Tobacco and Its Harmful Effects

It all boils down to its social history. In practically every era since it was discovered, tobacco has been a huge social phenomenon.

Cigarette companies use trends, age, culture, and other things to hook a person to their product. The companies mainly target teens because of their ignorance and teens who get addicted that young will likely be customers for life. Tobacco is promoted on almost every television network and 1/3 of adolescent experimentation with smoking results from the advertising. (Tobacco Free Broome and Tioga) Not only are cigarettes promoted on TV, but their promoted throughout everyone’s lifestyle. Maybe a role model you have, maybe one of your parents, or maybe a celebrity you enjoy following... any one of these people could smoke and the mindset of many is, “if they’re doing it, so can I”. Mike Magee smoked his first L&M cigarette when he nine years old, his parents smoked and kept cigarettes in the house and therefore they were accessible. He and his siblings said that learning how to smoke was

Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy could lead to the placenta not developing fully. As the placenta carries oxygen and blood to the foetus this may impair growth and link to low birth weights. Babies born to smoking mothers are 30% more likely to have a premature baby which could lead to respiratory distress, problems feeding and they could have difficulty regulating their body temperature. Babies undergo withdrawal like systems and tend to be more jittery and harder to settle. Babies being brought up in a smoking household are at increased risk of cot death and may go on to develop asthma during childhood.

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.

During pregnancy there is lots of choices to be made but choosing to smoke should never cross a pregnant women's mind. Smoking during pregnancy has lots of horrible effects to an unborn child including low birth weight. Smoking during pregnancy can cause the baby to be born with birth defects. Smoking during pregnancy can cause asthma and and lung problems for the baby. Smoking during pregnancy has several dangerous causes to a newborn including low birth weight, birth defects, and even lung problems.

As they learned these methods and began smoking it it became a very important part of the Native American culture, using it for religious rituals and Native American diplomacy (12). These rituals continued even as the colonists came to their land and discovered their tobacco, Nicotiana rustica, that they grew and smoked. The

Smoking well pregnant can expose your child to harmful chemicals. Some of the chemicals in smoke won’t allow oxygen to the blood stream, such as carbon monoxide. Nicotine causes less oxygen and nutrients reach the fetus.

Smoking cigarettes has been known for several years to be harmful to the individuals who choose to smoke. Putting tar into your lungs, causing cancer, heart disease and stroke are just a few reasons many Americans choose not to smoke. However, seventeen percent of people in the United States are smokers. With that seventeen percent, ten percent of women smoke during pregnancy. Not smoking during pregnancy should be a no-brainer but women still do it. Smoking during pregnancy has been known to cause retardation, low birth weight, premature birth, and infant mortality. New studies are showing that smoking is now causing chromosomal

There are several opinions about whether if smoking is bad or not to your baby´s development during your pregnancy time, the truth is that smoking during pregnancy is a really dangerous gamble that only the mother can take or no. Smoking is bad for your health because it increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, gum disease, and just a variety of health conditions; that´s the reason for women to stop smoking for their own health, and when you are pregnant you have the responsibility of your baby´s health too. Smoking during pregnancy can cause also a lot of problems to the baby and later we are going to talk about some of them. Based on many pieces of research made by American Pregnancy Association show that 12-20 percent of pregnant women

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.

Birth defects are physical or biochemical defect that is present at birth and may be inherited or environmentally induced (Merriam Webster). Babies born to mothers who smoked had roughly 20% to 30% higher odds of having shortened or missing arms and legs, cleft lips and cleft palates and abnormally shaped heads or faces compared to babies born to nonsmoking mothers (WebMD). The last effect of effects of smoking on a fetus is infant death. Researchers in Canada Dr. Shabih Hasan and colleagues found that premature babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are likely to be at a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Hasan and colleagues found that babies whose mothers had smoked while pregnant showed a number of signs of poor breathing. Hasan explained: “Not only does it raise a mother’s likelihood of having a preterm baby, who is already among the most vulnerable to SIDS, but increases the infant’s susceptibility to SIDS even further” (Medical

One of the largest issues today is adolescent smoking. According to a heath based website, nearly 90% of adult smokers start while they are still teens and they never intend to get hooked. They may start by bumming a cigarette or two from a friend at a party, and then go on to buying an occasional pack. Soon they realize that they can't go without that pack. They've gotten used to reaching for a cigarette first thing in the morning, after meals, or during any stressful time. They become addicted, both physically and psychologically. According to the American Lung Association, each day 6,000 children under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette. Almost 2,000 of them will become regular smokers – that’s 757, 000 new smokers annually!

Tobacco is simply an agricultural crop, which is used abundantly in making cigarettes. It is a green plant that is commonly found in warm climates, and it was first grown in 1612 in Virginia as a “profit crop” for them.

One thing that person always has control over is their lifestyle. One very important lifestyle change people can make is cutting out the use of tobacco. No matter if a person is smoking cigarettes or doing it orally, the body is still receiving the nicotine. Although oral tobacco may be advertised as a healthier alternative, it is still deadly. If a person is smoking, they are also harming people around them by releasing second hand smoke. Other lifestyle changes a person can make controlling their weight at a healthy weight, being physically active, and eating healthy food. About one third of deaths caused by cancer last year were linked to not being active, poor diet, and being overweight (“Diet and Physical Activity”).

The author Rachel Kranz in “Straight Talk About Smoking,’ states, “Smoking more means that Lynette has less to spend on pizza and after-school snacks, because she’s got to make sure she can afford three or four packs of cigarettes each week.” (Kranz). Peer pressure to smoke can also be a way of teenagers proving that they are mature. Maturity is something that all teenagers have been told to obtain; especially by adults. The legal smoking age in most states is twenty-one, and most adults do smoke. Teenagers think that they can feel more grown up when they smoke and fit in society. Kaz Vorpal in the book of “Teen Smoking,’” states, “Adults do certain things, and therefore children who do those things feel they are more like grownups.” (Vorpal 66). Movies also contributes to teen smoking by portraying smoking as a cool, pleasurable, and harmless thing. All these factors give the teen a pressure to start smoking and never realize that the Nicotine that is found in the cigarette is addictive and causes major health problems like cancer.