...Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control: Benefits and Health Outcomes Smoking tobacco cigarettes is a major problem in our society today. It is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States (CDC). Recent health reports indicate that 18% of the American population is involved in cigarette smoking. Nine out of ten smokers begin smoking before the age of 18 and 98% start smoking before the age of 26. Smoking causes more deaths in the United States each year than Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, illegal drug use and firearm accidents combined. According to the United States department of Health and Human Services, smoking is very harmful to the human body (USDHHS). Studies have shown that more than 20 million people have died as a result of cigarette smoking and more than 16 million people have a chronic illness that is associated with cigarette smoking. Additionally, records indicate that 2.5 million deaths are due to second-hand smoke exposure (Betobaccofree). Various health problems that are linked to cigarette smoking include: lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, coronary artery disease, throat cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer and kidney cancer (Betobaccofree). Cigarette Smoking has been a well-known health hazard for some time; however, it continues to be a very popular recreational activity among various groups of people. There are a few groups that...
Words: 1306 - Pages: 6
...cancer deaths in the United States, and smoking accounts for nearly 90 percent of lung cancer deaths. Cigarettes, the most popular method of smoking, consist of finely shredded tobacco rolled in lightweight paper. Until the 1940s, smoking was considered harmless, but laboratory and clinical research has since confirmed that tobacco smoke presents a hazard to health. Smoke from the average cigarette contains around 4,000 chemicals, some of which are highly toxic. According to the American Cancer Society, smoking is the most preventable cause of death in America today, and it is imperative for smokers to be aware of the effects of smoking. The effects of tobacco smoking are: increasing the risk of developing a wide array of cancers, suffering from life-threatening respiratory ailments, increasing the chances of birth complications, and becoming addicted to the substance. According to the American Legacy Foundation (2008), the risks of dying from lung cancer; and contracting cancer of the larynx, oral cavity, esophageus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas are 23 times higher for smokers than for non-smokers. In general, the risk of developing a tobacco-related cancer depends on the intensity of the habit as determined by the duration of the smoking habit, number of cigarettes smoked per day, tar content of the cigarette, and the depth of inhalation. Studies have also shown that various cancer sites are affected differently by different tobacco products, as well as by different intensities...
Words: 292 - Pages: 2
...us on the dangers of smoking, and reading two articles from the monograph provided, named, “The Role of Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use,” published in Health Volume 98. From the readings, we will comment and discuss whether or not there should be policy regulating tobacco industry advertising. The article chosen for discussion is, “Cigarette Smoking Among Adults and Trends in Smoking Cessation,” published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report by CDC.gov, November, 2009. This article explores percentages of cigarette smoking in adults during the period from 1998 to 2008, including their demographics and characteristics. Data was gathered from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Smoking population was defined as non-institutionalized adults, eighteen years and older, who reported smoking daily; the demographics of this population were identified as smokers being predominantly male, of American Indian/Alaska Native ethnicity, followed by Black non-Hispanic and White non-Hispanic. Regarding their education, this population shows low educational attainment (GED or high school); the largest age group of twenty-five through forty-four years old was followed closely by the eighteen- through twenty-four-year-old group. The income level of the majority of smokers is found to be just below poverty levels (Dube, Asman, Malarcher, & Carabollo, 2009). Comprehensive campaigns for prevention and education on the dangers of smoking should be targeted toward...
Words: 675 - Pages: 3
...The use of tobacco in the United States cannot be made illegal because it is not realistic for those who smoke or the economy. There are people who feel that not allowing the use of tobacco would be better for everyone. Not allowing the use of tobacco has already hurt businesses nationwide. Those who use tobacco will resort to any means necessary to continue their use of tobacco. Many people feel the ban on smoking in drinking establishments has decreased the amount of people who drink and drive. Instead of these smokers going to the bars and clubs to smoke, drink, and have a good time, they go to parties in which many still drive home after having a lot to drink. Some argue that smoking tobacco has been associated with lung disease and even lung cancer. Although smoking tobacco has been linked to these medical illnesses, this is common knowledge and people who do smoke know the risks of smoking when they put it to their lips. They are in essence deciding whether or not to pollute their lungs. Others also say tobacco is an addictive drug because of the nicotine and other chemicals that it contains. Many companies are now making faux cigarettes that contain nicotine but not tobacco, for those who are already addicted to it; which makes the nicotine available with or without the tobacco. One reason it would not be feasible for tobacco use to be illegal is the fact that it would hurt certain businesses. Businesses’ profits have already suffered greatly. Thanks in part...
