Introduction
Smoking is a habit of burning tobacco and inhaling the smoke. This habit is common in the United States of America. This is especially because smoking tobacco is legal in America. An estimated 45.3 million people in America smoke cigarettes. This translates to 19.3% of all adults in the country. The habit is more common to men as compared to women. 21.5% of smokers in America are men while women smokers constitute 17.3%. Statistics show that smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths. Smoking accounts for 443000 deaths each year. At least 1 out of 5 deaths in America is as a result of smoking.
The majority of smokers in America live below the poverty line. This means that the behavior is common among the poor people as compared to the rich people. The habit is common among the youths as the majority of smokers are within the age bracket of 25-35 years. Smoke related complications cause the US more than $150 billion a year. This is a large amount of money given the fact that these diseases can be prevented. In the US smoking causes 445 new cases of lung cancer every year. This increases the amount of money that the government uses to treat these diseases. These diseases affect the productive population hence reducing their labor productivity.
The United States of America earns much money from advertisement of cigarettes. In addition, advertising executives from top agencies believe that advertising does not make smoking more appealing. They also believe that advertising does not encourage smoking among the children. Such perceptions have increased the level of smoking in America.
Quitting smoking reduces the chances of deaths. Smoking is harmful and deadly, and people should avoid smoking for a number of reasons. Smoking leads to lung cancer. This is a killer disease which has contributed to deaths of many smokers. In addition, it is expensive to treat. Smoking causes 90% of lung cancer disease in the world. Smokers are 4 times likely to get lung cancer than nonsmokers. This disease has caused many deaths which can be prevented.
Smoking not only affects the active smokers, but also affects nonsmokers through passive smoking. Smokers affect the health of their partners and friends who are nonsmokers. This is because they inhale the smoke and hence risking their life. Pregnant mothers who smoke threaten the life of their infants. A mother who is smoking increases the chances of the infant getting asthma.
Quitting smoking saves money. The behavior of smoking is expensive to the smokers especially those who are addicted. According to statistics, a smoker who pays $2 per pack of cigarettes can save more than $700 per year if he/she stopped smoking. Therefore, quitting smoking can reduce expenses for the majority of smokers.
Quitting smoking reduces chances of heart diseases. Smoking causes heart related complications. Therefore, quitting smoking may reduce these complications. Quitting smoking reduces the chances of stroke by 40% among men and 60% among the women.
Quitting smoking may also reduce petty crimes like mugging. Majority of smokers live below the poverty line. Smoking habit is very expensive for them. This makes them turn to mugging to sustain their expensive habit.
Conclusion
Smoking is a habit very common in America. It has caused many preventable deaths. Smoking related diseases are very expensive to treat. This increases the expense incurred to the government when treating these diseases. Therefore, quitting smoking can reduce costs for both smokers and the government.
Works Cited
Centre of disease Control and Prevention. "Adult Cigarette Smoking in the United States: Current Estimate." 14 March 2012. Centre of disease Control and Prevention. 18 November 2012
Enhanced care. "Advantages of Smoking and Quitting." Enhanced care (2010): 90-96.
Tobacco Control Unit. "Action Of Smoking And Disadvantage." Tackling Tobacco (2008): 12.
Tonstad, Serena. "Advantages and Disadvantages of Medical Therapies for Smoking Cessation." Smoking Cessation (2007): 50-76.
US Department Of Health and Human Services. "Summary Health Statistics For US Adults." Vital Health Statistics (2010): 1-252.
