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Running head: SMOKING 1

Smoking

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Smoking

Smoking refers to a practice of burning a constituent or ingredient and inhaling the resulting burn. Most commonly, it involves combusting the dried leaves of the substance to be burnt and is predominantly practiced as a means of frivolous drug use administration as the burning evaporates and conveys effective and active affluence into an individual’s lungs where the elements get engrossed into the blood circulation and spread to body tissues (“Smoking”, 2017) This article suggests covering all the health concerns related to smoking, the fatalities resulting from poor habits of cigarette and other forms of nicotine use, and the projected recommendations concerning the world health bodies’ attempts in mitigating and minimizing smoking habits.

Drugs Related To Smoking

Quite a number of drug substances that are administered by inhalation include; tobacco, shisha, cannabis, and electronic cigarettes. These drugs demonstrate the pervasiveness in presence of nicotine based products present in our culture. The most commonly abused drug that is administered through smoking is tobacco. The use of tobacco kills approximately 6 million people annually. Direct tobacco smoking attributes to approximately 5 million deaths whereas aver 600,000 deaths are caused by indirect or passive smoking. Surprisingly, nearly 80% of the 1 billion smokers all over the world inhabit middle-income and low-income countries. Tobacco use has proven to be a public health disaster as it is the major cause of deaths related to an individual well-being (‘Health Effects of Smoking’, 2017). A combination of all the deaths that are caused by other ailments still suggests that deaths or fatalities resulting from tobacco use even if were half reduced still would be the most severe cause of worldwide fatalities. 57% of male deaths and 50% of female fatalities result from the consequences of tobacco use. Reports also suggest that there is a prevalent increase in cannabis use among individuals worldwide with the United States reporting over 17% cases of individuals being apprehended with marijuana. A majority of cannabis users have confessed that the drug use causes several discouraging impacts to their education, travel, and employment. Regardless of extraordinary potency forms characteristically being regarded as the utmost compelling and desired a form of cannabis through the sphere, “perfect cannabis” also results in momentous deficiencies that include, paranoia, memory lapse, impaired ability, distraction, and addiction.

Effects of Smoking

Researchers have inflexibly recognized that various forms of tobacco consumption and smoking have cause enormous health concerns related to suffering and death. According to a research conducted in 1964 by a Surgeon General, the report indicates that contemporary cigarette smoking is more severe and damaging than previously believed. Tobacco smoking has been associated with nearly all illnesses of body organs, to harming the unborn, and diminishing health conditions. A New England Journal of Medicine that was published in 2013 determined that in contrast to non-smokers, perpetual smokers lose approximately a decade of their life expectancy. Moreover, quitting smoking prior to 40 years of age minimizes death risks of an individual from the conduct of consistent smoking by approximately 90%. Another research in the American Journal of Epidemiology recognized that of all the studied lifestyle features, including nutrition and exercise, smoking avoidance contributes largely to the reduction of heart mortality and disease complications.

Currently, smoking is the foremost preventable cause of deaths across the globe. Regardless of the awareness programs and numerous reports focusing on the risks associated with tobacco smoking, the number of adults who smoke is still on the rise and about half of consistent smokers will prematurely die due to that poor habit (Bergen, & Caporaso, 1999). Despite studies focusing on health problems associated with tobacco smoking, recent studies illustrate that pipe smoking and cigar also pose severe health impacts similar to cigarette use. The shift from tobacco to shisha usage beyond its originally restrained topographical precincts supplemented the intensification of electronic cigarettes even though there exist wide discrepancies in the pervasiveness of their administration in different nations. E-cigarettes were thought to sign the termination of tobacco smoldering but according to those who shifted to their use, only 20% of these victims have reported having completely quit or have reduced their rates of consumption. This unassertive reduction although might still effect noteworthy populace level healthiness effects and whichever decision concerning their control should be debated in contradiction of the danger that moderated admittance will outcome upon usage of what seems to be an alternative exit direction off a deadly compulsion.

