Costs of Cigarette Smoking on Human Health
‘The costs of cigarette smoking on human health’ Nicotine is an addictive drug. When you smoke a cigarette, your body responds immediately to the chemical nicotine in the smoke. Nicotine can cause a short-term increase in blood pressure, heart rate and the flow of blood from the heart. It also causes the arteries to narrow. Smoke includes carbon monoxide, which reduces the amount of oxygen the blood can carry. This creates an imbalance between the need for oxygen by the cells and the amount of oxygen the blood can supply to the body. The effect of smoking on human health is something which has been highly studied over the recent years. Each year, more and more people are trying to quit due to the recent restrictions brought in on smoking in public (June 2007) however only 5% of nicotine addicts manage to “quit” (How Drugs Work 2nd Edition by Hugh McGavock). More research is being done looking at the effects smoking can have on smokers and the people around them. It is estimated around 111 000 people in
the UK die every year due to smoking. (A New Introduction to Human Biology by Indge, Rowland and Baker). Smoking can also contribute to death through lung cancer, bronchitis and emphysema. I know smoking can cause a number of diseases, the main one being cancer. Smoking is the single biggest cause of cancer in the world, and accounts for one in four UK cancer deaths (www.cancerresearchuk.org). Cigarette smokes contains about 70 different cancer causing substances smoke (known as carcinogens) including arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde and cadmium. It also contains radioactive particles of polonium-210, which can become concentrated in hotspots within the ...
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the UK die every year due to smoking. (A New Introduction to Human Biology by Indge, Rowland and Baker). Smoking can also contribute to death through lung cancer, bronchitis and emphysema. I know smoking can cause a number of diseases, the main one being cancer. Smoking is the single biggest cause of cancer in the world, and accounts for one in four UK cancer deaths (www.cancerresearchuk.org). Cigarette smokes contains about 70 different cancer causing substances smoke (known as carcinogens) including arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde and cadmium. It also contains radioactive particles of polonium-210, which can become concentrated in hotspots within the lungs delivering high levels of damaging radiation. These carcinogens can leak into the blood stream, allowing them to travel all over your body affecting all of your organs. Smoking also increases the risk of cancers in the bladder, cervix, kidney, larynx (voice box), mouth, oesophagus (food pipe), pancreas, stomach, liver and some types of leukemia, however the risk depends on the number of cigarettes smoked daily. These carcinogens cause rapid, uncontrolled cell division leading to tumour formation which can sometimes be cancerous. I also aware that smoking can also cause diseases such as coronary heart disease which is caused by a build up of fatty deposits inside in the coronary arteries. This narrows the arteries, reducing the flow of blood back to the heart. This can cause chest pains (angina) which can result in a heart attack if the arteries become completely blocked, known as atherosclerosis. Heart failure can occur in people with coronary heart disease. This is when the heart becomes too weak to pump the blood around the body which in turn can cause fluid to build up in the lungs, making breathing increasingly difficult. Heart failure can happen suddenly (acute heart failure), or over a period of time (chronic heart failure). Smoking not only affects your health but can also affect your appearance. Smoking can make you look older as it reduces the blood flow to the skin. This causes the skin to become dry, loosing elasticity and becoming more wrinkled. Many smokers believe that smoking can keep their weight low, which to some extent is true, however smoking can affect the actual shape of your body. Smoking encourages certain glands to secrete hormones causing smokers to store fat around their waist and upper torso rather than their hips, meaning smokers can have a higher waist-to-hip ratio than non-smokers. This is linked to diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, gallbladder problems and cancer of the womb and breasts in women. (www.canstopsmoking.com). Smoking can also affect your teeth as it makes it harder for saliva to remove germs in your mouth, which can increase the risk of gum disease. This can lead to premature tooth loss and bad breath. Smoking not only affects the smoker themselves, but can also affect the people around you. This is known as passive smoking. Second hand smoke, which is smoke breathed in from the air, contains 4000 toxic chemicals (Biological Science Review). People that passive smoke are just as much at risk as smokers of developing cancer and heart disease. It is believed that second hand g causes thousands of deaths a year. Children in particular are affected by secondhand smoke because their bodies are still developing. Many children living with smoking parents suffer from bronchitus, pneumonia, coughing, wheezing, asthma attacks and ear infections. (Smoking: What’s The Deal by Jane Bingham). Smoking when pregnant is a form of passive smoking as the smoke will affect the unborn fetus, possibly contributing to birth defects and respiratory problems later in life. (www.dangersofsmoking.co.uk). Overall there are a number of benefits to be gained from quitting smoking. Stopping immediately reduces the liklihood of developing a serious smoking-related health problem, but it also lowers the risk of other health problems such as:• Gum disease• Bad breath• Colds and flus• Mouth ulcers• High blood pressure• Asthma attacks Some of the less well-known benefits of stopping smoking are that surgical wounds and surgical incisions will heal much quicker than if you were still a smoker. Women are less likely to suffer from painful periods or osteoporosis (brittle bone disease).
