What Effect Does Smoking Have on Society?

What effect does Smoking have on Society?

Smoking is a terrible habit, which 1.2 billion humans are addicted to. This is a terrible habit, and is in no way beneficial to the smoker, nor to the society around him. Smoking is known to be deadly for smokers, as well as damaging for those around them. Many people have trouble quitting the habit, because it is so addicting. However, science has enabled a fair amount of solutions to solve the smoking problem, by making people aware of the damage it does on the smokers, as well as the non-smokers who inhale it.

The reason smoking is so terrible, is the effect it has on the body. Smoking leads to various diseases. The main diseases caused by smoking are normally lung cancer, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases. In a study done by G Wannamethee and A.G Sharper 7735 smoking men ages 40-59 were examined and the result that came out was that in the next 10 years 660 of them passed away due to smoking-related diseases. It was also found out that the lighter the smoker is, the higher the mortality is. The lean men normally got diseases such as lung cancer and respiratory diseases, while in obese men the deaths were mostly due to cardiovascular diseases. Smoking can also extremely damage the lungs. A smoker's lungs will be black, while non-smokers lungs will be the normal colored white. Cigarette smoke contains tar, which makes the lungs turn black. The cilia in the lungs are damaged, and there are far less cilia in a smokers lungs. "The cilia sweep mucous produced in the goblet cells, as well as mucous coming from deeper glands within the lungs and particulate matter trapped in mucous" (Joel, whyquit.com). A smokers lungs doesn't only contain less cilia, the ones they have are also damaged and not well functioning. Chemicals in tobacco smoke are toxic to cilia, which then destroys them. When the cilia is damaged or gone, mucous will build up in small airways, which makes breathing harder. The smoker is also almost defenseless if the lung is infected, because there are no more parts to fight disease.

Smoking also affects non-smokers who inhale the smoke of a cigarette. Per eight smokers who are killed by smoking, one none smoker is killed by Second hand smoke (No-smoke.org). This is devastating, and shows that smokers get other people killed because of their addiction. As no-smoke.org shows, if one is exposed to secondhand smoke for 30 minutes, heart damage can be caused, which is similar to the damage of smokers. Secondhand smoke is also as damaging to a fetus "as if the mother were inhaling the smoke directly."(no-smoke.org) Secondhand smoke exposure can also lead to spinal pain, pulmonary disease, asthma, lung cancer, nasal cancer, heart diseases and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. This information has all been acquired by science, and scientific examinations, which shows how beneficial science is to finding out more about secondhand smoking.

I think if people are exposed to this knowledge, they are more likely not to smoke. However if they already smoke it is a different story. Many smokers are ignorant to such information and do not want to change their habit. To non-smokers who are asked to smoke, this information could certainly help them decide not to smoke, because of the terrible outcomes they have learnt about.

Our knowledge of science has definitely contributed in solving the health problems associated with smoking. An example of this is te nicotine patch. This invention was produced and tested by scientists willing to fight against smoking. The nicotine patch is a small patch to be stuck on

the arm, which releases nicotine into body through skin. As said on wikipedia, the patches come with different amounts of nicotine in them, such as 21, 14 and 7 mg. A cigarette releases 1 mg, so someone who smoked around a pack a day, would use a 21 mg patch to start off with, and then ration it down to a 14 after, perhaps a week. For heavy smokers, the nicotine patches cost less than the cigarettes, however for light smokers, the patches would cost more. A survey shows that nicotine replacement products such as nicotine patches, result in 7% of all users quitting, for at least 6 months. This doesn't seem like a lot, but it is better than 0%. Another replacement product, which has contributed to these 7%, is the herbal cigarette. These cigarettes contain a type of herbs instead of nicotine and tobacco. They usually contain caffeine to improve the mood and stimulate a feeling smoking transmits. These cigarettes aren't as popular because of the different taste, however are used by various people, and contribute to people quitting smoking. Science has helped solving the health problems, and these two products are only examples. Without science, nobody