Words: 650 - Pages: 3
...Health Economic Costs of Tobacco Smoking in Canada [Name of the Writer] [Name of the Institution] Health Economic Costs of Tobacco Smoking in Canada Introduction This paper is about the use of tobacco in Canada. The paper will also identify the economic and health costs of using tobacco in Canada. There will also be a discussion of tobacco smoking prevention. The paper will follow a proper pattern. There are several concerns about tobacco smoking in Canada. The government is very concern about this issue and working really hard to get rid of this dangerous habit. The Canadian population is addict to this unhealthy habit of tobacco smoking (Albert Health Services, 2012). Discussion Tobacco smoking is really injurious to health. The smoke of tobacco contains several dangerous chemical. These chemicals are injurious to both smokers and nonsmokers. There are more than 7,000 chemicals in the tobacco smoke. Al large amount of them, around 250 chemicals, are very harmful. These harmful chemicals include carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and ammonia. The habit of tobacco smoking is very dangerous for health. It affects almost every organ and part of the body. The ultimate impact of smoking is the diminishing of overall health (Propel, 2012). Health Consequences of Smoking There are millions of Canadian who smoking has caused lots of problems. It is also the primary cause of cancer. This cancer even leads to death. It cause causes to several parts...
Words: 3675 - Pages: 15
...would watch entertainers like Humphrey Bogart, Sammy Davis Jr., and Johnny Carson smoke like it was just a part of who they were and it did look cool. What most people don’t know is that each of the aforementioned died from a smoking related illness probably because they didn’t possess the knowledge we have today. The fact of the matter is smoking is one of the worst things a person can do to themselves and the illnesses caused by this habit are usually completely preventable. Smoking affects so many systems within the human body due to its toxic ingredients that is should made illegal. Unfortunately it is not and cigarettes are easily accessible to almost anyone who wishes to partake, so informing people of what they are doing to themselves and the people around them is the first line of defense against this killer lifestyle choice. The human respiratory system is responsible for providing the body with oxygen and ridding it of carbon dioxide (Editorial Board, 2012). When air is inhaled through the mouth or nose, it transported to the lungs via the trachea where bronchi and bronchioles lead the air to the alveoli, small sacs where gas exchange takes place. Oxygen passes through the wall of the alveoli and attaches to red blood cell hemoglobin. Smoking makes this process more difficult for the body to handle and eventually causes long term damage that is more than likely irreversible. There are roughly 600 ingredients in a regular cigarette and some of these are known...
Words: 945 - Pages: 4
...Professor McCusker 17 December 2015 A Tobacco Free Campus As I left Canal Hall and walked the path on my tobacco free campus towards building 12 for class I began to notice the awful lingering stench of cigarette smoke. Being an asthma patient the smoke caused me to immediately start coughing uncontrollably until I found my inhaler in my purse. The worst part about getting closer to the individual smoking was the fact that I began to realize it was my professor. If the professors can’t follow one of the simplest rules on campus, how do they expect the students to? I’m sure there are other students and professors on campus who have asthma or even worse medical issues being worsened by the smoke. We don’t want the people who don’t have these issues to acquire them while attempting to get an education. People choose colleges based on many different characteristics and perhaps they make their decision considering the fact that it is a tobacco free campus. MCC is a number one choice of many students because of the amazing opportunities that are offered. However, if I would have known how badly my asthma would be effected by cigarette smoke here, it wouldn’t have been my first Oshier 2 choice and I’m sure many people feel the same way. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that for every person who dies from a smoking-related disease, 20 more people suffer with at least 1 serious illness from smoking.” As a college, the health of students is supposed...
