Most, if not all, people know that smoking is harmful to health. However, many people continue to practice the bad health behavior. Dr. Shelley Taylor, author of Health Psychology, states that smoking increases the risk for respiratory diseases including emphysema and also causes about 1 in 5 deaths per year, mainly due to lung cancer. This was the case for my grandfather, Isamu “Sam” Hanano. He began smoking at the age of 25. My mother remembers that he would smoke up to 3 packs of cigarettes in one day but quit cold turkey when he found out that he would be a grandfather. At that time, he was 59 years old which meant he smoked for 34 years before he quit. Even though it was great that he was able to quit without relapsing, the amount that …show more content…
Taylor states that the first stage is denial, which is a “defense mechanism by which people avoid the implications of an illness” (pg. 241). My mother was with my grandfather when he was diagnosed with cancer and said that after the appointment, he walked out of the hospital as if nothing happened. She asked him if he understood what he was told. He said yes, but he did not seem to think that the cancer was that bad. Even when the rest of my family found out about his condition, he kept telling us not to worry because it would go away soon if he started …show more content…
Before my grandfather had to stay in the hospital, my father took him to his chemotherapy or radiation appointments during the week. My uncle built a ramp to the door so that it would be easier to move my grandfather, who was in a wheel chair, in and out of the house. My mother took care of any paperwork that needed to be done as well as any medical-related tasks. When my grandfather received hospice care in the last month of his life, my mother and grandmother helped bathe and change him as well as cook special meals for
It is a difficult thing to admit when you are wrong. So many people refuse to face the problem that their smoking is not only killing them, but also those around them. They have a million and one reasons as to why the rest of us should not care about what they are doing to themselves. However, all of those reasons are simply justifications for a habit that leaves everyone worse off. The result is always going to be one of regret and unhappiness. Whether it is a life threatening medical condition or, in the worst of cases, death; that seemingly harmless haze
Growing up, I can remember my mother’s ongoing disappointment and frustration with my grandmother’s smoking addiction. She continuously begged her mother to quit smoking, but unfortunately, her words never had much of an impact other than my grandmother trying not to smoke around her or moving outside the house to smoke. With my grandmother aging, her smoking has not decreased and with other compounding health issues, my mom is not just frustrated but also extremely saddened by the state of my
It is estimated that half of all smokers die from diseases related to the consumption of tobacco and live an average of ten to fifteen years less than non-smokers.
My great-grandma, Jeanette, babysat my siblings and me until we were around the age of four. She worked as a midwife. As a midwife she was on constantly on call in case anyone went into labor in the middle of the night. We moved out of the house from my grandfather until he had a wagon accident where he broke both his ribs and his arms and came back to stay with us, until he passed away at the age of eighty-one.
I can empathize greatly with your grandfather’s smoking habits; as my sister and I have nearly exhausted every avenue to cease my mother’s addiction. In my mom’s opinion, we are trying to make her miserable more than help and much like your grandfather, she has never experienced any effects associated with smoking, thus, her habits has continued well over twenty years. Our quest to change her habits, demonstrated the power of nicotine, while exposing other factors such as social and physiological influences on smoking (Boardman, Blalock, & Pampel, 2010). Learning, about the genetic influences associated encouraged me to be more sensitive to her situation as great part of it was out of her control. Ultimately, it will be her own efforts
One of America’s leading cause of death is smoking. Smoking has been around for years and doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon. The effects of smoking harms about every organ in the body, for example: the heart, blood vessels, lungs, eyes, mouth, reproductive organs, bones, bladder, and digestive organs. Smokers use that “it’s my body, I do what I want,” The problem with that is smoking doesn’t just affect the person doing it. It harms other people in the ways; it’s called 2nd hand smoking. People who receive second hand smoking are possible to get a disease as a person who smokes regularly. It might not be as serve but will still be not good. Most people are trying to quit but aren’t trying hard enough without motivation. Smoking is one of the most common causes of death however quitting now will decrease your chances of disease and death.
We know this statement and we see this in advertisements, in slogans, in posters and televisions everywhere and yet smoking still the leading cause of death in America. According to Centers for Communicable diseases, 2017, smoking is still the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States. It kills more people than infectious disease, abuse, firearms, obesity and traffic accidents. Some people do not believe that smoking is harmful to them. Some people do not notice the harm at first and by the time they notice the effects, they are addicted to it already. That is why the Word Health Organization calls it as “gradual killer”. Lastly, according to Sherry McKee, the director of Yale Behavioral Pharmacology Lab, “Most of the smokers think that they can just quit easily at any time and nearly all believe that they won’t be long-term smokers”. These are some of the knowledge gaps in tobacco use.
