The Harmful Effects of Smoking

Paper Summary:

The paper reveals the harmful effects of smoking on an individual's health and discusses the enormous costs of healthcare for nicotine-related diseases. The paper also relates that smoking has been implicated to have social and interpersonal psychological impacts and is associated with depression, addiction and stress. The way that the media has misrepresented cigarette smoking to make others believe that it is a widespread, socially acceptable practice and how this poses a danger to highly impressionable children and adolescents is also discussed. The paper posits that it is time to see smoking in its truest light.

From the Paper:

"The harmful effects of smoking have long been established. Cigarette smoking is described as an unnecessary habit that causes significant health and economic problems among smokers and non-smokers. It is associated with several morbidities such as cardiovascular diseases and other cancers. Chronic smoking may cause the complete destruction of the lung anatomy as manifested in patients with COPD. Ten thousand new asthma cases are being reported in children each year because of second-hand smoke. Cigarette smoking is the fourth most common cause of deaths worldwide. Lung function tests can detect obstructive lung damage in patients with 20 pack year-history of smoking, usually at around the age of 35 years (Parkes, Greenhalgh, Griffin, and Dent, 2008). Moreover, the cost of the consequences of smoking has been non-consequential."

Sample of Sources Used:

• American Cancer Society. (23 October 2007). Questions about smoking, tobacco, and health. Prevention and Early Detection. Retrieved 5 April 2008 from the Web site: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2x_Questions_About_Smoking_Tobacco_and_Health.asp
• D, Jason. (2006, December 30). Psychological Effects of Nicotine. EzineArticles. Retrieved April 04, 2008, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Psychological-Effects-of-Nicotine&id=399904
• Kahler, C. W., Daughters, S. B., Leventhal, A. M., Gweltney, C. J., and Palfai, T. P. (2007). Implicit accociations between smoking and social consequences among smokers in cessation treatment. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 2066-2077.
• Parkes, G., Greenhalgh, T., Griffin, M., and Dent, R. (6 March 2008). Effect on smoking quite rate of telling patients their lung age: the Step2quitt randomized controlled trial. BMJ,1. Retrieved 2 April 2008 from the Web site: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj.39503.582396.25v1
• Rivero, L. R., Persson, J. L., Romine, D. C., Taylor, J. T., Toole, T. C., Trollman, C. J., and Au, W. W. (2006). Towarrds the world-wide ban of indoor cigarette smoking in public places. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 209, 1-14.

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