Other Health Issues Associated With Smoking

Some of the illnesses attributed to smoking include; smoking causes cancer; this bad habit is responsible for approximately 90% of deaths resulting from lung cancer illness. Contrary to individuals who do not smoke, women and men who engage in smoking are 25 times further expected to perish due to lung cancer. Also associated with other diseases, smoking causes cancer of the bladder, cavity, pancreases, kidney, and cervix. Secondly, smoking causes respiratory diseases. It is the most commonly known cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that comprises of chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Nearly 8 of 10 of COPD cases result from smoking and currently, there is no apparent cure for the ailment. Moreover, smoking intensifies the chances of an individual contracting and dying from tuberculosis. Approximately 15% of youths in the world develop asthma and research puts it that such a disease may be caused by various factors that include smoking. Respiratory disease, cancer, and heart diseases are only a few of the medical and physical complications linked with smoking. This bad habit causes most awful health consequences in cancer survivors and patients. It reduces fertility and causes erectile dysfunction in males. Also, it leads to the contraction of diabetes which again augments the severity and risk of rheumatoid arthritis.

There also is a concern that smoking causes harm to pregnant smokers and or the exposure to passive smoke. Exposure to passive smoke and smoking by pregnant women lead to several cases of spontaneous abortions, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and stillbirths (Yanbaeva, et al, 2007). In addition, smoking leads to ectopic pregnancy, a rarely survivable condition for a fetus and would potentially result in the mother’s fatality. Children who get exposed to passive smoke prior to or after delivery indicate a higher risk of having uncharacteristic blood pressure, lips and cleft palates, attention deficit disorder, childhood leukemia, and respiratory defects.

Quitting Smoking

Quitting smoking is challenging but it is possible, quite a majority of perpetual smokers have quit the bad behavior and many still would prefer to stop. A reputable nicotine dependence is challenging to evade, although, it could require several quit endeavors before one overcomes the fatal addiction. It is estimated that about 80% of one million smokers who quit annually usually exhibit relapse and tend to develop the habit again within a period of six months. In order to completely quit, addicts should overcome their strong desire, social ties, and psychological requirements not forgetting their psychological dependency to using or otherwise smoking tobacco (Perkins, et al, 2013). A report filed in 2010 by the European Union established that tobacco use substantially indicates higher risks of addiction compared to alcohol, heroin, cannabis, and cocaine combined. The most efficient components of cessation treatment techniques towards smoking are pharmacological cures, clinician provided advice and social support, and expertise exercise concerning techniques to gain and uphold abstinence.

In addition, there exists an approach combining counseling, nicotine replaces, and the administration of antidepressants such as bupropion. Generally, more comprehensive treatments offer more active options in the formation of long-term self-restraint from tobacco use and other drugs related to smoking. Moreover, combined therapies increase the absolute proportion of chain-smokers who persist abstinent.

Benefits of Quitting

Immediate and substantial health benefits arise from the practice of abstinence at whatever age. The 2007 study by the New England Journal of Medicine recognized that 13% of the decline of coronary heart illness fatalities between 1980 and 2000 were postponed or avoided by deserting smoking. Upon cessation, initial smokers’ blood transmission and circulation increases with immediacy, there is a return to normalcy of in their heart beat rates and blood pressure. Moreover, the oxygen and carbon monoxide heights regain normalcy (Perkins, et al, 2013). Regardless of the various reports concerning the health risks associated with smoking, a majority of the world’s population still practices this bad habit. Estimably half of the world’s population that smokes would prematurely die due to dependence (Brizer, 2006). These smoking-related illnesses and deaths are preventable and therefore both smokers and nonsmokers should create awareness concerning the damaging issues that come with smoking in order to help reduce or mitigate the habit and thus reduction of premature fatalities.

References

Bergen, A., & Caporaso, N. (1999). Cigarette Smoking. JNCI Journal Of The National Cancer Institute, 91(16), 1365-1375. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jnci/91.16.1365

Brizer, D. (2006). Quitting smoking for dummies (1st ed.). New York: Wiley Publishing.

Health Effects of Smoking | Be Tobacco Free.gov. Betobaccofree.hhs.gov. Retrieved 27 April 2017, from https://betobaccofree.hhs.gov/health-effects/smoking-health/

Perkins, K., Conklin, C., & Levine, M. (2013). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Smoking Cessation (1st ed.). Florence: Taylor and Francis.

Smoking. Bhf.org.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2017, from https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/risk-factors/smoking

Yanbaeva, D., Dentener, M., Creutzberg, E., Wesseling, G., & Wouters, E. (2007). Systemic Effects of Smoking. Chest, 131(5), 1557-1566. http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.06-2179