Cause and Effect Essay
Introduction
Cigarette smoking is a practice that involves the burning of a tobacco in which its actual smoke is being inhaled and exhaled in the process. Tens and millions of people around the world spend much of their money just to support their cigarette dependence. This is because cigarette contains active substances that make people crave for a stick to another. Cigarette smoking is one of the most common types of recreational drug use, making it to be one of the leading causes of deaths around the world. Harmful substances of a cigarette may not only directly affect smokers, but non-smokers as well through secondhand smoking. Cigarette’s active substances are harmful to humans, which therefore affects the human’s brain, lungs, and heart.
Many people are addicted to morphine and heroin. Just like these two substances, cigarette smoking triggers the same effect, which is an addictive brain chemical that gives a smoker a feels good addiction (webmd.com). This is one of the new research results done in 2004. Based on the study, cigarette smoking stimulates the smoker’s brain to produce more opioids chemicals. On one hand, these chemicals are responsible with soothing a person’s pain and create a positive emotion in which both heroin and morphine set off the same chemical flow (webmd.com). On the other hand, smoking directly damages the brain. Recent studies found that a tobacco substance is provoking white blood cells in the human’s central nervous system and attacking healthy cells (sciencedaily.com). This event will cause a severe neurological damage. Therefore, as a person continuously smokes cigarette and more cigarette substance intake is present, the chance of having a damaged brain will most likely to happen.
Initially, there was some research regarding smoking’s effect on the human brain. Secondly, smoking also affects the human lungs as it is the first internal organ that the smoke reaches once inhaled. That is why it seriously harms our lungs when we smoke. In support of this claim, the Canadian Lung Association suggests that cigarette smoking will damage our lungs’ natural repair and cleaning system in which the chemicals are also being trapped inside (lung.ca). These chemicals are the common causes of cancer of the lungs. As a result, smokers are at risks of this fatal disease with constant smoking. That is why the government and other organizations keep on reminding about cigarette’s harmful effects such as the permanent damage of the lungs’ air sacs, which makes breathing more difficult.
Lastly, smoking also affects human heart. Many people are aware that smoking causes lung problems and breathing problems, but only some people smoking also increases the chance of heart disease (texasheart.org). Based on the studies, smoking tightens our major arteries, increase heart rate, and causes irregular rhythm of the heart (texasheart.org). Therefore, these effects would make it harder for our heart to normally do its job, which is to sustain blood flow and circulation. As a result, blood pressure will rise and therefore increases the risk of stroke for smokers who have existing heart problems. That is why nicotine, which is the active substance of the cigarette, not only increases the smoker’s craving for a cigarette, but it also increases the smoking-related diseases among smokers.
Conclusion
Since cigarette there are many studies that were conducted regarding cigarette smoking, it is safe to conclude that cigarette smoking is a killer of many people around the world. It is not just because of the actual smoke that triggers diseases, but the chemical compounds that go deep in our body system. These chemicals are the ones affecting our internal organs, which make it harder for brain, lungs, and heart to function normally. That is why the long-run results of cigarette smoking are harmful diseases.
Works Cited
Canadian Lung Association. "How Smoking Hurts Your Health." Canadian Lung Association - Fighting Lung Disease for Over 100 Years. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Davis, Jeanie L. "Smoking Cigarettes Affects Brain Like Heroin." WebMD - Better information. Better health. N.p., 27 Oct. 2004. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Science Daily. "Smoking Linked To Brain Damage." ScienceDaily. N.p., 23 June 2009. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Texas Heart Institute. "Smoking and Your Heart Heart Information Center." Texas Heart Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
