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Essay on “Smoking is not bad”
“Cigarette smoking is injurious to health. It causes cancer.” This tagline is perhaps the most common tagline attached with an advertisement before a film at a theater, or a plain cigarette advertisement on the TV. It is indeed true; tobacco is extremely harmful to anybody who partakes it. The ingredients of tobacco are carcinogenic, and cause lung cancer or oral cancer. Smoking has innumerable disadvantages attached with it; it causes a change in the structure of blood vessels. This in turn leads to building up of plaque, and hardens the blood vessels. Hardening of blood vessels is called atherosclerosis. This disease may bring about heart attacks, and a chronic heart disease. Smoking regularly causes high blood pressure, and the carbon monoxide inhaled via smoke causes interference with the oxygen transportation in blood. The heart develops several diseases due to the poor supply of blood.
The lungs are the direct target of the smoke. The lungs can get afflicted with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Bronchitis and emphysema involve a change in the lung tissue and constriction in the airways. Asthmatic attacks can be increased manifold by chain smoking. 87 percent lung cancer is caused by smoking.
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The fertility rate in women decreases by too much smoking, and reduces chances of conceiving. Pregnant smokers can cause their babies to be premature, or low-weight. Passive smoking Is also a cause of major worry for growing rates of cancer. So, all in all, smoking only has negatives. However, this thesis aims to identify the pros of smoking. The essay will delve and find out why smoking is not bad.
Smoking, if the negatives can be overlooked, has several good features about it, too. Smoking, it has been scientifically proven, removes the risk of acquiring Parkinson’s disease. Statistics have shown that people who smoke substantially reduce any risk to their brain, and consequently Parkinson’s. Though the neurologists were confused about why it was so, it was nonetheless substantiated that quitting smoking would cause a higher risk of Parkinson’s. (Houezec, Jacques le.2014)
Smoking involves tobacco. Tobacco contains nicotine. Nicotine suppresses meal appetite. A smoker, after around twenty cigarettes, doesn’t feel like eating much. The taste of food doesn’t feel in his mouth, and the urge to eat goes away. With lesser consumption of food, the weight of a person obviously decreases. Hence, with the reduction caused in weight, smoking is a diet controlling and weight reducing method.
Smoking, surprisingly, helps in lessening of knee replacement surgeries as well. Unrelated by hindsight, chain smokers seem to undergo lesser knee surgeries, and once they quit smoking, this tendency gets reduced. Clueless as to why this is, research is on. However, mystically, smoking indeed has a good effect on the health as well. Smoking also helps in the heart drug called clopidogrel work better. It is a drug that inhibits blood clot formation in the heart, and prevents
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coronary and circulatory diseases. This in turn, in a paradox, helps in reducing heart attacks. Excessive smoking causes heart attacks, yet smoking can also induce better effects of drugs to reduce the same.( Newhouse P, Kellar K, Aisen P, et al 2012)
Smoking is also beneficial because it is a stress buster. A good smoke can help people focus less on their problems, and instead put their mind in relaxing activities. Smoking with friends gives a thrill! People enjoy the company of friends, and hence, have a lot of fun and relaxation. Smoking helps in the mind and body being relaxed, and being friendly in company. (Newhouse PA, Potter AS.2008)
Smoking is also beneficial in maintaining concentration, memory and motor skills. Nicotine is considered beneficial in maintaining aptitude skills, and better focus( Quik, M, Cox H, Parameswaran N, et al.2007). This helps in retention of information, improves the mind, etc. Paradoxically, this is not true about every person. If kids were given a cigarette to improve their minds, where would the world be? However, in certain chain smokers it has been seen that their mind focuses better when they smoke.
Nicotine is a substance that has some additional properties, like it keeps the blood pressure in check. That in itself causes lesser harm to the body. Nicotine, as a substance, improves cognitive abilities and is a good deterrent for Alzheimer’s too. With continued use of the brain, Alzheimer’s is kept in check. (Tariq M, Khan HA, Elfaki I, et al,2005)
Smoking is also a recreational activity. It helps in celebrating old friendships while sitting on the porch together, and reminiscing about old times. It relaxes after a day of stress. Thus, a smoker is happy, and rejuvenated.
