Health issues
Nearly all the body parts are affected by smoking. Starting from the head all the way down, smoking affects the functioning of these body organs. To begin with, as a person smokes, the smoke passes through the mouth to the other parts of the respiratory system. The mouth is therefore the first organ to be exposed to risk of infection. Cancer of the mouth is one of the most common types of diseases affecting smoking individuals (Anderson 15). This is because the chemicals contained in cigarettes causes the antibodies on the surfaces of the mouth to die. This thus leaves the mouth prone to infection.
Gum disease is also another common type of illness associated with smoking (Anderson 15). As the smoke passes through the mouth, the high temperatures from the cigarettes causes great chemical reactions that eventually release tar as the by product. This tar falls on the gum and may cause the gum to be infected. Tooth decay due to the tar is also a common effect of smoking. The tar accumulates between the teeth and gradually penetrates to the roots of the teeth from where they affect the dental cavities. Bad breath from these cigarette chemicals is also very common.
When the smoke moves from the mouth, it reaches the lungs and the bronchi. The bronchi are the breathing tubes and their work is to pass the inhaled air into the alveoli, which in turn transfers this air into the blood stream. As one smokes, the tar gets past the mouth into the bronchi. This tar causes the bronchi to be constricted and in effect reduce the amount of air reaching the alveoli. In addition, their walls may be attacked by hydrogen cyanide, one of the many chemicals contained in a cigarette and this causes the inflammation of the bronchi (Anderson 14). The mucous that is generated to perform among other roles the elimination of particles, ceases to be generated and a smoker develops a cough. This interference of the breathing system may lead to stroke due to shortness of breath and lack of enough oxygen on the head.
The heart is another organ that is very important in a human being. The problem tough is that, smoking interferes with its normal operations. By having nicotine in the cigarettes, the blood pressure rises. This thus causes the blood to clot more easily than in a normal person. As a result, the heart is left with the sole responsibility of pumping blood at an increased rate and this may wear off the heart muscles and a heart attack may occur. Carbon dioxide is another chemical that is produced when a cigarette is lit. The carbon dioxide levels rise above those of oxygen in the body and this causes cholesterol to be deposited on the walls of the artery. This also increases the risks of heart attack. The digestive system is also affected when the tar from the cigarette falls to the stomach. The resulting effect could either be cancer of the esophagus, heartburn and ulcers. Pancreatic failure is also common for the smokers.
Other than the smokers, the non smokers are equally affected by second-hand smoke (Sherman 1). When an individual takes in air filled up with cigarette smoke, the person is exposed to both the chemicals from the cigarette, and those from the smoker’s lungs. The non smoker therefore gets smoke related chemicals than the smokers and hence the call for illegalizing smoking.
According to studies conducted by Menzies et al, a ban on smoking proved to be effective in reducing respiratory-related infections among the non smokers (1746). As a person smokes, the exhaled air comes out with a combination of the toxic gases equivalent to that inhaled by a smoker. As people smoked in public places, the non smokers were greatly affected since they also inhaled contaminated air. This led to individuals non smoking individuals developing respiratory-related infections. Therefore, if smoking was to be banned, then diseases like coronary heart disease would reduce (Khuder et al 5). Coronary heart disease is a terminal disease since it involves the constriction of the blood vessels feeding the heart with oxygen and blood. When these vessels are constricted, the heart fails to receive the required amounts of blood and oxygen and this may result to heart failure.
The United States has had a long struggle aimed at regulating or even, if need be, illegalizing smoking. With increased number of teenage and underage smoking, the citizens have been adversely affected by smoking (Wilson A1). This over usage of tobacco-related products deemed to cause premature deaths of these teenagers. According to Wilson, there are expected to be 46,000 premature deaths annually. These numbers were calculated for every class in high school nationally. The findings show that smoking not only affects the adults, but also the underage, whose numbers are steadily increasing and hence the need to call for its illegalization.
