Persuasive Essay About Smoking

Smoking is an addiction that can risk one’s health, which in turn can lead to death. As time advances, both smokers and non-smokers are beginning to understand the harm in this deadly habit because not only does it harm smokers, it can impact anyone who encounters the smoke second-hand. Since the public has become aware of the health risks induced by smoking, cessation tools such as nicotine replacement therapy are being invented to help terminate the desire to smoke. As technology improves, smoking devices like the electronic cigarette are invented and can be considered an effective cessation tool. Electronic cigarettes can deliver low doses of nicotine to ease withdrawal symptoms. Furthermore, as electronic cigarettes increase in

Is smoking a cigarette like aiming a smoking gun to your head? Absolutely, yes! The photo above, has a very powerful message to be shared with people all over the world. The creator of the picture above is, The American Cancer Society. This is an organization that is trying to heighten awareness of the dangers of smoking, the most threatening danger being, cancer. They also promote relays which help raise money for ads and research. The money raised helps to inform people of the dangers smoking and what the negative outcomes of such a habit. This society also helps with finding treatment options. They are helping people cope with the side effects of various cancers or to advise on health insurance. A certain population of people, particularly young people, see smoking as a cool or hip idea to fit in. The goal of this visual argument is to inform people who smoke cigarettes that they should just hold a gun to their heads. The American people should be against nonsmoking because of the feelings you get when smoking, the chemicals that are involved, and how the cigarette will kill like a loaded gun.

Smoking tobacco is probably one of the worst habits humankind has developed. Originating as a tradition of the Native Americans, practiced mostly on special occasions, smoking has gradually become a kind of mass addiction. Due to the efforts of tobacco companies seeking to increase their sales, people started smoking more and more often; the evolution of a more traditional pipe to a cigarette took some time, but eventually tobacco became more affordable and easier to use (you now simply need to light it up, instead of having to always carry a tobacco pouch, stuff a pipe, puff it, and so on). As a result, deaths and health issues connected to tobacco consumption became a worldwide

Most often seniors in high schools can purchase cigarettes because they are 18, so they distribute them to underclassmen or friends. Nearly 21 percent of high schoolers in public schools smoke cigarettes, which would be about 3.13 million students (Preidt). My survey shows that only four percent, or two out of 49 people admit their addiction to cigarettes. The two students admitted that stress is their reasoning for why they began smoking and continue, but only one has support to end their need to smoke. While the student with assistance is continuing to smoke, they are attempting to stop; however, the effects of smoking are obviously severe (lung disease, cancer, bronchitis, etc.) and cannot continue. Cigarettes may be a partial stress reliever although the permanent and long-term effects should be proof enough that this addiction is a necessity to prevent in our high schoolers even if it is four

Smoking kills. Smoking can cause cancer and other bad diseases. Also, companies have made cigarettes in different flavors which are worse than regular cigarettes. People who smoke can be addicted. If you try to stop smoking cold turkey, it will give you headaches and stomachaches. I wanted to research this topic because I have some really close friends and they have family that smoke. Their great-grandpa died from smoking. Also, I noticed a lot of people are dying because they made the bad decision to smoke. Some people started to smoke when they were teenagers. They got addicted to it, and now they can’t stop smoking. I wanted to try to find a way people who smoke can stop. How can countries solve and stop smoking? This problem can be solved and it will be solved because countries are starting to ban smoking from certain places.

Smoking is a particularly common and intractable addictive disorder and is the leading preventable cause of many preventable chronic illnesses and death, responsible for approximately six million annual mortalities Yet, despite the well documented consequences of smoking, despite the unequivocal benefits of quitting and despite facts such as that approximately 17,000 people die each day in the world from smoking prematurely, over a billion people around the world still continue to smoke people continue to engage in this health risk behaviour(www.who.int). This leads us to question what motivates an individual to smoke, and not to smoke.

Significant number of people has been addicted to the habit of smoking despite of knowing the fact that it is injurious to health. In the past, it was considered as the taboos and only adult group was habituated but currently, it is common among both adolescent and adult population. Cigarette smoking is habit of inhaling smoke of cigarette and releasing it. A study by Gong (2011, pp.48) reveals that the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adult of age group 45-65years is higher than adolescent age group 15-24 years with 63% and 33.6% respectively.

