Essay on Smoking

500 words essay on  smoking.

One of the most common problems we are facing in today’s world which is killing people is smoking. A lot of people pick up this habit because of stress , personal issues and more. In fact, some even begin showing it off. When someone smokes a cigarette, they not only hurt themselves but everyone around them. It has many ill-effects on the human body which we will go through in the essay on smoking.

essay on smoking

Ill-Effects of Smoking

Tobacco can have a disastrous impact on our health. Nonetheless, people consume it daily for a long period of time till it’s too late. Nearly one billion people in the whole world smoke. It is a shocking figure as that 1 billion puts millions of people at risk along with themselves.

Cigarettes have a major impact on the lungs. Around a third of all cancer cases happen due to smoking. For instance, it can affect breathing and causes shortness of breath and coughing. Further, it also increases the risk of respiratory tract infection which ultimately reduces the quality of life.

In addition to these serious health consequences, smoking impacts the well-being of a person as well. It alters the sense of smell and taste. Further, it also reduces the ability to perform physical exercises.

It also hampers your physical appearances like giving yellow teeth and aged skin. You also get a greater risk of depression or anxiety . Smoking also affects our relationship with our family, friends and colleagues.

Most importantly, it is also an expensive habit. In other words, it entails heavy financial costs. Even though some people don’t have money to get by, they waste it on cigarettes because of their addiction.

How to Quit Smoking?

There are many ways through which one can quit smoking. The first one is preparing for the day when you will quit. It is not easy to quit a habit abruptly, so set a date to give yourself time to prepare mentally.

Further, you can also use NRTs for your nicotine dependence. They can reduce your craving and withdrawal symptoms. NRTs like skin patches, chewing gums, lozenges, nasal spray and inhalers can help greatly.

Moreover, you can also consider non-nicotine medications. They require a prescription so it is essential to talk to your doctor to get access to it. Most importantly, seek behavioural support. To tackle your dependence on nicotine, it is essential to get counselling services, self-materials or more to get through this phase.

One can also try alternative therapies if they want to try them. There is no harm in trying as long as you are determined to quit smoking. For instance, filters, smoking deterrents, e-cigarettes, acupuncture, cold laser therapy, yoga and more can work for some people.

Always remember that you cannot quit smoking instantly as it will be bad for you as well. Try cutting down on it and then slowly and steadily give it up altogether.

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Conclusion of the Essay on Smoking

Thus, if anyone is a slave to cigarettes, it is essential for them to understand that it is never too late to stop smoking. With the help and a good action plan, anyone can quit it for good. Moreover, the benefits will be evident within a few days of quitting.

FAQ of Essay on Smoking

Question 1: What are the effects of smoking?

Answer 1: Smoking has major effects like cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and more. It also increases the risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems with the immune system .

Question 2: Why should we avoid smoking?

Answer 2: We must avoid smoking as it can lengthen your life expectancy. Moreover, by not smoking, you decrease your risk of disease which includes lung cancer, throat cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more.

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  • Tobacco kills up to half of its users who don’t quit (1-3) .
  • Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year, including an estimated 1.3 million non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke (4) .
  • Around 80% of the world's 1.3 billion tobacco users live in low- and middle-income countries.
  • In 2020, 22.3% of the world’s population used tobacco: 36.7% of men and 7.8% of women.
  • To address the tobacco epidemic, WHO Member States adopted the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2003. Currently 182 countries are Parties to this treaty.
  • The WHO MPOWER measures are in line with the WHO FCTC and have been shown to save lives and reduce costs from averted healthcare expenditure.

Leading cause of death, illness and impoverishment

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing over 8 million people a year around the world. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.3 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke (4) .

All forms of tobacco use are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide. Other tobacco products include waterpipe tobacco, cigars, cigarillos, heated tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, pipe tobacco, bidis and kreteks, and smokeless tobacco products.

Around 80% of the 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries   (5) , where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest. Tobacco use contributes to poverty by diverting household spending from basic needs such as food and shelter to tobacco. This spending behaviour is difficult to curb because tobacco is so addictive.