Me and my brother sometimes helped my grandma with mowing her lawn for her and feeding her bull.Sometimes we helped clean her cars.Sometimes me and my brother helped clean the horse stalls and exercise the horses.She sometimes gave us riding lessons.
Tobacco smoking is responsible for nearly all cases of a chronic breathing obstruction known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD includes diseases like emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and leaves sufferers breathless and unable to do many activities. Lung cancer is the disease of the smoker, with 90% of primary lung cancers caused by smoking. Nearly one in four smokers who die prematurely will die of lung cancer. Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the UK. Your lungs are damaged not only by the number of cigarettes you smoke a day, but more importantly by the number of years you have been a smoker. So,
Mr P started smoking at the age of 11 years old, where he would steal cigarettes from his parents’ sweet shop. On certain days, he would smoke up to 45 to 50 cigarettes. He was advised on numerous occasions to stop and he finally resolved to quitting cold turkey at 47 years old after suffering from a TIA. Nonetheless, Mr P is aware that his smoking habit “has done its damage now”1.
According to “The Action of Smoking and Health,” every six seconds someone loses their life as a result of a tobacco related disease. It’s hard to realize how damaging cigarette smoking’s effect can be until you experience it first hand. It is almost certain that every one knows someone who is currently a smoker or was a smoker at some point in their life. For years smoking was the seen as the “cool” thing to do, it was how to “fit in.” There was no real emphasis placed on the dangers of this particular habit, and as a result, it became a world wide trend. In the past, technology and medicine were not nearly advanced enough to be able to determine just how harmful tobacco usage is. However, as we have made medical and
Thesis Statement: Smoking has many dangerous effects on a smoker 's health and the health of those around them; it harms every organ in the body and leads to premature death.
Aside from the obvious cause of lung cancer, which is smoking, there are several others. However, almost all of these can be avoided. Preventable risk factors include smoking marijuana, inhaling certain chemicals like gasoline fuel or diesel exhaust, undergoing radiation therapy, and having a poor diet. But, the American Cancer Society affirms that about 87% of lung cancer cases are a result of smoking tobacco, and that some of the other 13% are caused by secondhand smoke (11). Out of all the risk factors for lung cancer, smoking has the biggest impact. This is also ironic, as smoking is the easiest factor to avoid. Theoretically this should be the least prominent factor, as it is a voluntary decision to start smoking and is easier to avoid than any of the other factors. Yet, about 47.1 million people in the United States smoke (American Heart Association), and willingly put themselves at risk for lung cancer. At the same time though, people do not start smoking just because they want to develop lung cancer later in life; there are numerous factors that play into their decision. For example, people are influenced to smoke for reasons such as peer pressure, a way to deal with stress, and people they look up to that smoke (Bonas). They think it will help them relieve stress, or fit in, and they do not think about the consequences that come with their newfound hobby. Eventually smokers find that they cannot quit, for both physical and psychological
Regardless of consumer belief, smoking dramatically increases the chances of contracting many diseases - such as heart disease or high blood pressure. Although not every user experiences these diseases, it is well known that smoking can decrease one’s life time dramatically. The information given states, “It’s virtually impossible to escape the effects of tobacco” (Jordan). This stated, Jordan expresses that essentially if you use tobacco, there is a fairly high chance that one will damage his/her body in some way. Furthermore, there are many more diseases that can be contracted and the ones stated are only the most common. Continuing, the author explains the affects of smoking, “Expose to specific elements of secondhand smoke causes blood clot more easily and damages arterial lining” (Jordan). As stated, certain components in tobacco increase the chances of high blood pressure and blood clots to form in the body. Concluding, respiratory problems in young children can occur through second hand smoking, these include asthma. Children that asthma effect increases from smoke, “Asthma turns out to be about twice as common in children exposed to high levels of second hand smoke” (Secondhand Smoke: Is it a Hazard). Not only does tobacco smoke increase other diseases, it also increases the severity of diseases already contracted as shown in the previous quote. To conclude, tobacco smoke
Smoking is a risk factor for many diseases including lung cancer, chronic lung cancer and other cancers. 90% of cases of lung cancer are attributed to smoking (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 2013). Additionally, smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases in women and men aged between 35 and 69 (Owing, 2005). Smoking accounts for 25% and 30% of cases all cardiovascular diseases in young adults in the America and Britain respectively. This number is big when compared to Hong Kong which as 12%. 15% to 20% of all cases of cancer are caused by smoking in both the America and Britain (Gilman and & Zhou, 2004). Smoking causes 75% of cases of chronic cancer including emphysema and bronchitis. Smoking increases the risk of lung diseases as it damages the airway and alveoli. In other words, the rate of morbidity in both America and Britain as a result of smoking is very high and this is why the two countries have taken the habit very serious by treating all smokers as social pariahs (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 2013).