Before I talk about the direct policy on smoking, I thought I would share some facts about tobacco. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among both men and women in the United States. Smoking-related deaths/health issues effect an estimated four hundred and thirty eight thousand American lives each year. Ninety percent of lung cancer deaths among men and eighty percent of lung cancer deaths among women are attributed to smoking. People who smoke are up to six times more likely to suffer a heart attack than nonsmokers, and the risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked.
The American Cancer Society states that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. Cigarette smoking is directly responsible for 87% of lung cancer cases in the United States annually. Secondhand smoke, which is the inhalation of smoke from another’s smoking, is a cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers (“Lung Cancer and Smoking Cigarettes”). According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 3,000 adults that do not smoke will die each year from lung cancer due to breathing in secondhand smoke. Smoking cigarettes is by far the main contributor to lung cancer.
One of the most problematic health issues in our country is smoking.. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death in America, due to its harmful contents. Although thousands of people die from it each year, it is one of the single, most preventable deaths. If tobacco production were made illegal, an enormous amount of lives would be saved. Currently in our country one in five deaths are caused by a smoking related disease (Tobacco).
This happened to be the reason my girlfriend’s dad had been diagnosed with this cancer. Another non preventable risk is being a male and being over the age of sixty-five. In the United States, men are more than three times as likely as women to develop esophageal cancer. For being over the age of 65, the reason is as people get older their risk for this disease increases. With more risks being a controllable manner than not, knowing the risks could be the difference of being diagnosed with cancer or
Much like cigarette smoke, this will also increase dangers to secondhand smokers. This implies that all the above problems will be experienced by a greater number of people and this will just be breeding a sick society. Medical professionals find it troubling that parents who deliver a "don't smoke cigarettes" speech to their children do not realize the toxic properties of carcinogens in marijuana. New Zealand researchers found that smoking one joint is equivalent to 20 cigarettes in terms of lung cancer. The European Respiratory Journal revealed, "In the near future we may see an 'epidemic' of lung cancers connected with this new carcinogen.
These problems include cough and phlegm production, an increase in the number and severity of respiratory illnesses, decreased physical fitness, an unfavorable lipid profile and potential retardation in the rate of lung growth and the level of maximum lung function. An estimated 440,000 Americans die each year from diseases caused by smoking. These illnesses include Lung Cancer, bronchitis, heart diseases, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), and emphysema. As well as, of course, second hand smoking that presents the threat of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Many experts will also tell you second hand smoking is more dangerous than first hand, because of the unfiltered smoke containing 50 more cancerous substances than filtered cigarette smoke.
Nyles Austin English 101 Persuasive Essay May 3, 2015 Marijuana vs. Alcohol/Tobacco Did you know that “9 out of 10 smokers start before the age of 18, and 99% start smoking by age 26” (Tobacco Facts and Figures, 2015)? More than 20 million Americans have passed away due to smoking since 1964 and that amount doesn’t include just smokers but second hand smokers as well (Tobacco Facts and Figures, 2015). On top of that 1 in 6 Americans binge drink within a month, about 4 times the what? (Alcohol and Public Health, 2014). The harms of drinking and smoking vary in numerous ways.
At the present the systems financing our health care include private insurance companies, employer sponsored health insurance coverage, and public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The Medicare/Medicaid programs are in jeopardy. Unless something is done, the funding for these two programs will be depleted. “Some people work productively for years and die contently with wealth and happiness in old age, whereas others struggle for a few months or decades in agony as they are relentlessly drawn down into premature mortality” (White, 2001). Technology and premium growth are major contributing fact to the rise in health care spending.
Call to Action This catastrophe needs to be addressed now because as you read this, people are dying from multiple types of cancer, blindness, bladder cancer, cancer of the esophagus, cancer of the kidneys, cancer of the pancreas, and cervical cancer. 5.4 million deaths are caused a year because of nicotine; because of tobacco. Every pack of cigarettes has a warning, that it can be harmful to your health. If you can smoke, you are very capable to read. Then why are you still smoking?
However for those who support it, it was estimated in 1999 that as many Americans suffer from the devastating diseases that could be helped with the pluripotent stem cell therapies (McGee & Caplan, 1999). In today’s age 11 years later the statistics are even more. Caplan and McGee estimate that more than half of the world’s population will suffer at some point to in life with conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and degenerative diseases of aging such as Parkinson’s disease. They have also compared the number of people who die each year cancer is more than the Kosovo and Vietnam conflicts (Caplan & McGee, 1999). Therefore, supporters feel that stem cell research is a pursuit of known and important moral goods.