Effects of Smoking Cigarettes

Name:
Professor:
Subject:
Due date:
Effects of Smoking Cigarettes
Smoking cigarettes is undeniably one of the problematic world health problems causing illnesses, disability, and harm to all body organs. WHO approximates that 1.1 billion people in the world smoke, with 80% of them living in developing nations. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention documents that about 16 million citizens in the U.S. live with cigarette smoking-related illnesses. Yearly about 480,000 people succumb to smoking-related ailments, which mean that once one person dies, 30 people are left struggling with diseases caused by smoking (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention.) In addition, exposure to second-hand smoke results in 41,000 deaths of grown-ups and 400 demises of infants yearly. Despite cigarette smoking being legal in almost all countries worldwide, it is extremely harmful as it brings about adverse effects such as preventable deaths, poisoning, addiction, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases.
One of the primary effects of smoking is death. Cigarette smoking is estimated to cause the deaths of half of its users. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services outlines that it is the foremost cause of avoidable deaths in the U.S. The possibility of death from smoking has amplified in the last fifty years in America, whereby more than 480, 000 deaths, which is one in every five people, die from smoking cigarettes yearly and 41,000 deaths from passive smoking (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1-2). Smoking is estimated to result in more deaths yearly than HIV, illicit drug use, road accidents, gun-related incidents, and alcohol use deaths combined. Also, more American citizens have died as a result of smoking in comparison to those who have been killed during the war. Additionally, smoking contributes to ninety percent of all lung cancer and pulmonary disease deaths, and an increased number of women deaths due to lung cancer (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1-2). Consequently, smoking tobacco has become among the most significant public health epidemics.
Cigarette smoking poisons the body. Research investigations that date back to the 1950s ascertain that tobacco is a toxic compound made up of over 7000 chemicals, many of which are poisonous (Balatif 45). The chemical substances, including nicotine, toluene, ammonia, butane methanol, acetic acid, carbon monoxide, paint, arsenic, stearic acid, methane, and cadium, among others, cause massive damage to the body. Once an individual inhales tobacco smoke, the poisonous compounds enter the body straight to the lungs. From there, they enter the bloodstream, which transports them through the arteries to the rest of the body. As a result, compounds such as carbon dioxide saturate the body, inflaming body tissues, preventing them from getting oxygen, and damaging them. Continued smoking increases cell damage making it difficult for them to heal while overworking the immune system (Balatif 45-47). Hence, the body's normal functioning is disrupted and becomes weakened, thus making it vulnerable to various diseases.
Cigarette smoking results in addiction. People who smoke cigarettes have a high likelihood of developing an addiction. Addiction is characterized by the recurring and compulsive need to use the substance despite its harmful consequences (Valayil 2). According to medical experts, addiction to cigarette smoking develops primarily among individuals who begun smoking in their teen years, whereby about 9 out of 10 adults who smoke and are addicted begun before the age of eighteen. When nicotine, the highly addictive chemical in cigarettes, is absorbed into the bloodstream, it travels to the brain within seconds. It alters the functioning of the brain by causing the release of dopamine, the feel-good hormone. Just like other illegal drugs, the brain soon begins craving more nicotine so one can feel good. Thus, one continues using more and more tobacco to enjoy the euphoria. In addition, nicotine consumption increases one's energy levels due to an adrenaline rush, and to keep enjoying the feeling, one keeps smoking (Valayil 2-3). As a result, the body becomes dependent on nicotine; hence one has to use it to a specific range to function and prevent withdrawal symptoms.
Smoking cigarettes predispose one to cancer. Smoking today spells a bleak future with cancer. According to Balatif (47), cigarette smoking is considered the primary risk cause for triggering the onset of cancer. Smoking causes 20% of cancers and 30% of all cancer deaths in the America (US Department of Health and Human Services 4). 80% of lung cancer cases, the deadliest cancer in the US among males and females, are caused by smoking, with the risk of smokers developing lung cancer increasing exponentially thr...