The economic costs of tobacco use are substantial and include significant health care costs for treating the diseases caused by tobacco use as well as the lost human capital that results from tobacco-attributable morbidity and mortality.

Key measures to reduce the demand for tobacco

Surveillance is key.

Good monitoring tracks the extent and character of the tobacco epidemic and indicates how best to tailor policies. Almost half of the world's population are regularly asked about their tobacco use in nationally representative surveys among adults and adolescents.

More on monitoring tobacco use

Second-hand smoke kills

Second-hand smoke is the smoke that fills restaurants, offices, homes, or other enclosed spaces when people smoke tobacco products. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. Second-hand smoke causes serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including coronary heart disease and lung cancer, and kills around 1.3 million people prematurely every year.

Over a quarter of the world's population living in 74 countries are protected by comprehensive national smoke-free laws.

More on second-hand smoke

Tobacco users need help to quit

Among smokers who are aware of the dangers of tobacco, most want to quit. Counselling and medication can more than double a tobacco user’s chance of successful quitting.

National comprehensive cessation services with full or partial cost-coverage are available to assist tobacco users to quit in only 32 countries, representing around a third of the world's population.

More on quitting tobacco

Pictorial health warnings work

Hard-hitting anti-tobacco mass media campaigns and pictorial health warnings prevent children and other vulnerable groups from taking up tobacco use, and increase the number of tobacco users who quit.

Over half the world’s population live in the 103 countries that meet best practice for graphic health warnings, which includes among other criteria, large (50% or more of the main areas of the package) pictorial health warnings displayed in the local language.

1.5 billion people live in the 36 countries that have aired at least one strong anti-tobacco mass media campaign within the last 2 years.

More on tobacco health warnings

Bans on tobacco advertising lower consumption

Tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) increases and sustains tobacco use by effectively recruiting new tobacco users and discouraging tobacco users from quitting.

One third of countries (66), representing a quarter of the world’s population, have completely banned all forms of TAPS.

More on tobacco advertising bans

Taxes are effective in reducing tobacco use

Tobacco taxes are the most cost-effective way to reduce tobacco use, especially among youth and low-income groups. A tax increase that increases tobacco prices by 10% decreases tobacco consumption by about 4% in high-income countries and about 5% in low- and middle-income countries.

Even so, high tobacco taxes are rarely implemented. Only 41 countries, with 12% of the world's population, have introduced taxes on tobacco products so that at least 75% of the retail price is tax.

More on tobacco taxes

Illicit trade of tobacco products must be stopped

The illicit trade in tobacco products poses major health, economic and security concerns around the world. It is estimated that 1 in every 10 cigarettes and tobacco products consumed globally is illicit.

Experience from many countries demonstrates that illicit trade can be successfully addressed even when tobacco taxes and prices are raised, resulting in increased tax revenues and reduced tobacco use. 

The WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate the Illicit Trade of Tobacco Products (ITP) is the key supply side policy to reduce tobacco use and its health and economic consequences.

More on eliminating the illicit trade of tobacco products

Newer nicotine and tobacco products

Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are tobacco products that produce aerosols containing nicotine and toxic chemicals upon heating of the tobacco, or activation of a device containing the tobacco. They contain the highly addictive substance nicotine, non-tobacco additives and are often flavoured.

Despite claims of “risk reduction”, there is no evidence to demonstrate that HTPs are less harmful than conventional tobacco products. Many toxicants found in tobacco smoke are at significantly lower levels in HTP aerosol but HTP aerosol contains other toxicants found sometimes at higher levels than in tobacco smoke, such as glycidol, pyridine, dimethyl trisulfide, acetoin and methylglyoxal. 

Further, some toxicants found in HTP aerosols are not found in conventional cigarette smoke and may have associated health effects. Additionally, these products are highly variable and some of the toxicants found in the emissions of these products are carcinogens.  

More on heated tobacco products

Electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes) are the most common form of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS) but there are others, such as e-cigars and e-pipes. ENDS contain varying amounts of nicotine and harmful emissions. Use of ENDS/ENNDS products is colloquially referred to as ‘vaping’. However this does not mean that they are harmless or emit water vapour.