For the children born of smokers, dangers of getting sudden death infant syndrome are very high as compared to the children of non smokers. In addition, these children are also at a higher risk of getting respiratory infections, lung cancer and ear-related infections. The diseases mentioned above are some of the most terminal diseases in the world. In addition, these diseases attack the most vital organs of the body like the lungs, heart and the brain. For this reason, smoking is a killer disease and
Social and Psychological Effects
Smoking has been known to have altered the social lives of many smoking and non smoking individuals. Firstly, cigarettes have nicotine, which is a psychoactive drug. The drug enters the bloodstream and causes the smoker to develop dependence on the drug. This dependence reaches a certain extent when a person requires the drug in order to perform normally.
The dependence on a substance for performance reduces the social responsibilities and may even detach a person from reality. The non smokers are affected when there are smokers in a public place. This is because normal social activities cannot proceed in uncomfortable conditions which are brought about by the cigarette smoke. Smoking requires spending a lot of money especially upon getting addicted. This thus influences the spending by individuals on cigarettes instead of fulfilling certain social responsibilities.
Annotated Bibliography
Anderson, Judith. Smoking. London, UK: Franklin Watts, 2004. Print.
This book contains all the information about smoking. The book is systematically written with aims of enlightening individuals about smoking. Starting with the history of smoking, the book smoothly makes a transition to all what happens when people smoke. I used this book because the contents herein illustrated all what smoking does in a human body. By finding about these effects, I was in a position to establish why smoking should be illegalized especially that no positive effect was found to come from smoking.
Sherman, Ted. Why smoking should be banned in all public places. 2009. Web. 23 February, 2011.
The information contained in this site is aimed at making people aware of the hazards of second-hand smoke. The site states that smoking is harmful to not only the smoker, but also to those people around the smoker. The site explains about the increased risk rates of smoking to children and the aged. By using this site, I was in a position to fully understand that allowing people to smoke would not only endanger their lives, but most importantly, the lives of the non smokers.
Wilson, Duff. “Teenage Smoking Rates Spur Calls to Renew Anti-Tobacco
Campaigns”. New York Times 8 July. 2010: A1. Print.
This newspaper article contains information about the rising rates of teenage smoking. The article is well detailed with additional information from medical experts on the expected effects of this rise in teenage smoking. The newspaper article has information about the rising rates of teenage smoking, a shocking revelation for the society. I chose to use this article in order to back up my call for the illegalization of smoking, failure to which, the younger generation is bound to perish. I was also in a position to fully understand how smoking lowers the mortality rate of smokers. With this information, I concluded that banning of smoking could save lives.
Khuder, Sadik. K, Shery Milz, Timothy Jordan, James Price, Kathi Silvestri and Pam
Butler. “The impact of a smoking ban on hospital admissions for coronary
heart disease”. Journal of Preventive Medicine 45, 1(2007): 3-8. Print.
The article above contains information about the effects of banning smoking by analyzing the change in the levels of hospital admissions for coronary heart disease. The article seeks to find a relationship between the disease and smoking. Using some good research methodologies, the article gives accurate information and illustrates a drop in the number of patients with coronary heart disease. The reason as to why I decided to use this article is to elaborate on the expected changes in case smoking was banned. By illustrating a drop in the coronary heart infections, I was in a position to appreciate the essence of uncontaminated air.
Menzies, Daniel, Arun Nair, Peter A. Williamson, Stuart Schembri, Mudher Z. H.
“Respiratory Symptoms, Pulmonary Function, and Markers of Inflammation
Among Bar Workers Before and After a Legislative Ban on Smoking in Public
Places”. JAMA 296, 14 (2006): 1742-1748. Print.
The article above contains information about the effects of banning smoking by analyzing the change in the levels of respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function, and markers of inflammation among bar workers before and after a legislative ban on smoking in public places. After conducting the research, the cases of infections were found to have reduced. This thus meant that smoking had hitherto contributed to the rise in infections especially among the non smokers. I found this article useful since it elaborated on the effects of second hand smoke. By illustrating a drop in the number of infections, the article helped in illustrating that second hand smoke was equally dangerous and should therefore be banned.
