Addictions

Every cigarette shortens the life by 14 minutes. A person, who smokes, is ten times more likely to die from lung cancer compared to a non-smoker. On average, smoking removes 15 years from a smoker’s expected life span.

Smoking is a slow process of eventually killing yourself. Smoking has a lot of malicious effects. The smoke produced by a cigarette, not only induces the smoker but also the person standing next to the deadly smoker. The number of people addicted to smoking tobacco has increased highly over the last 5 years. Social problems and media are major reasons for this increase. Smoking, especially teenagers, has become a big problem now days in the developed countries like United States of America. Attempts are being made by trusted organizations, to prohibit teenagers from this deadly addiction, but the conclusion remains the same, FAILURE.
Smokers are every where with their foggy sphere of cigarette smoke. Tobacco smoke contributes to a number of cancers, especially lung cancer. There are more than 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, including 43 known cancer-causing compounds. With the smoke, the tar also enters the lungs and the bloodstream. The tar is sticky and settles into the lungs (Smokers lungs are black in color) as well as the bloodstream. The tar becomes an obstacle in the bloodstream for the free flowing blood and blocks it. Blood is a great necessity for the heart to function. As the supply of blood is minimized, the smoker can get a heart attack or a stroke. A smoker’s heart beats three times faster than a normal heart which can cause a lot of pressure or stress for the sensitive internal organs. Smoking can reduce the lung function and the lung growth in teenagers. Smoking can be extremely perilous at the time of pregnancy. Smoking raises the level of carbon monoxide in mother’s blood providing less oxygen to the baby. The blood is also mixed with deadly chemicals which greatly affect the delicate baby. In detail, cigarette causes lung cancer, mouth cancer, kidney cancer, asthma, restlessness, fatigue, headache and many other physical as well as mental problems.

Every cigarette shortens the life by 14 minutes. A person, who smokes, is ten times more likely to die from lung cancer compared to a non-smoker. On average, smoking removes 15 years from a smoker’s expected life span. Smoking causes around one in five deaths from heart diseases. One in two lifetime smokers will die from their habit. Half of these deaths will occur in middle ages. Smoking is a true addiction of nicotine and is more powerful than the addiction of alcohol and cocaine. Everyday, 3000 teenagers get addicted to cigarettes. Smoking can be an initiation towards drugs. Teenagers who smoke are three times more likely than non-smokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and twenty-two times more likely to use cocaine. Alcohol and cigarettes are a deadly duo. Smoking can be also associated with other risky behaviors, such as fighting. In younger people, three out of four deaths from heart diseases are due to smoking.

Smokers tend to incur more medical costs than non-smokers. A smoker takes more time to recover from his illness compared to a non-smoker. Teenage smokers are more likely to see a doctor due to emotional problems. A major problem, which is being faced by several countries, is the banning of tobacco advertising which greatly influences the customers, especially the teenagers. As I told you, 3000 children start smoking everyday. These kids, who start smoking, are generally between the ages of 10 and 18. The kids account 90 percent of all new smokers. These 90 percent of the kids are inspired by the commercial (Advertising) shown on the television, which consist of cartoon characters. These statistics clearly show the target of the tobacco companies. When the kids were asked why they started smoking, they gave two reasons: They wanted to be a part of the crowd. Children don’t want to be left out, they want to be wanted. The second reason was that they feel smoking is the sign of independence. Now days, governments in developed countries are banning the use of cigarettes in commercial or public places, such as airports or train stations.

The malicious effect can be easily figured out. If, the life moves the same way, soon there will be no teenagers left to carry on the further generations. Later, the babies can also be borne deformed or handicap in some way. If you stop smoking, your risk of heart disease can reduce by half within a year of quitting, and get back to normal after fifteen years of giving up cigarettes. You can also greatly reduce your chances of getting cancer.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 11:38 am and is filed under Addictions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.