Biology smoking coursework. Should smoking be banned in public places?

by garluwa (student)

Should smoking be banned in public places?

Introduction

The topic of smoking is a very controversial one as smoking tends to effect people psychologically and physically (World Health Organization (WHO), 1992). People believe that smoking affects the world’s population and it is claimed to be a silent killer (WHO, 1992). Many healthcare professionals expressed concerns about whether smoking should be banned forever. This is because the ban in public places imposed in 2002 caused economical trauma, as pubs lost significant amount of funds(British Broadcasting Communication (BBC), 2006). Thus, before continuing with this work, one need to pose the following question; should smoking be banned in public places? The question can be answered by exploring the following objectives.

Objectives.

To explore the effects that smoking has to the public community. (Should it be banned)
To explore the effects that smoking on the human body .
To conduct a survey on 50 people of different age groups..

Background information

Smoking tends to be a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is smoked and inhaled. This practice occurs in all cultures and it is noted to be present in wide range of age groups. Such a wide spread use is more likely a result of cultural socialisation and parental upbringing (Jackson and Dickson, 2003 ). For examples some school going children commenced smoking because of peer pressure and socialisation. .The most common substance people smoke is cigarettes because it is so commonly distributed and easily accessible. The ease of accessibility makes cigarette the most common recreational drug. It is therefore not surprising note in the literature that cigarette smoking is one of the leading cause of human deaths world-wide (Boseley, 2010). Smoking could track back to the early 5000BC in many different cultures around the world due to them using it in ceremonies and thinking it was for the greater good (Marshall, 2007). It got incredibly popular at this time because spiritual leaders tended to use it for spiritual enlightment. The spiritual leaders behaviour was likely to be copied by other people as religious life was very important at the time (Marshall, 2007).

Tobacco is tended to be smoked to obtain nicotine, principally to relive symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. nicotine has very serious adverse effects on people`s health. Nicotine increases the metabolic rate and suppress appetite, resulting in a lower average body weight. It also Increase the risk of accelerated hypertension in people with severe hypertension. Apart from nicotine, gases (oxidant gasses and carbon monoxide) inhaled during smoking have a negative impact on people`s health. Carbon monoxide: binds to haemoglobin, reducing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. It also tends to effect pregnant women causing harm to the foetus. Despite this, a significant number of pregnant women are today noted to smoke cigarettes, mainly because of addiction and stress. About 30% of British women continue to smoke whilst pregnant irrespective of the health problems that can be caused by smoking. Smoking does not only affect the health of mothers and unborn babies, but it also affects other people, such as children and partners in the immediate environment. This is a concern for all healthcare workers, particularly midwives as they provide healthcare and advice. Below is a picture of a cigarette and its minerals.

Benefits of smoking

Smoking tends to have some benefits of its own. . Smoking has been consistently found to be a protective factor on epidemiological studies for Parkinson disease. The basis for such effect is not known but possibilities include an effect of as a . Therefore people with Parkinson sometimes smoke to minimise their shakes or tremours. Added to this, people with a diagnosis smoke cigarette to self-medicate, as evident in a number of studies. Again, this is apparently implicated in nicotine acting as a dopamine stimulant.

The importance of stopping smoking

There are many health risk ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Benefits of smoking

The importance of stopping smoking

There are many health risk of smoking, depending on your psychological state and your general fitness. But, people can become ill due to smoking as they may develop diseases such lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart conditions. Thus, not smoking or stop smoking can improve people` s health. For example, people`s risk of dying from smoking related diseases can be reduced by 50% if they stop smoking before the age of 50. Some people personally believe that there health can be enhanced if they cut their smoking behaviour or stop it completely. Mainly, because it reduces the fact that you are less prone to life threatening diseases. Also, NHS has discovered the relative success people achieve over the duration of time they stop smoking. Here it is in this table:

This was judged from a huge sample across the UK and parts of America. This outcome tends to increase the validity of this study. The inside of a cigarette tends to contain many minerals and people may be at risk from the alleges that are associated with these minerals.

Smoking also tends to also harm the foetus that’s why it’s advisable to stop during the 3rd stage of the pregnancy. Therefore, if a woman wants to stop smoking during the firsts three months of her pregnancy, her risk of having a low birth weight baby will be similar to that of a non-smoker. It is also very important to stop smoking if you have children within your family because kids that are in the household living with their parents who smoke are almost three times more likely to smoke than children living with parents who do not smoke.

Smokers at a late stage in there lives tend to have very unhealthy lungs which are surrounded by a deep black dirt. The ingredients within the cigarette cause the lungs to tighten, swell and clog the interior of the lungs with dirt.

Here is a diagram showing a smokers lung:

Passive smoking is the inhalation of smoke, also called second-hand smoking (SHS) or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), from products used by others. It occurs when tobacco smoke permeates any environment, causing its inhalation by people within that environment.

Passive smoking has played a central role in the debate over the harms and regulation of tobacco products. Since the early 1970s, the viewed public concern over secondhand smoking as a serious threat to its business interests. Harm to bystanders was perceived as a motivator for stricter regulation of tobacco products. Despite the industry's awareness of the harms of secondhand smoke as early as the 1980s, the tobacco industry coordinated a scientific controversy with the aim of forestalling regulation of their products.

Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke disease, disability, and death. Currently, the health risks of secondhand smoke are a matter of , and these risks have been a major motivation for in workplaces and indoor public places, including , and night clubs, as well as some open public spaces.

