smoking health effects essay

Smoking and Its Effects on Human Body Essay

Introduction, works cited.

Smoking is one of the oldest traditions followed by millions of people in the world. Despite pleasure and positive feelings, smoking is dangerous as it harms the human body and tissues. Smoking is dangerous as it leads to health-related problems including cardiovascular disease.

According to Carr (22), one-third of all deaths in America are caused by coronary heart disease, and at least 30 percent of these deaths are related to smoking. Smoking affects the lungs and respiratory organs causing such terrible diseases as cancer.

Among the most wider spread diseases are peptic ulcers, cancer of the larynx, kidney, pancreas, and other major organs. The resins from the smoke enter the blood and ruin cells. This process is inevitable if a person smokes for years. Also, smoking harms the fetus, increasing the risk of spontaneous abortion and low birth weight.

The investigators explain the effects of smoking on the breath as follows: the rapid pulse rate of smokers decreases the stroke volume during rest since the venous return is not affected and the ventricles lose the habit and ability to make large strokes.

Similar conditions arise during strenuous exercise, that is, with the rapid heart rate, the diastolic filling is incomplete and the stroke output remains small. This results in a relatively small unit circulation and oxygen supply to the tissues with the result that an oxygen debt must be incurred. This ends in breathlessness and dyspnœa. Just giving the facts is not enough. Attitudes and behaviors need to be addressed (Rabin and Sugarman, p. 43).

Students want behavioral tips on how to maintain peer acceptability while avoiding the pressure to show how cool they are b smoking. While cigarette ads on television and radio are forbidden, “gifts” of cigarettes to minors (particularly in minority communities) are not discouraged as an advertisement ploy.

Moreover, the interlacing of beer ads with sports events and wine cooler ads with upscale women’s television programming sends strong messages to young people about how society views substance use. Role-plays, debates, “raps,” and antismoking jingles allow students an active exploration of their motivation for wanting or not wanting to smoke. These techniques encourage youngsters to think for themselves, to develop their judgments and attitudes (Carr, p. 87).

Recently, studies by Rabin and Sugarman (2003) have demonstrated an increased cancer risk in adulthood among children who were exposed to parental smoking in their early years. An overview of the health effects of passive smoking on children and adults is the same as on active smokers. Smoking has direct physiological effects on the body, and the cumulative wear and tear on the system caused by recurring stress can eventually cause damage to the system. Indeed, there is abundant evidence that stress can cause several physiological and biochemical changes (Cnossen, p. 31).

In sum, smoking harms the human body ruining healthy cells and tissues. Smoking is dangerous as it leads to inevitable changes in blood and tissues of the heart and lungs. Smoking can cause neural and endocrine change that alters the normal functioning of the organism (e.g., change in cardiovascular activity or immune system functioning). This physiological stress response is accompanied by behavioral responses as well. Smoking and the subsequent behavioral response to it can affect health and facilitate, if not cause, some illnesses.

Carr, A. The Easy Way to Stop Smoking: Join the Millions Who Have Become Non-Smokers Using Allen Carr’s Easyway Method. Sterling; 1 edition, 2005.

Cnossen, S. Theory and Practice of Excise Taxation: Smoking, Drinking, Gambling, Polluting, and Driving. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Rabin, R. L., Sugarman, S.D. Regulating Tobacco. Oxford University Press, 2001.

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Health Services. The Balancing Act Theory
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Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

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Help & Support
Quit Smoking
Tobacco Facts
Health Effects of Smoking and Tobacco Products

Health Effects of Smoking

Smoking is the number one cause of preventable disease and death worldwide. Smoking-related diseases claim more than 480,000 lives in the U.S. each year. Smoking costs the U.S. at least $289 billion each year, including at least $151 billion in lost productivity and $130 billion in direct healthcare expenditures. 1

Key Facts about Smoking

Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, at least 69 of which are known to cause cancer. 2 Smoking is directly responsible for approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and approximately 80 percent of deaths caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema and chronic bronchitis. 1
Among adults who have ever smoked daily, 78% had smoked their first cigarette by the time they were 18 years of age, and 94% had by age 21. 3
Among current smokers, 73% of their diagnosed smoking-related conditions are chronic lung diseases. Even among smokers who have quit, chronic lung disease still accounts for 50% of smoking-related conditions. 4
Smoking harms nearly every organ in the body, and is a main cause of lung cancer and COPD. It also is a cause of coronary heart disease, stroke and a host of other cancers and diseases. 1 See more of the health effects caused by smoking.

Smoking Rates among Adults & Youth

In 2017, an estimated 34.3 million, or 14.0% of adults 18 years of age and older were current cigarette smokers. 5
Men tend to smoke more than women. In 2017, 15.8% of men currently smoked cigarettes daily compared to 12.2% of women. 5
Prevalence of current cigarette smoking in 2017 was highest among American Indians/Alaska Natives (24.6%), non-Hispanic whites (15.3%) and non-Hispanic blacks (15.1%), and was lowest among Hispanics (9.9%) and Asian-Americans (7.0%). 5
In 2017, 7.6 % of high school students and 2.1% of middle school students were current cigarette users. 6

Facts about Quitting Smoking

Nicotine is the chemical in cigarettes that causes addiction. Smokers not only become physically addicted to nicotine; they also link smoking with many social activities, making smoking an extremely difficult addiction to break. 7
In 2017, an estimated 55.2 million adults were former smokers. Of the 34.3 million current adult smokers, 48.4% stopped smoking for a day or more in the preceding year because they were trying to quit smoking completely. 5
Quitting smoking for good often requires multiple attempts. Using counseling or medication alone increases the chance of a quit attempt being successful; the combination of both is even more effective. 8
There are seven medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to aid in quitting smoking. Nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges are available over the counter, and a nicotine nasal spray and inhaler are currently available by prescription. Bupropion SR (Zyban®) and varenicline (Chantix®) are non-nicotine pills. 8
Individual, group and telephone counseling are effective. Telephone quitline counseling is available in all 50 states and is effective for many different groups of smokers. 8

Learn about the American Lung Association’s programs to help you or a loved one quit smoking , and join our advocacy efforts to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. Visit Lung.org or call the Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872).

The Health Effects of Smoking

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking - 50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. 2014.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease A Report of the Surgeon General. 2010.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2017. Analysis by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2015. Analysis performed by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017. Analysis by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. Tobacco/Nicotine Research Report: Is Nicotine Addictive? January 2018.

Fiore M, Jaen C, Baker T, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Vol 35. Rockville, MD; 2008.

Page last updated: September 11, 2024

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Smoking — Cause And Effect Of Smoking

Cause and Effect of Smoking

Categories: Smoking Smoking Ban

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Words: 788 |

Published: Jun 13, 2024

Words: 788 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

The lure of smoking: root causes, impact on health: the grim reality, social and economic ramifications.

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