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Smoking electronic cigarettes is also an excellent way to get over smoking, as well as have the benefits of smoking. It reduces the smoking cessation. Though it has not been scientifically proven, but smokers tend to get over smoking when they consume e-cigarettes. They feel they are smoking, but actually aren’t taking in the harmful tobacco. They are more into the smoking spree, and are happy with smoking. But e-cigarettes have no detrimental effect on the body at all. So, smoking is good in this case.
E-cigarettes are healthy, and have no side effects. They contain vaporizers and these have no side effects, at all. These are good for the lungs, too. Increased use of e-cigarettes causes the body to adapt to the absence of nicotine, and also get over the addiction. People often claim they have been able to give up tobacco, and that has indeed helped them- the e-cigarettes.
A story comes to the mind as the topic is at closure. There was a man, who smoked incessantly. He had a happy family, a wife and a child. However, passive smoking caused the child to acquire asthma. The man was ashamed, and very guilty. He decided to turn over a new leaf. He tried curbing his demon, but didn’t succeed. He saw a doctor. The doctor saw he was a nicotine addict. He was advised e-cigarettes. The doctor gave him a packet. In spite of an initial improvement, the man couldn’t do it. His hands trembled, his legs wobbled and he couldn’t stand straight.
The doctor realized that he was tobacco addicted. However, tobacco, if taken raw, could never, ever leave the man without oral cancer. The doctor proscribed some medicines and herbs. He also asked the man to meditate. However, the man didn’t get better, at all. Then the doctor read about the helpful benefits of nicotine. He told the man to smoke in measures. Instead of twenty
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cigarettes a day, the ma was advised to smoke five cigarettes a day. The doctor told the man to make a separate smoking room in his house. The man did the same, and in the first week he brought down smoking to twelve cigarettes. The doctor wasn’t pleased. However, in the next month the man managed to cut down his smoking to five cigarettes a day. This helped him immensely. The man was able to concentrate on his work, and his cognitive abilities regained their previous sheen. His body started functioning properly; he could manage things just fine. His smoking room ensured his child and wife were free from passive smoking. He was able to keep his heart in a good shape, his drugs worked better. His blood vessels were in good shape, and he didn’t have to face his nerves shaking, too.
Thus, this story proves one conclusive point- nicotine isn’t always bad. While the man was consuming it in large quantities, he was facing several issues. His child fell ill, his own lungs weren’t in good shape. He managed to switch to e-cigarettes, but his advanced addiction caused him a lot of harm. The doctor saw that this man wouldn’t be able to live without nicotine, and instead tried to maneuver it. The man was now free to smoke, and that helped him resume his happy life. He just cut down on the number of cigarettes.
So, smoking has some benefits, too. If done in a measurable degree, it can even be beneficial. Thus, not just the cons, the pros have to be looked into also for smoking. Only then we can delve deep into what is good and not.
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Works Cited:
- Tariq M, Khan HA, Elfaki I, et al. Neuroprotective effect of nicotine against 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP)-induced experimental Huntington's disease in rats. Brain Res Bull 2005 Sep 30;67(1-2):161-168.
- Quik, M, Cox H, Parameswaran N, et al. Nicotine reduces levadopa-induced dyskinesias in lesioned monkeys. Ann Neurol 2007;62(6):588-596
- Newhouse PA, Potter AS. Acute nicotine improves cognitive deficits in young adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2008;88(4):407-417.
- Newhouse P, Kellar K, Aisen P, et al. Nicotine treatment of mild cognitive impairment: A 6-month double-blind pilot clinical trial. Neurology 2012; 78:91-101.
- Houezec, Jacques le.“The Positive Effects of Nicotine.” Nicotinepolicy.net.n.p., 12 January.2014.Web.1 December.2014
