Smoking In America

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

Smoking is an activity that has been around for many years for people to use and adapt into their lifestyle. It is a tool that many people use to help reduce the stresses of life and put them in a comfortable position that enables them to cope with the hectic lifestyle they are living. However, smoking has been scientifically proven to cause many types of cancer, the most common being lung cancer resulting in numerous deaths across the United States. According to BBC, "Smoking is a greater cause of death and disability than any single disease" (BBC, 2). Evidently, the benefits and drawbacks of smoking have been debated for many years, and only recently have some countries have placed a ban in public places such as Britain and the United

The smoking habit is the principal cause of illness, disability and death around the world. More than five million of people in the world die due to smoking habit every year. If we don’t take care of this in 2030 the amount will be ten million. Seven million of these deaths would be in poor countries.

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.

Every day in America families’ gathers together to celebrate special events or the accomplishments of one of its members. Many times these special moments can be ruined or brought to an abrupt end due to others nearby smoking. Public spaces should be safe and accessible to all members of society to use without the inconvenience of someone else’s smoking ruining their outing or causing health issues to flare up such as, asthma. People do have the right to choose to smoke if they desire, but nonsmokers have the right to go out to public places with their family and not be exposed to harmful secondhand smoke. Studies have shown that secondhand smoke is just as harmful as smoking and leads to a higher occurrence of cancer and heart disease. Furthermore,

Cigarette consumption emerged in the United States when the government distributed free cigarettes to soldiers in both world wars, promoting cigarette smoking to entire generations. Advertising and Hollywood movies further associated smoking with glamour and sophistication. Cigarette smoking grew steadily: by 1963, Americans 18 and over were smoking an average of 12 cigarettes a day (Smoking Bans). Today, each year, 53,800 people die from secondhand smoke exposure. Since then, public smoking bans have been set to prevent the hazardous effects. A smoking ban is a public policy that includes criminal laws and health regulations that prohibit smoking in certain public places and workspaces. Since public smoking can cause detrimental health effects to others, it should be banned.

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.

Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, killing more Americans than HIV, drug and alcohol abuse, suicides, murders and car accidents combined. There are numerous campaigns such as D.A.R.E. and “Swipe Left” to help persuade us out of using tobacco products. Sayings like “Not even once” have even become cliché. However, studies have shown that one cigarette is all it takes to get addicted. Despite popular belief, smokeless tobacco is addictive as well. Big tobacco companies are famous for telling lies. In 1996, the tobacco industry said it was riskier to drink two cups of milk a day than one cigarette. They also said cigarettes were just as addictive as salt, sugar and internet usage. Neither of these are true, as it is the most addictive of all legal drugs. That being said, cigarettes are only the tip of the iceberg to the major problems that tobacco causes. Tobacco products have an astonishing amount of cons, to accompany very few, petty pros like “it makes me feel better for a few minutes.” Not only do cigarettes hurt the smoker, but they hurt the ones closely surrounding the smoker, especially small children. There are also a great deal of unexpected environmental issues that come with tobacco products and its industry, such as deforestation, greenhouse gasses, and fires. Because of these destructive reasons, we propose that all tobacco products should be illegal.

For over 50 years, the Surgeon General has been warning about the dangers of tobacco use and smoking. The most recent report, The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General, offers information and statistics related to the monetary costs and physical dangers of smoking. Although the number of people who smoke has declined, if the current rates remain the same, nearly 6 million Americans who are alive today and under the age of 18 will die prematurely from a disease related to smoking. Additionally, half of the people today who continue to smoke will die prematurely due to a smoking-related condition.

