Emphysema is a lung disease in which the ability of the lungs to expel air is reduced due to damage to the bronchioles. Cigarette smoke causes alveoli to produce defensive cells, called macrophages, which "eat" the inhaled particles. But macrophages release elastin and collagen when they are stimulated. These reduce the lungs’ ability to expand and contract. Ultimately, air is left in the lungs and trapped "old" air takes up space, so the alveoli are unable to fill with enough fresh air to supply the body with needed oxygen. Other than this, Cilia (hairs that sweep foreign bodies) become damaged.
Ethical implications of cigarette smoking are basically factors that make people question how morally correct it is to smoke, sell or buy cigarettes. Most people would argue that it is morally incorrect, and therefore unethical, to smoke or sell cigarettes. This is due to a number of factors – a commonly argued case is that of the person who simply wants the right to be able to go about his/her daily life without coming near to any cigarette smoke or fumes, or even inhaling it, as is the case with passive smoking. It is believed that passive smoking can trigger similar effects in people who passively smoke to those who smoke cigarettes, such as lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. Asthma can be caused and made worse by passive smoking in children, which would be seen as very unethical. Another question of ethics is whether the health service should be funding the treatment necessary for smokers, who contribute the same amount of tax as those who do not smoke. Should non-smokers be paying to treat people who smoke? Companies are now also beginning to exploit third world countries, unethically. Tobacco manufacturers are always concerned about increasing their sales, as the industry needs 300 new smokers everyday just to keep level and replace the smokers who die. Tobacco companies market their products in less developed countries where there is no education, in order to get youngsters hooked on cigarettes, and then make a profit from their deteriorating health. However, as a business, a tobacco company’s sole aim is to make a profit in any legal way, and as there are no government legislations against promoting in other countries, some people may argue this case.
After trying to find out exactly what it is that leads people to smoke, and then keeps them from dropping the habit once started, government public health officials and other medical researchers have so far discovered that there are two important elements – Age and Socio-economic position, which is basically someone’s social class from the perspective of their lifestyle and type of job. People involved in professional jobs, such as lawyers and accountants seem to be far less likely to smoke than those who work in manual trades.
Smoking can have a big social effect on society; when a child’s mother dies at an early age from lung cancer due to smoking cigarettes, the child is left without a mother, causing the child’s life to become unstable. Therefore, the child has been socially affected in a negative way.
Economical arguments related to cigarette smoking are that as there is less disposable income when smoking becomes a need this causes people to spend less on the general economy and betterment of their life. As a higher proportion of people buy cigarettes than that of tax which is devoted to the health service, we are lead to believe that enough money is not being invested into the correct areas of the health service, which is unethical and unfair for people who do not smoke. Industry in general loses a great deal of money each year because of the smoking habits of employees. This lost money is generally due to a decline in productivity, which results from workers taking more smoking breaks, or absenteeism which is linked to smoking – related illnesses and diseases. Also, there can often be extra cleaning and maintenance costs because of smoking. Smoking also indirectly leads to huge costs arising from fires. Even though it is true that around 80% of the cost of a packet of cigarettes goes towards British tax, it is estimated that the NHS spends about £1.5 Billion a year treating diseases caused by smoking. Other costs include payment of sickness or invalidity benefits to people suffering from such diseases.
Other than this, smoking has a negative environmental effect, as it releases polluting gases into the atmosphere, which can be damaging. Also, discarded cigarette butts can cause dangerous fires, in which the environment is damaged aswell as other things. Many developing countries grow tobacco for export but do not grow enough food crops to feed their own people. Other than this, the land on which tobacco is grown can become unfit for growing food, as tobacco plants need a lot of chemical fertilisers. Also, thousands of hectares of forest are cut down to provide firewood to dry the tobacco leaves. One tree is cut down every fortnight for each person who smokes twenty cigarettes a day.
In terms of technology, cigarette smoking has helped scientists invent innovative new products, such as nicotine patches, as discussed earlier. Nicotine patches deliver up to 1mg an hour, which passes through the skin into the bloodstream to stop the craving. Another technological advancement is the invention of Nicotine Gum, which can be chewed by smokers to release a low dose of nicotine.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
AS AQA BIOLOGY SPECIFICATION A – A New Introduction to Human Biology – Bill Indge, Martin Rowland, Margaret Baker.
BIOLOGY –Marcus Barbor, Mike Boyle, Mike Cassidy, Kathryn Senior – Collins Educational
BIOLOGY – Principles and Processes – Michael Roberts, Michael Reiss, Grace Monger.
Need to know – TOBACCO – Sean Connolly – Heinemann
Why do people smoke? – Jillian Powell