E-cigarette emissions typically contain nicotine and other toxic substances that are harmful to users and non-users who are exposed to the aerosols second-hand. Some products claiming to be nicotine-free have been found to contain nicotine.

Evidence reveals that these products are harmful to health and are not safe. However, it is too early to provide a clear answer on the long-term impacts of using them or being exposed to them. Some recent studies suggest that ENDS use can increase the risk of heart disease and lung disorders. Nicotine exposure in pregnant women can have negative health consequences on the fetus, and nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance is damaging for brain development. 

More on e-cigarettes

Nicotine pouches are pre-portioned pouches that contain nicotine and are similar to traditional smokeless tobacco products such as snus in some respects including appearance, inclusion of nicotine and manner of use (placing them between the gum and lip). They are often promoted, as “tobacco-free”, which can be used anywhere and in some jurisdictions, such as the US, they are referred to as “white pouches”.

WHO response

There is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry’s interests and public health policy interests. The tobacco industry produces and promotes a product that has been proven scientifically to be addictive, to cause disease and death and to give rise to a variety of social ills, including increased poverty.

The scale of the human and economic tragedy that tobacco imposes is shocking, and also preventable. The tobacco industry is fighting to ensure the dangers of their products are concealed, but we are fighting back.

The WHO FCTC is a milestone in the promotion of public health. It is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of people to the highest standard of health, provides legal dimensions for international health cooperation and sets high standards for compliance. Since its entry into force in 2005, the WHO FCTC has 182 Parties covering more than 90% of the world’s population.

In 2007, WHO introduced a practical, cost-effective initiative to scale up implementation of the demand reduction provisions of the WHO FCTC, called MPOWER. 

The 6 MPOWER measures are:

  • Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies.
  • Protect people from tobacco use.
  • Offer help to quit tobacco use.
  • Warn about the dangers of tobacco.
  • Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
  • Raise taxes on tobacco.

WHO has been monitoring MPOWER measures since 2007. For more details on progress made for tobacco control at global, regional and country level, please refer to the series of  WHO reports on the global tobacco epidemic.  

  More on MPOWER

(1) Doll R, Peto R, Boreham J, Sutherland I. Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years' observations on male British doctors. BMJ. 2004 Jun 26;328(7455):1519.

(2) Banks, E., Joshy, G., Weber, M.F. et al. Tobacco smoking and all-cause mortality in a large Australian cohort study: findings from a mature epidemic with current low smoking prevalence. BMC Med 13 , 38 (2015).

(3) Siddiqi, K., Husain, S., Vidyasagaran, A. et al. Global burden of disease due to smokeless tobacco consumption in adults: an updated analysis of data from 127 countries. BMC Med 18 , 222 (2020).

(4)  Global Burden of Disease [database .Washington, DC: Institute of Health Metrics; 2019. IHME,accessed 17 July 2023

(5)   WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025, fourth edition . WHO, Geneva, 2021

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  • Plain packaging of tobacco products: evidence, design and implementation
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  • Tobacco Free Initiative
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  • More about tobacco: topical overview

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Tobacco smoking: Health impact, prevalence, correlates and interventions

Robert west.

a Department of Behavioural Science and Health , University College London , London, UK

Background and objectives : Despite reductions in prevalence in recent years, tobacco smoking remains one of the main preventable causes of ill-health and premature death worldwide. This paper reviews the extent and nature of harms caused by smoking, the benefits of stopping, patterns of smoking, psychological, pharmacological and social factors that contribute to uptake and maintenance of smoking, the effectiveness of population and individual level interventions aimed at combatting tobacco smoking, and the effectiveness of methods used to reduce the harm caused by continued use of tobacco or nicotine in some form.

Results and conclusions : Smoking behaviour is maintained primarily by the positive and negative reinforcing properties of nicotine delivered rapidly in a way that is affordable and palatable, with the negative health consequences mostly being sufficiently uncertain and distant in time not to create sufficient immediate concern to deter the behaviour. Raising immediate concerns about smoking by tax increases, social marketing and brief advice from health professionals can increase the rate at which smokers try to stop. Providing behavioural and pharmacological support can improve the rate at which those quit attempts succeed. Implementing national programmes containing these components are effective in reducing tobacco smoking prevalence and reducing smoking-related death and disease.

