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).
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.
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.
Smoking is the largest cause of preventable death in the world and 90% of lung cancer patients developed lung cancer because of smoking. There are around 400 chemicals inside a cigarette and a large amount of it is toxic to your body. A few examples of chemicals are benzene (found in crude oil), Acetone (An ingredient in nail polish), turpentine (paint thinner) and nicotine, a highly addictive drug. Smoking contributes to your risk of coronary heart disease. This disease increases your likelihood or having a heart attack.
It has become one of the world’s largest industries. The most common disease obtained from smoking is lung cancer. In today’s world the link between smoking and lung cancer is positive, according to pharmaceutical company and leading oncology research house AstraZeneca, “smoking is the reason for at least 30% of all cancer-related deaths and 87% of lung cancer deaths. About 50% of new lung cancers are diagnosed in current smokers.” Other diseases include: Cardiovascular disease, coronary thrombosis, cerebral thrombosis, high blood pressure and kidney failure. These percentages are extremely high and it almost seems as if people are happy with paying towards their own deaths.
Parents who smoke are setting bad examples for their children, and not only that, but the smoke coming from the cigarette the parent is smoking can reach the child’s lungs and give them extreme health risks, especially when it comes to its effect on the heart and blood vessels. According to new research done by scientists, the spouse and children of a smoker may suffer almost as much as the one actually smoking the cigarette ("love your family?" 88). Sure, smoking can increase human’s health risks, but more than that, people are dying at a rate of 438,000 deaths each year only in the United States, and 300,000 of those deaths are people who are 65 years and
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, a study carried out by University of Hong Kong and the Department of Health that was reported in the South China Morning Post shows that there is a high correlation between level of physical activity in people and in the risk of dying from different diseases such as cancer. According to this study, it clearly shows that deaths resulting from lack of physical exercise are way higher than deaths from smoking. Actually, according to this study about 20% of all deaths among people who are aged thirty five and above are associated with lack of exercise which is evidently higher those deaths of the same group of people from smoking. Particularly looking at cancer, the risk of dying for men is about 45% and 28% for women due to lack of physical exercise from this chronic disease. From this study too, it shows that most of the people being diagnosed with cancer are people who spend a lot of hours watching television, and they are into jobs that require them to sit in the office for long hours a day such as 10 hours with no engagement to physical exercise at all.
More or less it’s been good and bad. I ask why hasn’t marijuana been legalized across the country only because America has accepted much worse. There are substances sold daily that are far more damaging to the people of United States and its communities. Alcohol and tobacco is a substance that can cause long-term and short-term damage to the body. Alcohol alone can cause “high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, digestive problems” as well as depression, anxiety, and more (Alcohol and Public Health, 2014).
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Christopher Lanenga Kendra Tillis Mandy Duea Marna Nersesian Michael Eiden HCS 330 October 4, 2010 Sheela Hirao Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Although many have heard of the destruction smoking and nicotine can do, much only associate lung cancer with this deadly habit; however, a more common disease can develop. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the most frequent form of lung disease, which typically develops after long-term exposure to irritants that damage the lungs and the airways. COPD breaks down into two forms, which are chronic bronchitis, a long-term cough with mucous, and emphysema, defined as a destruction of the lungs over time. In the United States, approximately