Passive smoking causes many of the same diseases as direct smoking, including cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer and respiratory disease. There have been many studies that have been related to passive smoking and whether smoking in general should be banned from public places so that it will increase other people’s safety. For example, the effect of passive smoking on lung cancer has been extensively studied. A series of studies from the USA from 1986–2003, the UK in 1998, Australia in 1997 and internationally in 2004 have consistently shown a significant increase in among those exposed to passive smoke (Editorial, 2003). These studies tend to question the case study if “smoking should be banned in public places”

Survey on small sample frame/world statistics

The line graph shows a correlation between the amount of pubs and smokers. As the pubs increase the number of smokers also increases. So having more smokers increases the risk of passive smoking causing more health problems and dilemmas (Sarah, 2010). That’s why in previous years the government have considered banning smoking in public places (BBC, 2006).

Comparison between smoking and stopping smoking

People believe that it is possible to stop smoking or not to participate. Mainly because, there are plenty of alternatives to take part in and there are inconsiderable amounts of tactics to get out of smoking. Smoking tends to damage plenty of individuals physically and then they begin to regret the process when taken part. For example, Michelle from Halifax (NHS) states that she used to smoke for 30 years until she suffered minor health problems then took part in an anti-smoke campaign. She says that, “The Smoke free together programme really helped by constantly reminding me that I did not want to be a smoker. I also went to one-to-one sessions, where the adviser arranged for me to get a nicotine replacement program... The support I received from the NHS was nothing short of fantastic." This quote shows that there is hope for others out there and there are numerous ways of exiting the lifestyle. Another individual is Mario Winchester from (NHS) he quit smoking for 3 years because he found it difficult to pursue a career and he says, “I'm able to taste, smell - all my senses seem heightened. I can also exercise much longer at the gym now. Although social gatherings were initially the hardest time to resist the urge to reach for a cigarette, now I feel a real sense of freedom." This is an individual with a sigh of relief as he has regained his normal human features and can experience life again. On the other hand, people believe that they are free to do whatever they like and pursue any lifestyle they want. “Because you only live once.” An individual may know the causes of smoking but it is said that it is the world’s only last addiction and tends to relax individuals. Also, you have to take into consideration that people who suffer from diseases take cigarettes to relive stress and not for the other demands as it calms the nerves down etc.

Conclusion

During this case study I have gathered plenty of information about smoking and the reliefs and harm it can do to an individual. I also learnt about the background information when it was formed, what it contains and the different forms. The whole point of the case study was to work out the hypothesis should smoking be banned in public places and we gathered different points of views on why you should stop smoking because of its physical and psychological harm. For example; it may cause. Heart diseases, lung cancer and stomach cancer. The other point was why they take part in smoking, maybe because to relieve stress and in some conditions it may help with diseases. For example, Smoking has been consistently found to be a protective factor on epidemiological studies for Parkinson disease. So we did not make the claim bias as we took part in two sides.

We also linked in other statistical evidence like the visual data of the pub smokers. This shows that as the amount of pubs increase the more smokers you have. So if you hate the smoking point of view to get rid of them you will have to target the pub community. Judging, on the pie chart as well you can clearly see that the males are the more significant smokers this displays to the anti- smoking community to target the male genre.

Personally I feel my data is reliable as I have displayed two points of view whilst have other statistical evidence to back the claim up. Also I have gathered quotes from a very reliable source in being the NHS as they are one of the leading health organisations. These quotes help back up my data as they are more reliable because it has come from a human source who has participated and exceed in quitting smoking. Plus, during my case study I had objectives and me completing my objectives increases my works validity as all my objectives where tested true and can be repeated other and other again. If I could improve my work I would increase my sample from fifty to a hundred as fifty is a very small sample frame and you can’t gather a wide enough range of results to come to a conclusion. But, a hundred gives you the chance to pick a variety of individuals and analysis them as you have a wide data spread.

Moreover, they have introduced the ban in the past and it tended to be frowned upon as smoking is one of the key aspects of the dark side of society. That’s why part of me fells they should not introduce the ban as they are just wasting their time.

References

Boseley, S(2010) Passive smoking kills 600.000 a year including 165,000 children.

ACCSSED 11 MAY 2012

Editorial (2003)Effect of passive smoking on health. BMJ

ACCESSED 10 MAY 2012

Department of health, social services and public safety (2002) Teenage pregnancy and parenthood: Strategies and action plan 2002- 2007, Belfast, Northern Ireland executive

ACCSSED 13 MAY 2012

Health Education Authority (HEA) (1999) Young people and health, London, HEA

ACCESSED 12 MAY 2012

Jackson, C and Dickinson, D (2003) Can parents who smoke socialize their children against smoking? Results from the Smoke-free Kids intervention trial

ACCESSED 11 MAY 2012

Marshall, S (2007) Spiritual view of smoking

ACCESSED 1 MAY 2012

Office for National Statistics (2005) Conceptions in England and Wales, 2003 Health Statistics Quarterly 26: 58–61

ACCESSED 5 MAY 2012

World Health Organization (WHO)(1985) Appropriate technology for birth. Lancet 2: 436- 437

ACCESSED 20 FEB 2012

World Health Organization (1992) International classification of diseases-10, Geneva, WHO ACCESSED 13 May 2012