Introduction:

Tobacco is a plant of the night shade family. The term is applied also to the cured and processed leaves of a certain varieties of the plant, which are used in the manufacture of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff. Nicotine, an alkaloid contained in the tobacco, is used for medical purposes and as an insecticide.

Tobacco is one of the most important commodities in world trade, and is of major importance in the economy of almost all countries in the world. People smoke tobacco for them to be relieved from anxiety, stress and depression. They use this to relax their selves whenever they feel they pressured and stressed out. Some uses this as a status quo and as a sign for masculinity. For some men, a true man smokes like a chimney. But for many scientists and psychologists, that notion is definitely wrong.

The effects of tobacco on health have been disputed from the time tobacco was introduced. Scientific investigations on the relationship of tobacco to lung cancer and other diseases such as heart diseases began around in 1900 when an increase in this certain kinds of Cancers increased and was noted by medical authorities.

Of all the different uses of tobacco, cigarette smoking has been found to be the most hazardous. Although less research has been done on cigar and pipe smoking, these uses are believed to be less hazardous, largely because pipe and cigar smokers do not usually inhale. Chewing tobacco and snuff can increase the risk of developing Cancer of the mouth, throat, cheeks, gums, lungs and the heart as well.

As a result of the research, many health agencies throughout the world have issued warnings to the public that smoking is dangerous to the health. In 1965 act of Congress required that cigarette manufacturers put the following warning on cigarette packages: “Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health.” Another congressional act, effective in 1971, banned television and radio advertising of cigarettes and required a somewhat

stronger warning on cigarette packages: “Warning: The Surgeon General Has determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health.”

In 1984, an act of Congress required cigarette manufacturers to submit a list of chemical substances added to tobacco and required cigarette packages to carry one of the following warning signs on a rotating basis: “Surgeon General’s Warning: Smoking Cause Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema and May Complicate Pregnancy”; “Surgeon General’s Warning: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health”; “Surgeon

General’s Warning: Smoking by Pregnant Women May Result IN Fetal Injury, Premature Birth and Low Birth Weight”; and “Surgeon General’s Warning: Cigarette Smoking Contains Carbon Monoxide.
Discussion

Smoking and Disease:

Evidence in the Surgeon General’s report and in numerous other reports shows that cigarette smokers are much likely to develop, or to die from, such as diseases as lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, coronary artery disease, and emphysema than are nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking has been linked to cancer of the larynx, pharynx, oral cavity, esophagus, pancreas, and bladder.

The likelihood that these diseases will occur or develop increases with the number of cigarettes smoked daily, the number of years of smoking, and

age at initiation of smoking. Persons who stop smoking, no matter how many years they have been smoking, considerably lessen their chances of developing those diseases linked with smoking.

Smoking and Pregnancy:

Evidence shows that pregnant women who smoke may cause health problems in their unborn babies. According to this evidence, smoking during the pregnancy retards the fetal growth and development, increases the risk of fetal and infant death, and increases the likelihood or respiratory and cardiovascular problems during childhood.

Effects of Smoking in the Cardiovascular:

Cigarette smoke is composed of various gases and minute particles of solid substances. When smoke is drawn into the mouth and throat various portions of the smoke condense on the body parts exposed to the smoke to from a yellowish- brown material known as tar.

More particles and gases are retained if the smoke is inhaled and if the cigarette is smoked to the very end. During inhalation, up to 70 per cent of the particles are retained in the respiratory tract. The specific amount of gases retained, however, is not definitely known. Filters have been added to some cigarettes, but their effectiveness in screening out tars and gases varies

greatly from brand to brand, and there is no evidence that even best filters eliminate the harmful ingredients of smoke.

More than 3,000 chemical compounds have been identified in tobacco smoke. Several of these have been linked to the development of specific diseases. Of the gases Carbon Monoxide, Hydrogen Cyanide, and Nitrogen Oxide are the most hazardous to health. Carbon Monoxide is the main contributor to arteriosclerosis; hydrogen cyanide causes respiratory complications; nitrogen oxide promotes pulmonary disease and emphysema.

Particulate matter also contains harmful chemical compounds. Tar is a general term for hundreds of carcinogenic agents in the particulate matter. It is able to penetrate to the far recesses of the lungs and heart, thus increasing the chance for heart disease for people who smoke.

Of the many components of cigarette smoke, nicotine has received special attention. Nicotine has some physiological effects on the body. It acts as a stimulant and also as a depressant. Nicotine may cause such effects such as an increase in the heartbeat rate, an elevation of blood pressure, and increases in the demand for oxygen by the heart.

Carbon Monoxide take control over oxygen supply on the erythrocytes. It then hinders the blood to supply oxygen through out the body,

to the cardiovascular system specifically. It also elevates the number of lactate in the person’s blood. A person who smokes likely develops irregular heart beat and thus leading to the person to develop certain kinds of heart diseases.

Smoking triggers formation of wounds or marks in the arteries and necrosis. Smoking also leads to ischemia which in return leads to a heart attack. It causes atherosclerosis, which is one of the causes a person to have a heart attack in the future.

Smoking as a Habit:

Smoking is a habit difficult to break because it is based on such psychological factors as oral gratification and such social factors as imitation of the smoking patterns of parents or friends. Also, scientists believed that the habit is reinforced by the action of nicotine on the Central Nervous System. Much research, however, needs to be done before there is a complete understanding of why smoking becomes a habit.

The only effective way to stop smoking is through motivation, willpower, and the support of the family and friends. For those who cannot break the habit, doctors recommend they reduce the number of cigarettes, smoke less of each cigarette, and stop inhaling.

Reference:
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Berger, Gilda. Smoking Not Allowed: the Debate. Watts, 1987.
Brean, Herbert. How to Stop Smoking, revised edition. Pocket Books, 1984.
Taylor, Peter. The Smoke Ring: Tobacco, Money, and Multinational Politics. Pantheon Books, 1984.
American Cancer Society. 2007. Tobacco and Cancer. 30 Oct. 2007

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/ped_10.asp?sitearea=PED
Tobacco Scam. 2002. A Little is Dangerous. 30 Oct. 2007. http://www.tobaccoscam.ucsf.edu/Secondhand/Secondhand_lid.cfm
The Partnership of a Drug Free America. 2007. Tobacco. 30 Oct. 2007.

http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/drug_guide/Tobacco
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