Smoking – Paper 2

SMOKING

A very good morning/afternoon to my fellow colleaguesThe topic that you are going to hear from me today is smoking. Smoking may sound very common to you but let me ask you how many of you out there actually pay attention to this issue and what are you doing about it as responsible adults?

Before I go on with the topic ,lets have a look at what it means by smoking?Smoking is a practice where a substance, most commonly tobacco, is burned and the smoke tasted or inhaled. This is primarily done as a form of recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them available for absorption through the lungs. It can also be done as a part of rituals, to induce trances and spiritual enlightenment. The most common method of smoking today is through cigarettes – either industrially manufactured or rolled with loose tobacco and a rolling paper, pipes, cigars, hookahs and bongs.

Smoking is one of the most common forms of recreational drug use. Tobacco smoking is today by far the most popular form of smoking and is practiced by over one billion people in the majority of all human societies. Less common drugs for smoking include cannabis and opium. Most drugs that are smoked are considered to be addictive. Some of the substances are classified as hard narcotics, like heroin and crack cocaine, but the use of these is very limited.

Smoking is a hard habit to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Like heroin or other addictive drugs, the body and mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person needs to have it just to feel normal.

The Essay on Emotional Distress Smoking Drug Behavior

For this final paper project I choose a very interesting topic known as a Substance-Related Disorders. In one word for some people using alcohol, smoking cigarettes or other drugs is apparently a harmless pleasure. For others it is extremely destructive for their health. The main point why I choose this topic is my own addiction to cigarettes. For long time I have tried a lots of different things ...

Now that you know what it means by smoking, lets me tell you briefly about the history of smoking. The history of smoking can be dated to as early as 5000 BC, and has been recorded in many different cultures across the world. Early smoking evolved in association with religious ceremonies; as offerings to deities, in cleansing rituals or to allow shamans and priests to alter their minds for purposes of divination or spiritual enlightenment. After the European exploration and conquest of the Americas, the practice of smoking tobacco quickly spread to the rest of the world. In regions like India and Subsaharan Africa, it merged with existing practices of smoking (mostly of cannabis).

In Europe, it introduced a new type of social activity and a form of drug intake that previously had been unknown.

The cultural perception surrounding smoking has varied over time and from one place to another; holy and sinful, sophisticated and vulgar, a panacea and deadly health hazard. The Malaysian government, on the other hand, has seen smoking to be viewed in a negative light and that is why you will see the warning that smoking is hazardous to health in every cigarette pack sold. Today medical studies have proven that smoking is among the leading causes of diseases such as lung cancer, heart attacks and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and can also lead to birth defects. The well-proven health hazards of smoking have caused many countries in the world to enforce high taxes on tobacco products and anti-smoking campaigns are launched every year in an attempt to curb smoking.

Why do people smoke when it is so bad for them? That is a question that everybody will most likely ask themselves. There is no definite answer, but people start smoking for a variety of different reasons.

Young people smoke to look mature since teens see older people all around them smoking, especially their parents and relatives. They smoke to act older and they think it’s a way to act or look like an adult. When these children see that their parents or adults around them can buy cigarettes and smoke pretty much anywhere — even in hospitals!, these adults set a role model to the children .While some children may start smoking just because they’re curious and to experiment. Besides, if their friends or peers smoke, they may feel pressured into doing the same to be accepted. Others may like the idea of doing something dangerous — something grownups don’t want them to do. It is the excitement of experimenting with something that is forbidden that trigger them to smoke. In addition, children from households where the parents and siblings smoke may learn the habit more frequently than children in smoke free homes.

The Essay on Main Idea Smoking Smoke People

Rob Burke Com 210 Mr. Hunt Persuasion speech Intro: Today I would like to inform you why cigarettes are bad, and why you shouldnt smoke. Did you know that smoking related deaths total up to the #1 cause of death in peoples. Not only can it effect you personally but it can also harm others around you. Main Idea I: Why do people even start smoking 1. ) Some start young because they think its cool a. ...

Statistics show that about 9 out of 10 tobacco users start before they’re 18 years old. Most adults who started smoking in their teens never expected to become addicted. That’s why people say it’s just so much easier to not start smoking at all. In The Star on Sunday 6 July 2008, reported that some 2.7 million Malaysians ‘burned’ about RM8 million worth of cigarettes a day and researches show that the Government is losing its fight against smoking. The National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2006, showed that smoking is increasingly prevalent among adults, or 21.5% of the population or 2.73 million adults in the country are smokers!

Advertisements are to blame as well for smoking as they are the medium to trigger the habit for smoking to the public. Advertisements that are directed to teens and young adults send out mixed messages that caused misinterpretation. The industry spends a great deal of money on making cigarettes seem glamorous, appealing, fashionable and attractive.They send out the message, “If you smoke, you will be popular, and desirable” without coming out and saying it. Instead they show people having fun with a large group, which makes teens and young adults think if they smoke, they too will be glamorous, appealing, fashionable and attractive. Many young smokers do not know that they will find it difficult to give up smoking in later life.

Lastly, many people claim that smoking helps them to cope with stress. But in fact, nicotine is a stimulant and won’t help them to relax. Smokers probably think a cigarette makes them feel better because when they aren’t smoking they suffer from nicotine withdrawal. Evidence shows that the so called relaxant effect of smoking only reflects the tension reversal and irritability that develop during the absence of nicotine. Instead of acting as an aid for mood control, nicotine dependency seems to increase stress.

