Tobacco smoking has been called the biggest single cause of preventable ill health and premature death in the United Kingdom (UK) (Department of Health in Naidoo and Wills, 2001). The UK is in the grip of a smoking epidemic: an estimated 106,000 people in the UK are dying needlessly each year because of smoking (Donalson, 2004). The negative effect smoking has on a body is almost common knowledge in England. But people continue to start and keep smoking. There must be some benefits. Smoking relieves stress (Lantry, 2009).
This is because cigarettes create the conditions that help the body deal with anxiety, stress and depression. Smoking relaxes breathing (Lantry, 2009). Smoking is a kind of breathing that slows the heart rate and relieves tension in the muscles, especially the neck and upper back, which tense up in stressful situations (Lantry, 200
...9). Some people smoke to control their weight. Smokers, on the average, weigh seven pounds less than non-smokers; smoking reduces a person’s appetite and also smoking lessens his/her sense of taste and smell (Lantry, 2009).
Sometimes smoking is a way to avoid feeling unpleasant emotions such as sadness and grief; it can hide apprehension, fears and pain (Fourman, 2010). This is accomplished partly through the chemical effect of nicotine on the brain (Domino, 2008). Smoking can help people to be a part of a group and can play an important role in friendship, while offering a cigarette or asking for a light can be ice-breakers to start a conversation (Lantry, 2009). However, smoking is the greatest cause of illness, because cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemicals, including over 50 known carcinogens and other poisons (Patient UK, 2008).
Major
diseases caused by smoking are: cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Petrie, 2005). Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death due to smoking (Petrie, 2005). Smokers are more likely to get cancer than non-smokers. This is particularly true of lung cancer, throat cancer and mouth cancer, which hardly ever affect non-smokers (Petrie, 2005). Also, smoking is the most common cause of emphysema and chronic bronchitis (Petrie, 2005).
Smokers are more likely than non-smokers to become impotent or have difficulty in aintaining an erection in middle life and their fertility is reduced (both male and female) (Casperson, 2009). Babies born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy are likely to be born prematurely and with a low weight (Owen, 2005). Women who smoke start their menopause nearly two years earlier than non-smokers (Patient UK, 2008). Other conditions where smoking often causes worse symptoms include: asthma, colds, flu, chest infections, tuberculosis, chronic rhinitis, diabetic retinopathy, hyperthyroidism, multiple sclerosis, optic neuritis and Cohn’s disease (Patient UK, 2008).
The side-stream smoke that comes off a cigarette between puffs carries a higher risk than directly inhaled smoke (Patient UK, 2008). Children who grow up in a home where one or both of their parents smoke have twice the risk of getting asthma and asthmatic bronchitis (Patient UK). For adults passive smoking seems to increase the risk of lung cancer (Patient UK). There are mental effects of smoking too. Smoking causes people to get addicted to it. This means that smokers depend on smoking to lead a normal life (Cleary et al, 2006).
If smokers do not smoke they get nervous and tense until they get their dose of nicotine (Cleary
et al, 2006). Smoking greatly decreases the brain’s performance, making people less effective in their work (Patient UK, 2008). Also smoking diversely affects the social life of people. Smoker’s breath, clothes, hair, skin and homes smell of tobacco and to non-smokers the smell is obvious and unpleasant. Potential friendships and romances may be at risk. Smoking affects a person’s looks: smokers have paler skin and more wrinkles. This is because smoking reduces the blood supply to the skin and lowers levels of vitamin A (Patient UK, 2008).
Bibliography
- http://www.seekwellness.com/mensexuality/ED-smoking.htm
- http://www.freewebs.com/smokingstubslives/thetruth.htm
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2631356/
- http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/pregnantsmoking.htm
- http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Smoking-The-Facts.htm
- http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/smokehealth.htm
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