Words: 664 - Pages: 3
...Anti Smoking Promotion Policies Difference Health And Social Care Essay According to the Oxford Medical Companion (1994) cited in the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2008, “tobacco is the only legally available consumer product which kills people when it is used entirely as intended”. Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the World which causes one in ten deaths among adults worldwide and in 2005, tobacco caused about 5.4million deaths, an average of one death every six seconds. At the current rate, the death toll was projected to reach more than eight million annually by 2030 (over 175 million deaths by then as shown in figure 1) and a total of up to one billion deaths in the 21st century (WHO 2007).Certain behaviours have been labelled as risky behaviours associated with negative health outcomes among which smoking is and which has been the subject of UK national health strategies (Naidoo & Wills 2005). Smoking causes about one fifth of all deaths in the UK, most of which are premature and has hugely significant impacts on the wider environment and community through causing air pollution, fires, litter and environmental damage (Ewles 2005). This essay will look into why smoking is an important public health issue in England by defining it from various perspectives and will analyse why people smoke. Also, it will examine various demographical and epidemiological data related to smoking and in addition, it will examine how smoking is addressed in International...
Words: 327 - Pages: 2
...of religion, and also the freedom to possess vices. They have the freedom to gamble away all of their belongings, drink away their livers, and smoke tobacco until cancer takes their lives, yet the ownership or use of marijuana is prohibited by law. In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act was passed with the help of untruths spread by Harry J. Anslinger, who was the first Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Less than a year after the acceptance of the Act, the mayor of New York City at the time, Fiorello La Guardia, assembled a group of illustrious scientists to investigate the effects of marijuana and found that their research contradicted Commissioner Anslinger’s arguments (Lupien). The question is: why is marijuana still illegal? Lawmakers and the medical community still fight the marijuana war when there is sufficient proof that it is not as harmful as Anslinger and his associates led the American people to believe, that the physical impairment from marijuana use is comparable to alcohol or tobacco use, and that the economy could benefit immensely from the legalization of marijuana. The media and members of the medical community still support the illusion that marijuana has many detrimental side effects. For example, the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) news release states, “people who abstain from smoking marijuana appear to have a better quality of life and higher levels of educational achievement than marijuana users. Also, early use of marijuana was...
Words: 968 - Pages: 4
...Introduction It seems to be a "coming of age thing" when a student goes to teenage life and encounters vices such as drinking and smoking is very rampant nowadays. Such vices cannot be ignored anymore as to the more students seem to be detaching from their spare time or even they intend to cut classes just for this so called vices, they seem to be enjoying freedom too much. A student may be influenced to be involved in any of the stated variables. High School is far different from being a college student. A person will have a new life when one goes to college. New environment which one has to adapt, new set of friends which one have to treat nice, and new subjects or topics that one has to study based on what course you will get. Although drinking, smoking, and drug-use for some usually result in adverse health consequences, there are some perceived benefits or advantages of these behaviors particularly from the point of view of the adolescents and youths. Adolescents may view drinking and smoking as privileges of adults and may want to engage in them to feel grown up and to present themselves as adults to others. Some of the reasons given are: the availability of cigarettes at home, parents being model of smoking and drinking behavior and consequently parents lack the credibility as advocates for non-smoking or non-drinking.(Aroyo 2001) Smoking and drinking are two of the most important risk factors explaining early mortality, accounting for an estimated 14 percent of deaths...
Words: 8737 - Pages: 35
...Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs The use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs has been going on for many years legally and illegally. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 66% of people from the age of 12 or older reported in 2014 that they drank alcohol in the past 12 months, with 6.4% meeting the criteria for an alcohol use disorder (NIDA). A major cause of death in today’s time is drunk driving, about 5 thousand people die under the age of 21(NIDA). Among that same population, approximately 25.2% were also users of tobacco of some sort (NIDA). The use of other drugs, prescription and illegal, is at 10.2% (NIDA). One of the major causes of death is a result of alcohol. Ethyl alcohol or ethanol, better known as alcohol, is produced by the fermentation yeast (NIDA). It is a nervous system depressant which can be found many different beverages such as wine, beer, and other hard liquors. Depending on the amount consumed, it will have different effects on the body also depending on the persons weight, metabolism, amount of food eaten beforehand or during, and how fast the alcohol is consumed. The consumption of alcohol while consuming illicit drugs is very dangerous. With alcohol being a depressant and the drug (if it is a depressant) will make the depressant effect more intense will lead to memory loss, coma, or even death. On the other hand, if the drug is a stimulant it can alter your judgment of how intoxicated you really are since they have...