In the United States today, more than forty six million Americans are addicted to cigarettes. More people have died due to cigarette smoking than from narcotic drugs, World Wars I and II, and the Vietnam War combined (Bailey 1). The annual death toll for cigarette smoking is more than four-hundred thousand Americans a year, and is the number-one preventable cause of death in the United States. If Americans are aware of the lethal effects of smoking, why is it still so popular? Guy Smith, a Phillip Morris Tobacco Company executive, claims that their research shows that advertising is the top reason people start smoking (Bailey 34). Most people will argue that this is not true because the do not like to be “sold” and

It’s a Monday morning, during October, in New York City, the sky is clear and it is perfect jacket weather. As the birds begin their songs; a group of school girls takes a stroll through the park led by their teacher. They begin their walk greeting everyone they see with a smile. As they sit on an open grassy area, filled with plenty of crunchy leaves. They take a moment to observe all that is happening in the park. The girls see old men sitting at chess tables about to begin their game, children piling up dead leaves and hurling themselves in the piles, and couples preparing lovely morning picnics. After a while, one girl gets a whiff of something peculiar from the right side of the school group. Turning to the side, the class spots a middle-aged business woman who has decided that five feet downwind from a group of young girls was the right

It is estimated that “one out of four high school seniors and one out of three young adults under age 26 are smokers”, which adds up to 42.1 million Americans who legally smoke (Smoking). This high amount does not include minors, or people who use tobacco products other than cigarettes and cigars. This number has decreased greatly since its peak in 1964, but the health effects are still prevalent today (Health). Lung cancer is one of the most infamous results of smoking, with 82.4% of all lung cancer cases attributing to smoking (Facts). “Of former smokers in the U.S., 1,154,000 have a cancer other than lung cancer from smoking” (Facts). This includes oral cancer, diagnosed especially among users of smokeless tobacco, usually associated with teeth loss and gum recession (Health). Other common illnesses that correlate with tobacco use include bronchitis, emphysema, and pneumonia, which cause 113,100 American deaths annually (Facts). The Secretary of Health and Human Services states “This year alone, nearly one-half million adults will still die prematurely because of smoking…and if we continue on our current trajectory, 5.6 million children alive today who are younger than 18 years of age will die prematurely” (Health). Imagine how many lives would be spared had the nation not succumbed to the addiction of

One culture behavior that was acceptable years ago but now it is deviant is smoking. In the past, everyone would smoke everywhere. I have personally heard stories from elderly where they would smoke when they were only children. In the past, it was acceptable to smoke but now it is forbidden to smoke in enclosed areas and includes an age limit. This change has occurred because humans have evolved into becoming more knowledgeable. In the past, they did not know how badly smoking affects the body. Today, people know the risk that smoking brings and the news is spread world wide.

Smoking cigarettes leads to mental diseases and casualties in the United States with more than 480,000 individuals in the United States dying from cigarettes and about 41,000 deaths from second-hand smoking (CDC). After John Rolfe introduced the commercial crop in Virginia in the 1600’s, tobacco became the leading exported crop for the colony. Tobacco’s initial purpose was for “pipe-smoking, chewing, and snuff,” (CNN) and to cure individuals with health issues. With the abundant amount of tobacco, smoking became inexpensive and easy to access across the nation. Along with the accessibility and reasonable price, smoking became a huge issue for individuals ranging from teens to adults. An advertisement campaign, called TheTruth, created this visual advertisement of the teenager smoking a cigarette and the smoke of the cigarette illustrating a gun facing the teenagers head. From analyzing the advertisement, one can conclude about the high fatality rate of young teenagers smoking in the United States. The advertisement campaign focuses on the effects smoking has on teenagers in America. The creator of the visual uses a contrast between dark and light colors to portray negativity behind teen smoking, the use of symbolism to depict a gun from cigarette smoke conveys how each objects functions similarly, and the display of the text on the right hand side of the visual invokes fear to teen smokers.

The tobacco industry kills more people in North America from Monday to Thursday of each week than the terrorists murdered in total on September 11, 2001. That sounds unrealistic, doesn’t it? Well, smoking is an epidemic that affects us all, whether you are a smoker or you aren’t. In order to stop this epidemic, we need to