Introduction

The continued popularity of tobacco smoking appears to defy rational explanation. Smokers mostly acknowledge the harm they are doing to themselves and many report that they do not enjoy it – yet they continue to smoke (Fidler & West, 2011 ; Ussher, Brown, Rajamanoharan, & West, 2014 ). The reason is that nicotine from cigarettes generates strong urges to smoke that undermine and overwhelm concerns about the negative consequences of smoking, and the resolve not to smoke in those trying to stop (West & Shiffman, 2016 ). Progress is being made in many countries in reducing smoking prevalence but it remains one of the main causes of ill health and premature death worldwide (Gowing et al., 2015 ).

This paper provides a broad overview of smoking in terms of: the health effects, benefits of stopping, prevalence and patterns of use, psychological, pharmacological and social factors leading to uptake and maintenance of the behaviour, effectiveness of population level and individual level interventions to combat it, and methods used to reduce the harm despite continued use of tobacco or nicotine.

Definitions of smoking and smoking cessation

Tobacco smoking consists of drawing into the mouth, and usually the lungs, smoke from burning tobacco (West & Shiffman, 2016 ). The type of product smoked is most commonly cigarettes, but can also include cigarillos, cigars, pipes or water pipes. ‘Smokeless’ tobacco is also popular in some parts of the world. This typically involves using tobacco preparations for chewing, sniffing into the nose or placing as a wad in the mouth between the cheeks and gums (Critchley & Unal, 2003 ). Smokeless tobacco use has features that are similar to smoking and can carry significant health risks (Critchley & Unal, 2003 ); however, this article focuses on smoked tobacco only as this has been the subject of by far the largest volume of research and is the most harmful form of tobacco use.

Stopping smoking usually involves an intention not to smoke any more cigarettes from a given point in time (a ‘quit attempt’), followed by self-conscious resistance of urges to smoke resulting in a period of abstinence. If someone making a quit attempt smokes one or more cigarettes on an occasion but then resumes abstinence, this is usually termed a ‘lapse’. If this person resumes smoking on a regular basis s/he is said to have ‘relapsed’. ‘Short-term abstinence’ is commonly defined in terms of achieving up to 4 weeks of abstinence. ‘Long-term abstinence’ often refers to abstinence for at least 6 months but more typically involves abstinence for at least 12 months. There is no agreed criterion for deciding when someone has ‘stopped smoking’ so it is essential when using the term to be clear about how long the abstinence period has been.

Health impact of smoking and the benefits of stopping

Tobacco smoking increases the risk of contracting a wide range of diseases, many of which are fatal. Stopping smoking at any age is beneficial compared with continuing to smoke. For some diseases, the risk can be reversed while for others the risk is approximately frozen at the point when smoking stopped.

Health impact of smoking

Table ​ Table1 1 lists the main causes of death from smoking. Tobacco smoking is estimated to lead to the premature death of approximately 6 million people worldwide and 96,000 in the UK each year (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016b ; World Health Organization, 2013 ). A ‘premature death from smoking’ is defined as a death from a smoking-related disease in an individual who would otherwise have died later from another cause. On average, these premature deaths involve 10 years of life years lost (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ). Many of these deaths occur in people who have stopped smoking but whose health has already been harmed by smoking. It also happens to be the case that smokers who do not stop smoking lose an average of 10 years of life expectancy compared with never-smokers and they start to suffer diseases of old age around 10 years earlier than non-smokers (Jha & Peto, 2014 ).