Words: 1662 - Pages: 7
...Our Right to Choose Michael S. Mays Sr. ITT-Tech The topic of legalizing marijuana has become a very hot topic here in the Unites States of America. With sixteen states having medical marijuana laws already in place and seventeen states with pending legalization legislation (http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002481); many communities are split on the issue due to misinformation and stigmas. Even though marijuana is stigmatized as a gateway drug that leads children to harder drugs, marijuana should be legalized for medicinal use because it is incredibly expensive to keep marijuana illegal and adults deserve freedom to use marijuana as medicine without having to deal with the criminal element or fear of being unjustly prosecuted. The gateway effect states that marijuana acts as a stepping stone, or a gateway, that leads people to harder drugs. They support their argument with statistics that show that most people who use hard drugs have tried marijuana before (http://www.mjlegal.org/gateway.html). What though is the gateway theory? Is it based on facts brought to light by years of scientific study? No, in fact the gateway theory does not explain anything at all. It is simply an observation that has been vague at best and dispersed by media outlets and the governing body. It is true that many people that use hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine, or LSD did in fact use marijuana before they tried the harder drugs. The true reason for this is marijuana...
Words: 2179 - Pages: 9
...Marihuana Tax Act. II. There are a lot of myths about using marijuana that are not true. A. Parents tell their kids that marijuana kills brain cells. 1. No medical test that has been used to show brain damage in people has found that marijuana kills brain cells. 2. Supporting example 2 in a complete sentence. B. Using marijuana while pregnant can cause developmental problems and birth defects. 1. Test were ran on newborns to older kids, no results came back that there was any developmental problems. 2. Older kids of prenatal users and nonusers were tested and only small differences were found with some results better than others. III. Marijuana can help with some medical problems. A. Smoking marijuana helps chemo patients to keep their weight at a healthy level. 1. Smoking marijuana helps chemo patients keep an appetite due to the THC content. 2. The THC in marijuana also reduces nausea and vomiting in chemo patients. B. Marijuana can be useful to treat chronic pain. 1. Marijuana has some side effects that can be considered useful in some pain situations....
Words: 2117 - Pages: 9
...Pros an Cons on the legalization of Marijuana Pros 1. Less harmful than alcohol or tobacco if used in moderation. 2. Limiting the use of the drug intrudes on personal freedom. 3. Legalization would reduce crimes. 4. Medical benefits such as pain management when it comes to cancer and Aids. 5. Street competition would be reduced 6. Additional tax revenues. 7. Tax deduction do too less crimes 8. Quality and safety of drugs of the drug could be backed by the FDA 9. Drug busts often trap young people in a flawed system that turns them into lifelong criminals. Cons 1. Known as the gateway drug 2. Driving while hearing or body impaired 3. Some consider use of the drug as morally wrong. 4. More child accidents by discovering the drugs out of parent recklessness. 5. Because of drug-related arrests, people who have committed or are likely to commit more serious crimes can be taken off the streets. 6. Has shown brain damage to long term user and abusers. 7. Legalization of marijuana could lead to harder drugs or all drugs altogether. 1. Physician Perspectives on Marijuana's Medical Use According to "Procon.org" (2013),"The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS -- or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana...
Words: 948 - Pages: 4
..... , . BHAVSAR'S HERBAL SMOKING DEVICE - NIRDOSH Mr. Natvarlal Bhavsar, owner of the Maans Products (India), Ahmedabad was reviewing his six/seven years of experience of developing the product "NIRDOSH" (a unique non-tobacco smoking device) as well as the marketing strategy for popularizing "NirdoshJf. Nridosh a unique non-tobacco smo~ng device wc!s developed in 1982 by Maans Products, Ahmedabad. This was made from 14 herbs which were turned into granular form and rolled into tendu leaves in the shape of cigarette. These were then packed into a cigarette-type cardboard box which was in turn covered by cellophane wrapping. The Company: .r Maans product, Ahmedabad was a family owne"dproprietary organisation. Mr. Bhavsar, Senior, had been running a biri manufacturing and marketing enterprise for about two decades. This was a family business he had ~nherited. The total sales volume of this business was Rs.lO lakh a year. In 1980s his two sons joined the business after finishing their education, one of which had passed his B.Com examination before an year. In addition, another youngster, a distant cousin also worked for the firm. A third son., who appeared for 12th Board Examination did not perform that well to enter science stream and hence tleclded to assist in the business along with registering himself into "some vocational correspondence course in sales and marketing management Mr. Bhavsar Senior: He appeared to be in his early . fifties. He wore khadi dhoti kurta...
Words: 2269 - Pages: 10
