Consequences of Smoking Cigarettes

Posted by Malwina Dymek in English 3 - Pahomov - C on Sunday, November 9, 2014 at 5:34 pm

A lot of people do not realize that they could have done something harmful to their body until something happens or they have health problems. There is a lot of things and actions that can cause cancer and one of them is smoking cigarettes. Most of the people smoke cigarettes without thinking what is the effect after smoking for a while, but also it makes them look older, and feel less stressed.

Most of the people just start as if nothing to worry about, but then they get addicted to Nicotine and it is hard for them to quit. In the PDF called A Comprehensive Adult Basic Education Curriculum, “There are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes. 51 of them are known to be carcinogenic. A carcinogen is something that causes cancer. Cancer is a disease that often kills those who have it.” What people breathe in while smoking is pretty scary. When humans smoke, all the harmful chemicals end up in the lungs, which is a major organ, and damages them after a long period of time. Smoking for not a long time does not mean there will not be any effects. Smoking for a short time will always leave some changes in the lungs, but it does not have to cause cancer right away. Cigarettes are not good for people because they harm their lungs, and such a damage is not worth it.

Adults and even teens smoke, but they do not exactly know why. Some just smoke to be cool like their friends, and others because of their stress and their addiction to Nicotine. A lot of people have to deal with a lot of situations where they can not help it and just go for a cigarette because it makes them feel good and more relaxed, but while smoking they do not think about what is happening to their lungs. In the PDF called A Comprehensive Adult Basic Education Curriculum, “Three of the main reasons that young people smoke are to look mature, to be like their friends, and to experiment… If their friends or peers smoke, they may feel pressured into doing the same to be accepted. The last reason is the excitement of experimenting with something that is forbidden.” Teens do not realize how cigarettes can affect them because they just want to be cool like their peers. They should be the ones to change it and not let people go with it, and show that it is not okay to smoke, even if they are teenagers because it is harmful for their health and lungs. Most of them do not realize it. Most of the reasons why people smoke cigarettes it’s because of their mind set. Psychology has to do with this because people think about cigarettes as something that it will keep them relaxed and be cool.

Chemicals added to cigarettes could be imagined just like in the lab. All chemicals react with one another. Chemicals in cigarettes do not work well in order to keep a person healthy. K. H. Ginzel, M.D. tells us what’s in cigarettes, “In contrast to other drugs, nicotine delivery from tobacco carries an ominous burden of chemical poisons and cancer-producing substances that boggle the mind. Many toxic agents are in a cigarette. However, additional toxicants are manufactured during the smoking process by the chemical reactions occurring in the glowing tip of the cigarette.” Smoking is not good for people. People just do not see how bad they can be to their health system. Smoking for a short or a long time is bad because no matter what people breathe in it is all the chemicals that cigarettes have. Cancer also spreads to other organs, but humans do not think about consequences of smoking.

In order to be healthy people need to look at the consequences some products might have if they choose to use them. Cigarettes are the ones that do have side effects. Usually they do not know that something is happening inside their body because it is not immediately visible while it is developing, but the symptoms do not appear until it is too late. Cigarettes can cause lung cancer. Cancer takes time to grow and it usually shows up out of nowhere. There are a lot of people that do not take care of their lungs because they think it will not affect them, or they will get lucky, but that is not promised. This behavior will continue as long as teens and adults let the psychological attraction of cigarettes outweigh the dangers. If smokers stopped to think about it, they would realize that cigarettes are not just about them or other smokers, but about kids and teens that do not smoke. Kids and teens that are not smoking, they see that their parents smoke and their parents show that it is okay to smoke, even though it is not. Just being around people who smoke is not good for their health systems.

Work Cited

"What's in a Cigarette." What's in a Cigarette. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

<http://healthliteracy.worlded.org/docs/tobacco/Unit4/1whats_in.html>

"What's in a Cigarette? - American Lung Association." American Lung Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

<http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/whats-in-a-cigarette.html>

"Cigarette Ingredients - Chemicals in Cigarettes." Cigarette Ingredients - Chemicals in Cigarettes. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014. <http://www.tricountycessation.org/tobaccofacts/Cigarette-Ingredients.html>

"What's In a Cigarette, 599 Ingredients in a Cigarette." What's In a Cigarette, 599 Ingredients in a Cigarette. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

<http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/whatsinit.htm>

"Smoking: Do You Really Know the Risks?" Smoking: Do You Really Know the Risks? N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

<http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/QuitSmoking/QuittingSmoking/Sm

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"Why Do People Try Smoking Even When They Know That It Is Bad for Them?" OxyGen. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.

<http://www.oxygen.org.au/smokefree/faqs/why-do-people-try-smoking.html>

Comments (4)

Myrna Yousuf

I think that this gives a thorough and well thought out explanation on the harmful effects of cigarettes and what are the consequences of it. While reading this I thought, even after knowing how harmful they are why do people still start smoking? I also think that a counter argument could be that people started to smoke before because it was something new and it was something that everyone did. Nowadays people know much more about what it causes, but they still continue to smoke.

Allison Kelly

I feel like this was a really good topic to choose considering how big of a topic it is and has become with this generation. There is a lot more information out now about the dangers of smoking than there was years ago so any paper demoting smoking and spreading the word about the risks is a good one. I really liked the use of the actually scary statistics to show the long term harm. I guess a counter-argument could be that people actually started because of the lack of information.

Jacklyn Middleswarth

While reading this I had the thought, why if we know so much about cigarettes and know they create cancer, and are pathogens to so many diseases, why don't we just stop creating them? A counter argument to this is that cigarettes are the best alternative form to drug abuse.

Huzaifah Malik

I wrote an essay related to this topic last year on electronic cigarettes and argued against the companies that make the products. I agree with you that people do not look at the consequences of these things. There is no doubt that tobacco smoking can not only lead to cancer but also other major diseases of cardiovascular, respiratory, pulmonary and other perilous health problems. Addiction of nicotine is something which is very dangerous and many people are unaware of it. It would be really difficult for a person who smokes every day and night, and telling them to quit the smoking could lead to their mental, emotional, or physical reactions. Overall I liked your paper but you could still expand on this.