Looking around the world today, it is almost impossible to find a place where someone is not smoking cigarettes. Even with all the news coverage and stories told of the harmful affects of this addiction, people still can’t seem to stop themselves from lighting one up over and over again and although it has risen slightly, the age at which smoking starts is still alarming. Most smokers try their first cigarette before the age of 18 and become addicted during their adolescence. Studies of smokers have indicated that the younger the age someone starts smoking, the greater the risk for development of a nicotine dependence. There is nothing good that comes from smoking cigarettes and the unfortunate outcome for most is far worse.
The negative effects of smoking and the link between it and lung cancer have been known for quite a while. The first campaigns for kicking the habit first started in the 1950’s although back then, the link between smoking and lung cancer and the education to the masses was still not strong enough for people to pay attention or even care. The 1980’s were the beginning of real attempts to educate people about the links of smoking and the maladies that are associated. Lung, throat and stomach cancer, heart disease and stroke are the main causes of death that can come with long term smoking. On average, adults who smoke die 14 years earlier than non-smokers. Based on current cigarette smoking patterns, an estimated 25 million Americans who are alive today will die prematurely of smoking-related illnesses, including 5 million people younger than 18 years of age. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010)
Cigarette smoking is bad for the community as well. Second hand smoke, smoke that is exhaled and inhaled by someone else, can cause damage as well. It accounts for 3,400 deaths from lung cancer and 46,000 deaths from heart disease annually. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010) Unfortunately, many of these deaths are those of children as they grow older who have been slowly killed by a parent who smokes. A mature adult takes up to 14-18 times a minute and a newborn can take up to 60 breaths a minute and children 5 to teenage years usually take between 20-60. (Martin, Terry 2010) so although the newborn or child is not smoking directly, those exposed to smoking actually take in as much if not more cigarette smoke than the parent actually smoking. This is a sad reality and the parent is usually aware of what they are doing to their children but the addiction seems to always win and take precedence.
People who smoke cigarettes also need to think about the quality years they are taking away with their children and the fun they could be having. Just one cigarette can take away minutes from your life so the math is not difficult if you've been smoking for years. Ten million cigarettes are sold every minute worldwide (Research Team ygoy.com) which means millions of lives are being shortened every day. The children of these affected will be forced to watch their parent(s) kill themselves slowly over time and feel the fear of helplessness watching the one they count on the most.
As a society, we should care that our children are being exposed to such an easy access drug as well. Cigarettes can now be bought in most any convenience store, grocery store or gas station. They see it on the streets, they see it on TV and they see it in movies. We cannot always be around as our children get older so it is important that we educate them as best we can, as early as we can.
People who smoke usually grow an addiction to more than the chemical, they also grow a habit of having something in their mouth or the act of bringing something to their mouths. Behavioral sequences involved in lighting and inhaling and extinguishing smokes have a grammar and syntax all of their own, especially when they interact with the smokers life circumstances. (Jansen PHD, Robert D., 2003) This is one of the main reasons why someone who tries to quit smoking puts on weight. They try to compensate for the act of bringing a cigarette to their mouths by bringing food to their mouths. This is also a reason why there is such an obesity problem in the United States.
For the sake of our children and our children's children, it is important that we take the first step in slowing the use of the cigarettes so that they will hopefully will never have to watch, as many of them do, a loved one or even themselves fall victim to the most deadly habit that has taken more lives than all other drugs combined. With so much information and resources available to the world today to those who wish to quit, the only thing getting in the way of someone stopping is themselves. Life is more important than lighting up and there are more important things in our lives that we need to think about.
Works cited:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010, Smoking and Tobacco Use, Smoking Deaths (1-4), Second-Hand Smoke Deaths (1-2), Retrieved from CDC.gov
Martin, Terry. Smoking Cessation, Second Hand Smoke and Children. web June 28, 2010. Retrieved from About.com (4-7) http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/secondhandsmoke/a/smokeandkids.htm
Admin. ygoy.com. Smoking Statistics-General Facts, Smoking Cessation. Poll taken 2008. (7) Retrieved from http://smoking.ygoy.com/smoking-statistics-general-facts/
Jansen PhD, Robert D., The Psychology of Smoking, Copyright 2003, Excerpt One, Smoking sequences (1-2)