Smoking adversely affects almost every organ in the smoker’s body (CDC, 2014). The harm does not stop there: The damaging effects of smoking go beyond the smoker. Being exposed to secondhand smoke can cause severe health problems and even death. (NIDA, 2015). It can be difficult for a smoker to quit smoking because of the addictive properties contained in Nicotine. Just like with many other addictive drugs, when a smoker tries to quit, there is a period of withdrawal causing symptoms such as irritability, nervousness, sadness, insomnia and a greater appetite. There are many forms of assistance available to smokers in order to help modify their harmful behavior. With the assistance of a counselor, medications, or other available self-help tools, smokers can learn how to develop coping strategies when faced with a nicotine

However, once nicotine dependence is established, cues related to nicotine release become greatly influential in controlling self-administration behaviors. When a cigarette is smoked, about 80 percent of the inhaled nicotine is absorbed in the lungs. The American Lung Association reports that teens who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime find it hard to quit, even if they want to do so. Some teens will be addicted to smoking more quickly, and they experience cravings for nicotine quite soon after initiating cigarette use. Teens can also become addicted to the process of smoking, finding it difficult to even think about going through the day without the ability to unwrap a pack of cigarettes, flick open a lighter or hear the paper of the cigarette crackle with flame. Withdrawal symptoms like this can make it difficult, if not impossible, for teens to quit smoking on their own. They may simply feel as though they need cigarettes in order to feel happy and normal, and they may be unable to find a way to stop smoking without help.( David R. Francis “Dramatic Rise in Teenage Smoking,” 27 July 2010, National Bureau of Economic Research, Massachusetts.

There is no physical abnormality nor biological reason that causes an individual to start smoking nicotine products. I feel as though the decision to begin the use of nicotine products is a result of natural/personal failings and nothing more. Whether the decision to start smoking was influenced by peer pressure, curiosity, or personal desire, it was still that individual’s conscious choice to start using the products. This condition has been publicly framed as a medical issue because the repetitive use of nicotine is habit forming and once established is hard to quit. However, I argue that it should not be framed this way because it can be identified as deviant behavior or as a social problem that is not due to any type of biological reason. By inappropriately labeling nicotine dependence we de-stigmatize the choice that the individual chose to make and open them to the sick role. The availability of the sick role to these individuals produces opportunities for it to be abused. For example, it is common for heavy smokers to get multiple smoke breaks during their work shift, while non-smokers are only permitted to a single break; causing a difference in wages earned despite that the smokers worked a lesser amount of time. Because they have been granted the sick role, they are temporarily excused

The analysis found that “ Unfortunately, less than 7% of those who try to quit achieve more than 1 year of abstinence. In fact, most individuals relapse within a few days of their quit attempt.” (Fritz et al., 2008) The adolescent population is facing a nicotine plague of epidemic proportions. Fitz et al., (2008) concluded that the majority of adolescents (82.3%) reported smoking as a means to relax. It is of interest to note that many smoked for emotional reasons, including stress reduction (75.0%) and feelings of depression and worry (68.8%). Fritz et al., (2008) further demonstrated the need for smoking cessation when their findings suggest that 43% of people between the ages of 10 and 22 years who smoke as few as three cigarettes a day become habitual smokers (CDC, 2004). These figures support the recent findings that the largest proportion (28.5%) of smokers is among people between the ages of 18 and 24 years (ALA, 2004). Seeing that this issue is one of the leading causes of death in the US based upon preventability. Researchers and clinicians alike are trying to find adequate addressing ways to increase smoking cessation effectiveness. Fitz et al., (2008) also conclude by saying that those adolescents who smoke are three times more likely to drink alcohol, eight times more likely to smoke marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine than adolescents who do not

Recent surveys show that 25 % of all American adults smoke despite the fact that tobacco is the No.1 cause of death (430,000 annual) and disease in this country (1). The life of a 30-year older that smokes 15 cigarettes a day is shortened by an average of more than five years (2). Why do people smoke despite the fact that it shortens their life? Why has this practice of smoking tobacco been around for 1000 years? There must be something that the human body or mind gains in spite of the threat of an early death. I realize this craving for nicotine on a personal level because I smoke. Smoker's self-reported motives for smoking include stress reduction and improved circulation (3). That sounds like my reasons. Plus

A compromising view on smoking reveals that “biological factors involved in smoking relate to how the brain responds to nicotine. When a person smokes, a dose of nicotine reaches the brain within about ten seconds. At first, nicotine improves mood and concentration, decreases anger and stress, relaxes muscles and reduces appetite. Regular doses of nicotine lead to changes in the brain, which then lead to nicotine withdrawal symptoms when the supply of nicotine decreases. Smoking temporarily reduces these withdrawal symptoms and can therefore reinforce the habit” (studyhealth.com). This cycle encourages smokers to be addicted to nicotine and when they become dependent, it begins to affect the health drastically.

One of the largest issues today is adolescent smoking. According to a heath based website, nearly 90% of adult smokers start while they are still teens and they never intend to get hooked. They may start by bumming a cigarette or two from a friend at a party, and then go on to buying an occasional pack. Soon they realize that they can't go without that pack. They've gotten used to reaching for a cigarette first thing in the morning, after meals, or during any stressful time. They become addicted, both physically and psychologically. According to the American Lung Association, each day 6,000 children under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette. Almost 2,000 of them will become regular smokers – that’s 757, 000 new smokers annually!

Prochaska & DiClemente. (1983). Stages and Processes of Self-Change of Smoking. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 390-395.