Smoking and Health Essay Example

The human established a relationship with tobacco long before the discovery of America. In Egypt, during the excavation of the pharaohs’ tombs, clay pipes were found. However, most people learned about tobacco after the discovery of America. In 1492, the Spaniards arrived in Cuba and saw people who inhaled the smoke produced by burning the leaves of plants. Believing in the healing power of this plant, Columbus and his friends took the seeds to Europe. The tobacco plant was named after the island province of Haiti Tobago. For the first time, tobacco seeds were sown in Spain.Smoking and Health Essay Example

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Tobacco’s surprising power contributed to its rapid spread because craving for smoke was very difficult to control. Nowadays, facts about narcotic qualities of nicotine are known; however, in past times tobacco has been attributed to the extraordinary power. Also, it was believed that tobacco was medicinal, and its smoke deterred diseases and evil spirits. Tobacco was considered to be stimulant and sedative. Moreover, its leaves were used as a therapeutic agent. Tobacco smoking, as well as its use as medicine (in the form of tinctures, extracts, pills among others) caused severe poisoning that often resulted in death. Thus, this forced the government in different countries to restrict smoking. Application of different penalties in some countries was very cruel.Smoking and Health Essay Example

Despite that fact, tobacco still emerged victorious in the battle because its trade was not diminished, and the treasury income grew significantly. This fact led many countries to change their attitude towards tobacco and use it as a source of profits. Smoking spread with extraordinary force. A harmful power of tobacco until the 19th century had hardly been studied, and doctors could not oppose the smoking habit. This practice was reinforced by powerful advertising of various kinds of pipes, which became a source of pride of many collectors. In the form of snuff, tobacco became widespread; furthermore, the corresponding vessels, sometimes precious snuff, became popular, as well. Quickly and widely tobacco spread across the globe and became one of the most famous man’s creations in modern history.

During World War I, tobacco was recommended to soldiers’ use. However, during the time of the World War II, the situation changed dramatically. It is known that active anti-tobacco company took place in Nazi Germany. After the end of World War, smoking remained ambiguous. On one hand, a cigarette becomes a part of the style of many important people, such as politicians, artists. On the other hand, there are numerous scientific publications dedicated to the danger of smoking. Hence, in 1950s, first filter cigarette appeared all over the world.

The 1960s marked the beginning of active fight against smoking. During that time, slogans about the dangers of tobacco products appeared on cigarette packs and television advertising was removed from the air. In the 1980s, tobacco control reached a new level. Most countries made economic attempts to influence the cigarette industry. Countries of Western Europe and America increased the tax rate on tobacco. In 2003, the Convention for the Suppression with the vicious practice was adopted. This document was approved in 146 countries. Nowadays, social policy in many countries focuses on tobacco control. During the time of smoking existence, tobacco managed to grow from the element of Indian rituals into a general threat to human health and to conquer all the continents of the planet. Besides, the latest achievement of cigarette’s evolution is electronic cigarettes. They deprive most of the traditional cigarettes shortcomings and can be a good alternative to them.Smoking and Health Essay Example

Smoking is one of the most common habits that cause damage to human health and impact his/her future life. Nowadays, there are many books dedicated to the question how to quit smoking; moreover, a variety of systems and techniques have been developed to get rid of this addiction. However, the main incentive that can help to overcome the psychological addiction to nicotine is the recognition of its harm to health and the desire to get rid of effects of dependence.

Smoking clogs the arteries and causes heart attacks and strokes. Smoking person’s heart rate is in 15,000 beats per day more than a non-smoker’s, and oxygen delivery to the tissues is significantly reduced as vessels are narrowed. Thus, smoking is a major risk factor of respiratory diseases, for example chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (chronic bronchitis and emphysema), pneumonia (Hope, 2012). Tobacco contains over 3,000 chemicals, 60 of which are carcinogenic that can damage the cell’s genetic material and cause the growth of cancer. It is proven that tobacco is the leading cause of death from lung cancer in 90 % of cases.

Under the impact of smoking, visual acuity is also reduced. During the long time, scientists have been talking about the eye dangers of smoking though only recent studies confirm the bitter truth that substance contained in cigarettes is dangerous for vision because it disrupts the blood supply of the choroid and retina. Every smoker and especially those who have the significant smoking experience take risks of formation of thrombosis that can cause the complete loss of eyesight.

There are a number of diseases caused mostly by smoking. One of them is the obliterating endarteritis (vascular disease of the legs). The vasoconstriction occurs, blood flow to tissues and cells are strongly violated. Moreover, the worst consequence of this disease is amputation of a limb. Clinical trials conducted in recent years have shown that the skin of a smoker is aging faster than a non-smoker’s. For example, it is proved that the skin of forty years old women smoking for many years can be as devastated as the skin of a seventy years old woman who does not smoke. Doctors call these changes in human skin the syndrome of “tobacco” face. Furthermore, smoking men struggle from three times more common cases of impotence than non-smokers. Smoking women suffer from frigidity 2.5 times more often than non-smokers. The reason is that nicotine promotes vasoconstriction of genitals (Tavernise, 2014).

Smoking harms not only physical but also mental health (Hope, 2012). Smokers are more nervously exhausted than others. They shatter the nervous system and live from cigarette to cigarette being ready to erupt not as a result of the habit but as a result of insignificant matter. Due to violations of the right course of neural processes, a person becomes irritable, quarrelsome; moreover, he/she develops, as people say, “bad temper.”Smoking and Health Essay Example

This is not a complete list of diseases that are possible and inevitable for a person with long smoking experience. As such, smoking negatively affects the efficiency of the brain. Moreover, it slows down the response making it less clear and causes weakened attention, memory, reduced intelligence. Moreover, people whose professions require attention and memory must remember that smoking reduces their professional capacity and focusing on work. Scientists have found that during smoking, electroencephalogram changes occur indicating a weakening of the bioelectric activity of brain cells. The degree of attenuation of bioelectrical activity is proportional to the number of cigarettes smoked.

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Passive Smokers

Passive smoking contributes to the development of diseases peculiar to smokers. The harm of smoking for people who are in the same room with a smoker occurs as a result of forced absorbing of substances released by so-called “side stream” smoke. Mainstream smoke gets into the lungs of a smoker, and a part of smoke that is released into the atmosphere is inhaled by anyone who is nearby.

Smoking in bars, taxis and other public places violates the rights of any person who wants to lead a healthy and safe life style (“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, n.d.). Experts believe that passive smoking is the most common form of violence against children and nonsmoking adults. The number of successful trials showed a real danger of passive smoking, which forced many countries to adopt restrictive measures concerning tobacco. Thus, in the United States since the early 1990s, smoking is prohibited in the workplace and public buildings. Since April 2004, in the states of Delaware, New York, Massachusetts, Florida, California, Connecticut, Maine, Texas and Utah, smoking is banned in restaurants and bars except the designated smoking areas. Since 2005, the most stringent standards act in Washington. Smoking is prohibited in all public areas, both indoors and outdoors, as well as within 25 feet of the entrance to any building except casinos (Rabin & Sugarman, 1993).Smoking and Health Essay Example

Passive smoking is unavoidable in the regular communication with smokers. According to scientific researches, one hour of passive smoking equals to the smoking of half a cigarette. Besides, experts estimate that during passive smoking for eight hours, the same harm is caused to the organism as after active smoking of one cigarette every 5 hours. The same toxic substances are inhaled by passive smoking as during the active one. Harm as a result of smoking is compounded by the fact that side-stream smoke contains even more carcinogens than in the mainstream.Smoking and Health Essay Example