Smoking: Leading Cause Of Preventable Deaths In The World

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.

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.

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.

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

Healthy People 2020 describes some of the harmful effects caused by tobacco. Those causes outlined are cancer, heart disease and stroke, lung diseases, reproductive effects, and many other diseases. (2017) These harmful effects are direct to the smoker but are also harmful secondhand to those who because subjected to the smoke. Children are especially exposed to secondhand smoke as they have limited control in escaping from it. Diseased commonly caused and also discussed in Healthy People 2020 are “severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)” (2017) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services posted an article with the Surgeon General, titled, The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress.; outlined in

It is now known that secondhand smoke (SHS) is more toxic than firsthand smoke (FHS), posing a serious health risk to children who have no control over whether they are exposed or not. Additionally, a new potential health risk has been discovered: thirdhand exposure (THE). Thirdhand exposure occurs when nicotine and other chemicals from secondhand smoke deposit on surfaces, such as floors, walls, and tables. THE exists wherever nicotine has been smoked, creating multiple exposure routes and exposing people via. touch, ingestion, and inhalation2. Evidence has emerged showing that THE potentially poses similar health risks as SHS, but the public is skeptical about these

In the United States 20% of all deaths are caused from tobacco smoke; it is the most leading cause of preventable death. Anyone who smokes may not be aware they are affecting everyone else around them. Most doctors give information about smoking to mothers so they know how dangerous it is when their child is breathing in the smoke. Children two years of age or younger have a higher risk for developing a serious condition or if they already have one it could make that worse. To help a child to not develop a serious condition the best thing for a smoker to do is to quit. Although, be sure to be aware of other smokers. Children can still be exposed to tobacco smoke in many different places including: restaurants, the mall, a grocery store, and

Smoking has been a preventable leading cause of death in many countries including the United stated for decades. Every year there are billions of dollars spent on treating diseases related to smoking. Many people desire to quit smoking every year but they do not resist a month without it without any form of treatment. Currents treatments such as nicotine transdermal patches, lozenge, gums or inhalations devices are affected but not for a long period of time. These acts as partial agonist to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the body therefore they increase the 1 month quit smoking period to about 6 to 7 months. But these medication have many side effects such depression and hallucination which affect the therapy. Scientists at the ACS’

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

Not only does secondhand smoke harm people physically, public smoking is an extremely negative influence for child development and the development of the world as a whole. Around six thousand students in the country of Africa were included in the Global Youth Tobacco Survey to get an overall understanding to how many non-smoking adolescents (11-18 yrs) are around the harsh chemicals of SHS. The survey concluded that 34.2% of the students were exposed to SHS outside of the home. The amount of students already affected with the health consequences of cigarette smoke is wistfully significant.

Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable death in the world. In the US, it causes about 480,000 deaths per year, and about 42,000 deaths from secondhand smoke (“Smoking and Tobacco...”). Young children are particularly vulnerable to exposure to secondhand smoke when they live with parents or guardians that smoke. Children that are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke get sick more often, have more lung infections, are more likely to cough, wheeze, and have shortness of breath, and get more ear infections (“Health Risks of...”). It would be a benefit to our society if we banned smoking in the presence of children to help prevent the risk of health problems and death related to secondhand smoke.

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.

Exposure to second hand smoke, which for the purposes of this report will be designated SHS, poses extremely detrimental health risks for any and all individuals who consider themselves non-smokers, especially young children and pregnant women. SHS is estimated to contribute to heart attacks in nonsmokers and causes nearly 53,800 deaths in the United States alone on an annual basis.1 According to the United States Surgeon General’s report from 2010, tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in this country, causing approximately 443,000 adult deaths from smoking-related illnesses each year.2 Additionally, smoking has been

Secondhand smoking cause many defects for children as they grow up. As parents of young children smoke in the car, these children are exposed to this secondhand smoke frequently. According to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Secondhand smoke causes numerous health problems in infants and children, including more frequent and severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infection, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)." As these children group up, the health problems resulting from the secondhand smoke exposure affects their lifestyle and future.

Children are also greatly affected by second-hand smoke and some parents do not realize the harm that they are causing to their young children. Young children are growing fast and their lungs are also growing very fast and second-hand smoke can seriously damage their lungs temporarily or even permanently. Children can’t walk away from second-hand smoke, either because they are too young to walk or their parents won’t let them. When children are riding in the back of a car and an adult decides they want to smoke, the child or children have no other choice but to breathe in the thick, chemical filled smoky air. “16 percent of the world’s population is covered by comprehensive smoke-free laws, and 40 percent of children worldwide are routinely exposed to second-hand smoke” (Louis 2). With the research that is found, if that 40 percent