Cause of death from smokingBenefit of stopping smoking
Coronary heart disease and strokePreventable if cessation occurs in early adulthood; at least partially reversible thereafter
Cancers of the lung and upper airwaysPreventable if cessation occurs in early adulthood; further increase in risk prevented thereafter
Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseasePreventable if cessation occurs in early adulthood; further decline in lung function slowed thereafter
Miscarriage and underdevelopment of foetusPreventable if cessation occurs early in pregnancy; risk is mitigated by stopping at any time in pregnancy

Most smoking-related deaths arise from cancers (mainly lung cancer), respiratory disease (mainly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – COPD), and cardiovascular disease (mainly coronary heart disease) (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016b ). Smoking is an important risk factor for stroke, blindness, deafness, back pain, osteoporosis, and peripheral vascular disease (leading to amputation) (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ). After the age of 40, smokers on average have higher levels of pain and disability than non-smokers (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

Smoking in both women and men reduces fertility (Action on Smoking and Health, 2013 ). Smoking in pregnancy causes underdevelopment of the foetus and increases the risk of miscarriage, neonatal death, respiratory disease in the offspring, and is probably a cause of mental health problems in the offspring (Action on Smoking and Health, 2013 ).

People used to think that smoking was protective against Alzheimer’s disease but we now know that the opposite is the case: it is a major risk factor for both Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia (Ferri et al., 2011 ; US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

There is a positive association between average daily cigarette consumption and risk of smoking-related disease, but in the case of cardiovascular disease the association is non-linear, so that low levels of cigarette consumption carry a higher risk than would be expected from a simple linear relationship (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

Tobacco smoke contains biologically significant concentrations of known carcinogens as well as many other toxic chemicals. Some of these, including a number of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (particularly NNK and NNN) are constituents of tobacco, largely as a result of the way it is processed, while others such as benzopyrine result from combustion of tobacco (Action on Smoking and Health, 2014b ). These chemicals form part of the particulate matter in smoke. Tobacco smoke also contains the gas, carbon monoxide (CO). CO is a potent toxin, displacing oxygen from haemoglobin molecules. However, acutely the amount of CO in tobacco smoke is too small to lead to hypoxia and the body produces increased numbers of red blood cells to compensate.

The nicotine in tobacco smoke may cause a small part of the increase in cardiovascular disease but none or almost none of the increase in risk of respiratory disease or cancer (Benowitz, 1997 , 1998 ). It is the other components of cigarette smoke that do almost all the damage. It has been proposed on the basis of studies with other species that nicotine damages the adolescent brain but there is no evidence for clinically significant deficits in cognition or emotion in adults who smoked during adolescence and then stopped (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

Exposure to second-hand smoke carries a significant risk for both children and adults. Thus, non-smokers who are exposed to a smoky environment have an increased risk of cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease (Action on Smoking and Health, 2014a ).

Benefits of stopping smoking

Table ​ Table1 1 lists the main benefits of stopping smoking. Smokers who stop before their mid-30s have approximately the same life expectancy as never smokers (Doll, Peto, Boreham, & Sutherland, 2004 ; Pirie, Peto, Reeves, Green, & Beral, 2013 ). After the age of 35 years or so, stopping smoking recovers 2–3 months of healthy life expectancy for every year of smoking avoided, or 4–6 h for every day (Jha & Peto, 2014 ).

Stopping smoking has different effects on different smoking-related diseases. Excess risk of heart attack caused by smoking reduces by 50% within 12 months of stopping smoking. Stopping smoking returns the rate of decline in lung function to the normal age-related decline, but does not reverse this; it reduces the frequency of ‘exacerbations’ (acute attacks of breathing difficulty resulting in death or hospitalisation) in COPD patients (US Surgeon General, 1990 ). Stopping smoking ‘freezes’ the risk of smoking-related cancers at the level experienced when stopping occurs but does not decrease it in absolute terms (US Surgeon General, 1990 ).

Smokers who stop show reduced levels of stress and mood disorder than those who continue (Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2013 ). They also report higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction than those who continue (Shahab & West, 2009 , 2012 ). This suggests that smoking may harm mental health, though other explanations cannot be ruled out on the current evidence.

Prevalence and patterns of smoking

Smoking prevalence.

There are estimated to be approximately 1 billion tobacco smokers worldwide (Eriksen, Mackay, & Ross, 2013 ), amounting to approximately 30% of men and 7% of women (Gowing et al., 2015 ).

