.” is not enough to encourage people especially the young to pick up the habit. It is seriously evident that the several programs or regulations formed to avoid and quit smoking needs more “press on” to switch down its impression to the people Background of the Study There are 1.25 billion smokers around the globe and consequently, one-third to one-half of it, which is almost 6 million people, will be killed in the year 2010 from the disruptive effects of smoking. According to the nonprofit research and advocacy organizations, smoking rates have declined...
Words: 3684 - Pages: 15
...Deadly Butts More than ten times as many Americans have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the United States during its history (CDC). At first, one would find this hard to believe when they think about all the wars this country has been through over the years and the fact that many people have died from something as simple as cigarettes. However, when one looks at the research and statistics, the damaging effects of smoking are not so hard to believe anymore. It is estimated that in the United States there are currently 36.5 million adults who smoke cigarettes (CDC). As a result, there are millions of people that have the risk of many serious and irreversible health effects that could result...
Words: 967 - Pages: 4
...Smoking For several decades, smoking remains one of the most common problems in the world even though people are aware of the health risks involved in smoking. Smoking causes harmful effects in the body. There have been numerous reports linking cigarette smoking to diseases such as cancers of the lung, mouth, heart attacks, and other ailments. Moreover, smoking in public areas is an unhealthy habit because it harms not just the smokers, but also others who breathe the smoker’s cigarette smoke, that called secondhand smoke or passive smoke. Most studies of the effects of smoking focus on the public health aspects. However, smoking also negatively impacts on society through environmental problems and economic problems. Therefore, Federal and State Government should ban smoking in public area. When thinking of disease caused by smoking, the first one that comes to mind is always lung cancer, but there are many other serious diseases that are associated with smoking. Smoking damages nearly every organ of the body and diminishes a person’s overall health. Most of the substances contained in tobacco smoke are harmful to the body such as: tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. They are the major cause of cancer as well as the heart attack, stroke and peripheral arterial disease. Actually, in 2010, the Surgeon General at U.S Department reported that: “Smoking is a leading cause of cancer and death from cancer. It causes cancers of the lung, mouth, throat, kidney, stomach as well as acute...
Words: 1557 - Pages: 7
...CIGARS AND CIGAR-SMOKING HARMS Despite increases in cigar smoking, especially among youth, cigars are often overlooked by legislators and other policymakers who mistakenly believe that cigars are “not that harmful” compared to cigarettes and deserve special treatment. But cigars are addictive and deadly – causing lung cancer, other cancers, heart attacks and more – and they are often marketed in a wide variety of kid-friendly flavors. Cigar smokers also produce more secondhand smoke than cigarette smokers, and secondhand cigar smoke is often even more harmful and deadly than secondhand cigarette smoke. Health Harms to Users from Cigar Smoking Like cigarettes, cigars are smoked and contain the same toxic and carcinogenic compounds. 1 While many believe that cigars are safer than cigarettes because cigar smoke is not inhaled, studies have shown that cigar smokers actually do inhale – even when smoking large premium cigars – thereby absorbing smoke into their lungs and bloodstream, and depositing cigarette smoke particles in their lungs and even in their stomachs and digestive tract. Because large cigars do not have filters, smokers are exposed to more tobacco smoke and, especially, more toxins in the smoke. 2 Moreover, many youth and other smokers are now consuming cigars, especially smaller ones, just like cigarettes, with full inhalation. Accordingly, smoking cigars causes the same kinds of serious health consequences and premature death as cigarette smoking. For example: >...
Words: 1266 - Pages: 6
