Tobacco Smoke: The Most Leading Cause Of Preventable Death

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.

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

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

Smoking is the number one preventable risk and cause of disease and death. Tobacco kills more people than car crashes, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and alcohol, drugs, suicides and murders combined, and effects smokers and nonsmokers alike. A nonsmoker on average lives 13 to 14 years longer than a smoker does. Although we have made strides in reducing the prevalence of smoking in the country, it is still an important problem that continues to cause morbidity and mortality. Secondhand smoke exposure also affects nonsmokers and causes lung cancer. When children are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke, mostly in the predominant location of the home, smoking increases their incidence of asthma, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), ear infections, and respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis.

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

“Loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, and dangerous to the lungs.” says King James of England and Scotland, describing smoking in 1604 (Connolly 13). Tobacco use kills millions of people a year but still only has few legal restrictions. Many argue that the use of tobacco is a right we have in the United States but the harm that it does to the innocent may outweigh those rights. Because the use of tobacco negatively impacts the health of both the users and those around them, all tobacco products and their use should be illegal.

The first review was from an article in The New England Journal of Medicine called: “Smoking and Mortality — Beyond Established Causes” written by several physicians. (Carter, 2015) It explains how the mortality rates are higher among recent smokers than people who have never smoked. This seems to be attributed to the 21 common diseases that maybe caused by cigarette smoking. Data was collected from group studies in the United States that followed smokers and non-smokers between 2000 and 2011. A study that included men and women who were age 55 or older. As a result, they found that the participant’s mortality rates were higher due to diseases that had not been formally recognized as being triggered by cigarette smoking.

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

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.

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

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.

A cigarette does not only shorten your life by puff, but also the life of your child. The use of tobacco "remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States” causing more than 440,000 deaths each year and resulting in an annual cost of more than $75 billion in medical expenses, says David Marks in his novel, Overcoming Your Smoking Habits. Nonetheless, what is not discussed is secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, also known as chronic lower respiratory disease. Secondhand smoke can affect a child mentally and physically, from diseases to learning disabilities, and post-traumatic stress. Children from birth to seven years of age are especially vulnerable to secondhand smoke because their lungs are not fully developed. (Marks 3)