Abstract
This paper attempts to persuade young adults to refrain from or to quit smoking. It mentions the reasons why young people should quit smoking, and touches on the harmful effects of this practice. It outlines the powerful effects of nicotine and why this substance makes it difficult for people to break the smoking habit, even though they are fully aware of the adverse effects on their health.
Despite the high level of public awareness in the United States about the harmful effects of smoking, tobacco consumption remains the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States (Surgeon General, 2004). According to the Surgeon General (2004), smoking is responsible for many types of cancers: bladder and cervical cancer, cancer of the larynx, and pulmonary cancer among others. This report also adds that smoking is also responsible for strokes, coronary heart disease, reduced fertility in women and nuclear cataracts. Yet, while today’s teens and young adults have instant access to information on the harmful effects of smoking and on millions of other topics, they also get the message that smoking is cool because they see their favorite actors lighting up; they also see compelling ads that make them want to be like their idols, their close friends or relatives. The 2012 Surgeon General Report states that more than 600,000 middle school students and three million high school students smoke cigarettes. If you are considering taking up the habit of smoking, or worse yet, if you are already a smoker, I urge you to consider the realities about smoking and the powerful addictive effects of nicotine before yourr health is irreversibly affected.
The younger you are when you start smoking, the probability that you become addicted to nicotine will increase as well as your level of addiction. (Surgeon General, 2012). In addition, the likelihood that you become addicted to nicotine and a life time smoker will be higher if you start smoking as a teen ager (Surgeon General, 2012. You might ask, how does nicotine work to cause such dreadful damage to your health? Nicotine is a powerful drug that accelerates the brain and nervous system. It triggers the release of dopamine, a chemical that sparks your mood, makes you feel relaxed and at the same time makes you feel more alert. . Over time, your brain adapts to the nicotine stimulus and your natural energy level begins to drop. Your appetite for cigarettes will increase because your body begins to demand that extra energy lift. The more you smoke the more nicotine your body will need to function properly. Soon, your appetite for nicotine to feel good will reach the point where you will experience withdrawal symptoms because your system will not tolerate being without nicotine for even a few hours (Canadian Lung Association, 2013). Some of the withdrawal symptoms you might experience include headaches, depression, anger, anxiety, and inability to concentrate. (National Cancer Institute, 2010)
Health professionals emphasize that quitting smoking is beneficial at any age. Furthermore, smokers who quit before age thirty-five have mortality rates similar to those who have never smoked (CDC, 2011). You should also keep in mind that smoking not only causes nicotine addiction: it inevitably causes death from one of the above mentioned diseases. You should keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive. The harmful effects from cigarette smoking are responsible for an estimated 443,000 deaths, that is, nearly one of every five deaths, each year in the United States (Center for Disease Control, 2012). As a young adult it seems easy to take all kinds of risks, even with your health, but if you consider the reasons for quitting you will most likely not want to become another statistic.
Smoking affects the physical appearance of your body: your hair, clothes and breath smell. Though you may not notice it, other people will. Smoking also turns your teeth and nails yellow (Young Adult Health, 2013). While improving your physical appearance may seem a relatively weak reason to quit, The American Lung Association mentions other powerful reasons to quit, but of course, you should also come up with your very own personal reasons if you really want to stop smoking. According to this organization, quitting smoking will automatically improve the quality and length of your life. As soon as you quit, your body will recover from the damage caused by smoking. Another important reason to quit smoking is the financial savings you will achieve when you no longer have use up valuable resources to buy cigarettes. Even if you only paid $5:00 for a pack of cigarettes, this adds up to $1,825.00 each year. Keep in mind that as public awareness about the harmful effects of smoking increases and smoking becomes less socially accepted, state governments have started putting into place restrictions on smoking in public buildings such as restaurants and government offices in order to discourage smoking, Finally, you should think about your family and friends who will most likely become sick from inhaling the smoke from your cigarettes..
As a smoker you will need to be prepared to make several attempts to quit because the withdrawal symptoms you will experience may prevent you from succeeding the first time around. You will need to think hard about the reasons that led you to smoke. Is it because most of your friends smoke and you don’t want to be different from them? Are you rebelling against your family Do you want to experience the thrill of doing something forbidden? Are there situations at home or at school that are causing you to feel stressed out? If you are unable to determine the causes of your smoking it will be more difficult to achieve success. Think about enrolling in a smoke cessation program where you will receive the necessary support.
Keep in mind that smoking, like weight loss or alcoholism requires a strong personal commitment over a long period of time. As the nicotine gets out of your system, you will breathe and sleep better. Your sense of taste will become more acute allowing you to enjoy better your favorite foods; your sense of smell will also improve. You will have a renewed appreciation for nature and you will feel more energetic (American Lung Association).
References
American Lung Association (n.d.) Why Quit Smoking. Retrieved May 1, 2013 from http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/how-to-quit/why-quit/
Canadian Lung Association (2013). Smoking and Tobacco. Retrieved May 1, 2013 from http://www.lung.ca/protect-protegez/tobacco-tabagisme/facts- faits/addicted-dependant_e.php
Center for Disease Control (2011, November 11). Quitting Smoking among Adults—United States, 2001-2010. Retrieved April 27, 2013 from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6044a2.htm?s_cid=%20mm6044a2.h tm_w
Center for Disease Control (2012). Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking. Retrieved May 1, 2013 from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_ effects/effects_cig_smoking/
National Cancer Institute (2010, October 29). How to Handle Withdrawal Symptoms and Triggers When You Decide to Quit Smoking. Retrieved April 29, 2013 from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/symptoms-triggers-quitting
Surgeon General (2004, May 27). The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Retrieved April 27, 2013 from http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/smokingconsequences/index.html
Surgeon General. 2012 Surgeon General’s Report—Preventing Tobacco Use among Youth and Young Adults. Retrieved April 28, 2013 from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2012/index.htm
Young Adults Health (2013). Why Should You Give up Smoking? Retrieved May 1, 2013 from http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=240&np=158&id=2099
