Smoking: America's Leading Cause Of Death

Smoking is the single highest cause of preventable death in America and puts users at significantly greater risk for disease compared to the rest of the population. Tobacco use costs the U.S. more than 289 billion dollars annually in medical expenses and lost productivity (Surgeon General, 2014). The problems associated with smoking are due in part to its addictiveness. Nicotine is the addictive substance found in tobacco and its chemical dependence is as strong as heroin, cocaine, or alcohol (CDC, 2014). Getting all smokers to quit entirely is not realistic due to nicotine’s addictive characteristics.

According to the CDC, smoking can lead to lung and mouth cancers, as well as increased possibility of strokes and heart problems. Presently, smoking-related illnesses top the charts in cause of death in the United States.

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.

The Institute of Medicine found that children, who are born between 2000 and 2019, would suffer 249,000 fewer premature deaths and 45,000 fewer deaths from lung cancer, when the legal age to purchase tobacco is increased from 18 to 21 years old (atg.wa.gov 2016). Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S, which causes many chronic health complications such as heart disease, cancer, and lung disease (atg.wa.gov 2016). Raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21 in Washington state will decrease the use later in adult life specifically, ages 15 to 17 who are targeted the most through tobacco companies due to their vulnerability and gives loyalty to a specific tobacco company from the addiction of nicotine. Needham, Massachusetts campaigned to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 in 2005 and won. Results are already compelling, showing that between 2006 and 2012 Needham’s high school smoking rate dropped more than half among girls and boys (atg.wa.gov 2016). Given that nicotine can be such an addictive drug and be seen to be used as a coping mechanism, specifically ages 15 to 17 through their developing stages of life, needs to encounter harder access to get their hands on tobacco products. According to the Center of Disease Control, one in 13 Americans age 17 or younger alive today are estimated to die prematurely due to the effects of smoking (atg.wa.gov 2016). Raising the legal age to

Smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. Nicotine addiction is a serious and expensive problem. Smokers have decreased productivity and on average make less than non-smokers. Smoking is lethal to the human body through heart disease, respiratory illness, and increased likelihood and mortality of cancer.

Smoking is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States, which are nearly one in five deaths. The problem about smoking is that not only the smokers are affected by the smoke, but non-smokers and children who are exposed to the secondhand smoke; secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke, is smoke from burning tobacco products that can be inhaled from the exhaled smoke by the smoker, mainstream smoke, or sidestream smoke, which is the smoke that comes from a lighted cigar, cigarette, or pipe and is more toxic and dangerous than the smoke that comes from the

It is the single most preventable cause of death and disease. It causes more deaths than drugs, car accidents, fire, auto accidents, AIDS, suicide and homicide combined. Can you guess what it is? It is smoking and it is killing many people. Why would you want to smoke if it causes so many deaths? People have all kinds of excuses for that question. Some of which include: “I’m stressed out”, and “I just want to fit in”. Would you want to die because you wanted to be cool or you felt stressed? There are many reasons why you should not smoke. It is causing pain and suffering not only to the smokers, but also to people who do not smoke. Addiction to smoking is one of the most serious and expensive health problems in the U.S. today I am going to inform you about smoking and why you should not smoke. You need to know this information because it is bad for you and you need to inform other people why not to smoke as well. My three main points on why smoking is bad are, because it’s bad for health, costs a lot, and affects others who do not even smoke.

Did you know that 3,000 American non-smokers will die this year from lung cancer? Those deaths are entirely preventable. Their lung cancer is caused by second hand smoke. Second hand smoke is smoke they have breathed in from other people's cigarettes. It is also known as involuntary or passive smoking. There is nothing passive however about the effects of this smoke. It is lethal and it is dangerous. It may give as many as 300,000 children under the age of one and half bronchitis and pneumonia. It could even be responsible for more than 35,000 deaths from heart disease.

Every year, there are over 400,000 smoking-related deaths in the United States. A large percentage of these are due to lung cancer, whose leading cause is smoking. However, not all deaths are smokers themselves. Anyone in the vicinity can fall victim to second hand smoke. These people, through no action of their own, can have their lives threatened.

Smoking is the largest preventable cause of death in the world, accounting for at least six million deaths a year across the globe, according to the World Health Organization. Smoke is an option, the person chooses to smoke, sometimes being aware about the several consequences this bad habit brings, but also there are people that start smoking without theses knowledge. And it makes cigarettes even more worst because after you start, knowing or not the consequences, it is hard to quit this habit because of the addicted substances presents in the product, such as nicotine. The prolonged use of this product has several consequences for the human body, such as impotence in men, problems during pregnancy for women, and increases the chance of developing

Cigarette smoking is responsible for 443,000 deaths each year according to the Tobacco and Smoking book (Opposing Viewpoints Series 2015.) It is also the most preventable cause of death. Whether it be from all the chemicals going through the smokers body when they take a drag, or the smoke coming out of the smoker and other people breathing that it, smoking cigarettes is deadly for everyone. When a person lights up that cigarette, they are literally smoking their life away. There are so many effects on the body from smoking that start from the very first drag including the major one, lung cancer. By informing people on not only how smoking affects the smoker by telling the effects of it on the body, but how the smoke affects the innocent

In most cases, smoking is ongoing. Smoking have led to deaths and diseases within individuals. There are issues with the increased medical expense that are associated to smoking. Cigarette companies are gearing their advertisements towards the younger generation to reel in first-hand smokers. Tobacco industries have a large amount of money so they can afford lobbyists to do their biddings and secure their agenda. Furthermore, smokers know how hard it is to lie down their packs of cigarettes and quick smoking. They may recommend that the power of nicotine addiction: even if the individual wants to stop smoking, the addiction often upholds its overpowering.

Tobacco use is by far the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2011). More deaths can be attributed to tobacco use than to alcohol, drugs, firearms, motor vehicle crashes, and HIV/AIDS combined (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). In the United States, 90% of lung cancer cases were from smoking cigarettes and 38,000 deaths per year are from secondhand

Cigarette and tobacco use is the largest preventable cause of death in the United States. Smoking has strong and lasting effects on personal health, health of others around the smoker, and the quality of a smoker’s life. It can also impact personal hygiene, and domestic and personal aspects of life. There are hundreds of reasons not to smoke. Are there any reasons to the contrary?

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease. One cigarette contains over 4000 chemicals, and people still choose to smoke it. Smoking can cause many diseases and illnesses that can certainly lead to death varying on the case. Tobacco blackens the lungs and hurts the health of others nearby. It also takes away all of their money for other items. Quitting smoking will benefit them with better health, they won’t give others secondhand smoke, and they will have more spending money. In order to get started, I recommend them to quit on their own, or find a hobby they like to do.