Effects Of Smoking On The United States

In the United States, smoking cigarettes is the number one preventable cause of morbidity and death (Bergen, 1999), and accounts for $300 Billion in health care costs and economic productivity loss (Jamal, 2015). While the national smoking rate is 16.8% (CDC, 2016), specific demographics are more susceptible to developing smoking habits: people who live below the poverty line (10.9% higher), disabled or with a limitation (6.2% higher), and males (4.7% higher) (Agaku, 2014).

Although it remains a large portion of the U.S’ economy, tobacco smoking can lead to a variety of diseases and disorders that affect the user. The effects of smoking tobacco not only affect the user but surrounding people as well: permanently destroying their lungs and children, increasing the chances of diseases and of cancer.

Many drugs are used, misused, and abused in American society today. Some of these carry stigma in the general population, forcing users into an underground drug subculture. Others are accepted and almost promoted under certain circumstances. Tobacco is one of those drugs. Tobacco will be discussed in the context of cigarette smoking. This is not to undermine the existence or danger of other forms of tobacco, but instead to have an exhaustive discussion of cigarette smoking and its societal impact. Cigarettes are a means of inhaling tobacco, where it enters the lungs and is absorbed through the blood vessels, traveling to the heart, from which it is finally pumped to the brain (Hogan, Gabrielsen, Luna, and Grothaus 2003:76). Cigarettes are detrimental to society because they not only affect the user who chooses to smoke; they impact people around them through second-hand and residual smoke. The damage done by cigarettes is not impossible to address. Successful prevention measures are already in place, but this paper intends to suggest other more direct measures, especially related to statutory regulations.

Now, more than ever, more and more people are beginning to look at tobacco use as a major public health concern. It is nineteen ninety nine, and the number of smokers is rising while the average age of smoking initiation decreases. There are those that believe using tobacco of any type should be illegal, or at least restricted. Others believe it is up to the person to choose whether to use tobacco products or not, however most of these people believe tobacco companies should warn their customers of their products harmful affects.

Smoking has resulted in over 20 million deaths since 1964. About 443,000 people die every year from smoking related illnesses and for every dead person, there are 20 people who grapple with one or more tobacco-related illnesses. The United States loses 193 billion USD annually in medical expenses and lost productivity. 17% of high school seniors are smokers, and one fifth of adult Americans continue to smoke. This paper aims to highlight the specific actions that have been taken by public health officials in the past and the path of action projected for the next decade.

smoking in all public, out-door spaces,hotels, prisons, and etc. places creating and implementing federal smoke-free policies throughout

Just over a billion people worldwide indulge themselves with a legal substance that has proven too insidiously cause disease or death. Approximately six million people die each year from this legal drug and it is one of the worst threats to humanity worldwide (WHO, 2016). This drug is sold legally over the counter throughout many countries including the United States. The Surgeon General’s Warning, “smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and may complicate pregnancy” was labeled on the packaging of cigarette boxes in the 1980’s. Eventually, launching a national campaign for smoking cessation. Despite the many laws that inhibit the use of tobacco smoke, these products continue to be a legally obtainable substance in the US with devastating damage as a result of their use.

The negative health effects of tobacco use have been well established. Tobacco use has been shown to cause acute and chronic respiratory disease, heart disease, many types of cancer, and is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States, causing an estimated 443,000 deaths per year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2004). As the dangers of smoking have become better understood, reducing the number of people who smoke has become a major focus for those interested in public health. Efforts to restrict the advertisement and sale of tobacco, implement public smoking bans, and educate citizens through public service announcements have all had a sizeable effect on smoking rates in the U.S. In Fact, over

Cigarettes are the most important substance to address in the United States because they are not only extremely addictive, but they have the potential to cause a variety of serious health conditions and affect individuals who are close to and care for the user. Tobacco use poses a serious health threat especially among the young population of America and has significant implications for the nation’s public and economic health in the future. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the impact of cigarette smoking on the economy is huge. Seventy-five percent of American health care money spent is due to the effects of tobacco causing various chronic diseases. Such diseases include, diabetes, heart disease, cancers, congenital defects, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, birth defects, etc. “Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causes many diseases, and reduced the health of smokers in general” (CDC, 2015).

It is crucial that tobacco usage in the United States ends because tobacco not only negatively affects the user, but also the people indirectly exposed, and as a result, the economy. Tobacco appears to be very profitable as a consumable product to the nation because of its wide usage, but the costs needed to cover medical charges overshadow the profit. Tobacco usage also demands a high price of human lives. Both the farming and waste of tobacco products damage the environment. The ceasing of American tobacco use will positively affect the country by creating a safer environment, reducing tobacco related deaths and illnesses, and providing cleaner communities.

In 2007, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report presented a blueprint for action to “reduce smoking so substantially that it is no longer a public health problem for our nation.” The two-pronged strategy for achieving this goal includes: 1) strengthening and fully implementing currently proven tobacco control measures; and 2) changing the regulatory landscape to permit policy innovations. Among the IOM recommendations is that each state should fund a comprehensive tobacco control program at the level that the CDC recommends.

Every year, tobacco use is responsible for 2,200 deaths and cost $537 million for healthcare in Nebraska. It is expected that over 36,000 youth below the age of 18 years will die from smoking prematurely. For this reason, the Health Department of Lincoln–Lancaster County and the community partners motivated to look for strategies that are evidence based to decrease tobacco use and prevent the exposure to secondhand smoke in the city of

Use of tobacco products can be called one of the deadliest legal drugs in the history of mankind. Smoking can cause many life-threatening diseases. “Smoking is a major health problem. Tobacco use is by far the most important risk factor for most respiratory symptoms and chronic bronchitis. Active smoking has been identified as the most important single factor leading to the development of COPD. Furthermore, smoking is a major cause of disability and death.” (Lindstrom, Kotaneimi, Jonsson, & Lundback, 2001).

Tobacco and the abuse of other smoked drugs is still among the top most causes of mortality and disease in the United States. In 2013, Center for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) published a report unveiling that 18.1% of U.S adults smoke. From the report, Tobacco use topped the list of the most dreaded etiologies of preventable mortality killing more than 480,000 people annually. This has necessitated the initiation of campaigns to promote healthy lifestyles among the population. The Get up and Run campaign is therefore among the evidence of how committed the US government is with regards to smoking cessation.

Since the initial onset of using tobacco products such as cigarettes, Americans have been infatuated with products that give them a sense of calm or relaxation during stressful situations. Many rely on the act of smoking cigarettes to get those outcomes. Unfortunately, regardless of health hazards to oneself and those around them, there is still a very popular and high demand for consumption of cigarettes. With the threat of more Americans becoming ill or even expired due to the consumption of tobacco, the government’s strategy is aimed at