The Essay on Teen Smoking Smoke People Smokers

... as more smokers started and lower prices would attract new smokers. All this smoke would just mean more pollution and death. Some people figure the ... that I should probably start with the causes of teen smoking. There are several factors that start teens on smoking cigarettes. There has to be ...

Now that you know why people start smoking, how can smoking effect the health?

There are no physical reasons to start smoking. The body doesn’t need tobacco the way it needs food, water, sleep, and exercise. In fact, many of the chemicals in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are actually poisons that can kill in high enough doses.

The body is smart. It goes on the defense when it’s being poisoned. For this reason, many people find it takes several tries to get started smoking: First-time smokers often feel pain or burning in the throat and lungs, and some people feel sick or even throw up the first few times they try tobacco.

The consequences of this poisoning happen gradually. Over the long term, smoking leads people to develop health problems like cancer, emphysema (breakdown of lung tissue), organ damage, and heart disease. These diseases limit a person’s ability to be normally active — and can be fatal. Each time a smoker lights up, that single cigarette takes about 5 to 20 minutes off the person’s life.

Smokers not only develop wrinkles and yellow teeth, they also lose bone density, which increases their risk of osteoporosis , a condition that causes older people to become bent over and their bones to break more easily. Smokers also tend to be less active than nonsmokers because smoking affects lung power.

Smoking can also cause fertility problems and can impact sexual health in both men and women. Girls who are on the pill or other hormone-based methods of birth control (like the patch or the ring) increase their risk of serious health problems, such as heart attacks, if they smoke.

The consequences of smoking may seem very far off, but long-term health problems aren’t the only hazard of smoking. Nicotine and the other toxins in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes can affect a person’s body quickly, which means that smokers experience many of these problems:

The Essay on Stop Smoking Smoke People Nicotine

"Every day three thousand kids become regular smokers, and a third of them will eventually die of nicotine-related causes." (web) Smoking is the leading cause of cancer in the United States and the rest of the world. Due to the studies of nicotine, doctors have been able to conclude that nicotine is the most addictive and most destructive legal drug today. If you smoke it would be a good idea to ...

• Bad skin. Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin — which is why smokers often appear pale and unhealthy. An Italian study also linked smoking to an increased risk of getting a type of skin rash called psoriasis.

• Bad breath. Cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath.

• Bad-smelling clothes and hair. The smell of stale smoke tends to linger — not just on people’s clothing, but on their hair, furniture, and cars. And it’s often hard to get the smell of smoke out.

• Reduced athletic performance. People who smoke usually can’t compete with nonsmoking peers because the physical effects of smoking (like rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath) impair sports performance.

• Greater risk of injury and slower healing time. Smoking affects the body’s ability to produce collagen, so common sports injuries, such as damage to tendons and ligaments, will heal more slowly in smokers than nonsmokers.

• Increased risk of illness. Studies show that smokers get more colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. And people with certain health conditions, like asthma, become more sick if they smoke (and often if they’re just around people who smoke).

Because teens who smoke as a way to manage weight often light up instead of eating, their bodies lack the nutrients they need to grow, develop, and fight off illness properly.

Now, that you’ve heard the reasons why people start smoking and the hazardous effects of it, what should we do as responsible adults to curb smoking in the society? As teachers, we should tackle the matter at grassroots so that means we should start it in our own schools. For starters we should start it off at small scale and later move on to bigger projects. Every single little thing goes a long way.

What is most important is to educate the students by making them involve to make our world smoke-free. Here are some simple ways for starters.

1. Create a cool school – Take a petition door-to-door for people to sign. Then take the petition to the school Parent-Teacher-Association board meeting and present it to school officials for a smoke free school.

The Essay on Hand Smoke Smoking People Second

Breathe Easy Stay Healthy People see it everyday, in the newspapers, the movies, on the news, and even in person. People smoking and others inhaling their second-hand smoke. The laws are buckling down on this, but there is still a lot to be done. Smoking is not only bad for a person, but second-hand smoke is turning out to be even worse. Second-hand smoke is worse because it contains more of the ...

2. Butt out – Write a letter to a favourite restaurant, asking them to go completely smoke-free. (Having a separate nonsmoking section does not eliminate your exposure to secondhand smoke. Just like you can’t put chlorine in half of a swimming pool, you can’t keep smoke in half of a room.) Tell them that when the air in their restaurant is clean, their food will taste better and that you’ll come back and bring your friends!

3. “Tak Nak” Campaign – Get the students to be involve with the “Tak Nak” campaign by contacting relevant agencies for the activities.

4. Stick Them Up – Paint posters to encourage younger students not to smoke. Plaster them all over the classroom, library, or canteen.

It’s not a myth anymore. You know that smoking will cause serious lung diseases such as lung cancer, emphysema, asthma, and many others. It’s no secret that tobacco smoke contains a large amount of toxic chemicals. Besides, smoking is a highly additive habit and most people who smoke find it very difficult to quit. The reason that it is so difficult to stop smoking is that the addiction is multifaceted: not only is there a physical addiction to the nicotine, but there is also a strong psychological component to the addiction as cigarettes are both legal. Other than that, in many situations socially it is acceptable. Hence, one should not pick up the habit in the first place regardless of the reason because once you start it, it will be very difficult to kick off the habit.

I hope you have a better insight of the topic smoking after listening to my speech today. With that, I bid you a very good day and thank you.