Cigarette smoking prevalence in Great Britain was estimated to be 16.9% in 2015, the most recent year for which figures are available at the time of writing: slightly lower in women than men (Office of National Satistics, 2016 ). Smoking in Great Britain has declined by 0.7 percentage points per year since 2001 (from 26.9% of adults in 2001). In Australia, daily cigarette smoking has declined by 0.6 percentage points per year over a similar time period (from 22.4% of adults aged 18 + years in 2001 to 14.5% in 2015) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015 ). However, international comparisons are confused by different countries using a different definition of what counts as being a smoker, and different methods for assessing prevalence. Australia only counts daily smokers in their headline figures. The situation in the US is even more misleading. The headline prevalence figure for the US is below 16%, but this does not include occasional smokers and people who smoke cigarillos which are essentially cigarettes in all but name and which have become increasingly popular in recent years. So the figure for prevalence that is most comparable to the figure for Great Britain is 20% (Jamal, 2016 ).

With the above caveats in mind, the figures in Table ​ Table2 2 for smoking prevalence in world regions in men and women provide very broad estimates (Gowing et al., 2015 ). Most noteworthy is that smoking prevalence in men is more than four times that in women globally but that the difference is much less in most parts of Europe, and that Eastern Europe as a whole has the highest smoking prevalence of any region in the world.

RegionMale prevalence %Female prevalence %Overall prevalence %
Africa23313
Caribbean Central and Northern America20413
South America301521
Central Southern and Western Asia37423
Eastern and South-eastern Asia45424
Eastern Europe422231
Northern Europe282227
Southern Europe352428
Western Europe332429
Oceania431930
World32723

Note: Current smoking of any tobacco product, adults aged 15 years and older, age-standardised rate, by gender. ‘Tobacco smoking’ includes cigarettes, cigars, pipes or any other smoked tobacco products. ‘Current smoking’ includes both daily and non-daily or occasional smoking. From Gowing et al. ( 2015 ).

Smoking patterns

The most common age of first trying a cigarette in countries that have been studied is 10–15 years (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015b ; Talip, Murang, Kifli, & Naing, 2016 ); take up of regular smoking usually continues up to early 20s (Dierker et al., 2008 ).

Average daily cigarette consumption among smokers in the US and UK has declined steadily since the 1970s. In the UK, it is currently 11 cigarettes per day, and non-daily smoking is very rare (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ; Jarvis, Giovino, O’Connor, Kozlowski, & Bernert, 2014 ). Smokers take in an average of 1–1.5 mg of nicotine per cigarette (US Department of Health Human Services, 2014 ). The US figures on patterns of smoking are distorted by not counting ‘cigarillos’ and other smoked tobacco products which are used very much like cigarettes, whose prevalence has increased in recent years (Jamal et al., 2015 ). The reduction in daily cigarette consumption has not been accompanied by a reduction in daily nicotine intake (Jarvis et al., 2014 ). This could be due to the use of other smoked tobacco products (in the case of the US) or smokers smoking their cigarettes more intensively (taking more, deeper or longer puffs).

Smokers in England spend an average of £23 per week on cigarettes and this figure is slowly rising (West & Brown, 2015 ). In the UK, hand-rolled cigarettes have become increasingly popular with 34% of smokers currently reporting use of these products (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ). Men and people in more deprived socio-economic groups are more likely to smoke hand-rolled cigarettes (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ).

In most countries, there are strong negative associations between smoking prevalence and educational level, affluence and mental health; and positive associations with alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016a , 2016c ; Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2013 ; Talati, Keyes, & Hasin, 2016 ). In the UK, average daily cigarette consumption is higher for men than women, and higher in smokers in more deprived socio-economic groups and those with mental health problems (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ).

Psychological, pharmacological and social factors involved in smoking and smoking cessation

The natural history of smoking can be modelled as states and factors that influence the transition between these. Figure ​ Figure1 1 shows transitions that have been researched – the variables identified in the diagram are listed descriptively without attempting to explain how they may be connected.

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Factors associated with transitions in the natural history of smoking (parentheses indicate negative associations).

Smoking initiation

Important factors predicting initiation in western societies are: having friends who smoke, having parents who smoke, low social grade, tendency to mental health problems and impulsivity (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015b ). Transition to daily smoking follows a highly variable pattern sometimes being very rapid and sometimes taking several years (Schepis & Rao, 2005 ). Important factors predicting transition to regular smoking are: having friends who smoke, weak academic orientation, low parental support, pro-smoking attitudes, drinking alcohol and low socio-economic status (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015b ).

Smoking initiation has a ‘heritability’ (the proportion of variance in a characteristic that is attributable to genetic rather than environmental variance) of approximately 30–50% in western societies (Vink, Willemsen, & Boomsma, 2005 ). This means that differences in genetic make-up account for almost half of the difference in likelihood of starting smoking between individuals. This does not mean that environmental factors do not also play a crucial role as is evident from the very large decline in smoking initiation since the 1970s in many western countries.

The heritability of cigarette addiction (as distinct from smoking) is approximately 70–80% in western societies (Vink et al., 2005 ). Cigarette addiction here refers to the extent to which someone experiences a strong need to smoke. It is usually indexed by a combination of number of cigarettes per day and time from waking to smoking the first cigarette of the day (Kozlowski, Porter, Orleans, Pope, & Heatherton, 1994 ). It can also be indexed by the self-reported strength of urges to smoke (Fidler, Shahab, & West, 2011 ). Heritability of cigarette addiction, as indexed by failure of attempts to stop, is higher than the heritability for smoking and for initiation of smoking. This suggests that differences in genetic inheritance play a larger role in being able to stop smoking than in starting to smoke.

Cigarette addiction

Cigarette addiction stems from the fact that smoking provides highly controllable doses of the drug, nicotine, rapidly to the brain in a form that is accessible, affordable and palatable (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ). Nicotine provided more slowly, for example by the nicotine transdermal patch, is much less addictive. It is possible that one or more mono-amine oxidase inhibitors in cigarette smoke add to, or synergise, the addictive properties of nicotine (Hogg, 2016 ).

The psychopharmacology of cigarette addiction is complex and far from fully understood. The following paragraphs summarise the current narrative.

Nicotine resembles the naturally occurring neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, sufficiently to attach itself to a subset of neuronal receptors for this neurotransmitter in the brain. These are called ‘nicotinic acetylcholine receptors’. When it does this with receptors in the ventral tegmental area in the midbrain, it causes an increased rate of firing of the nerves projecting forward from that area to another part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. This causes release of another neurotransmitter called dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.

Dopamine release and uptake by neurones in the nucleus accumbens is believed to be central to all addictive behaviours. It acts as a neural ‘teaching signal’ which causes the brain to form an association between the current situation as perceived and the impulse to engage in whatever action immediately preceded this release. In the case of smoking, this creates an urge to smoke in situations in which smoking frequently occurs. These are often referred to as ‘cue-driven smoking urges’ or ‘situational cravings’ (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ). This explains why even non-daily smokers often find it difficult to stop smoking altogether.

Repeated ingestion of nicotine from cigarettes causes changes to the functioning of the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens such that when brain concentrations of nicotine are lower than usual, there is an abnormally low level of neural activity in these regions. This leads to feelings of need for behaviours that have in the past restored normal functioning, typically smoking. This feeling of need can be thought of as a kind of ‘nicotine hunger’, also called ‘background craving’ (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ). This is probably why time between waking and first cigarette of the day is a useful predictor of difficulty stopping smoking (Vangeli, Stapleton, Smit, Borland, & West, 2011 ). So ‘cue-driven smoking urges’ and ‘nicotine hunger’ are important factors contributing to smoking behaviour and thought to be the primary mechanisms underpinning cigarette addiction (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

When smokers abstain from cigarettes, within a few hours many of them start to experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms from a drug are temporary symptoms that arise when the drug dose is reduced or use is terminated. They arise from neural adaptation to the presence of the drug in the central nervous system. For smoking, the most common early onset symptoms are: irritability, restlessness and difficult concentrating. Depression and anxiety have also been observed in some smokers. These symptoms typically last 1 to 4 weeks (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

After a day or two of stopping smoking, many smokers experience other symptoms: increased appetite, constipation, mouth ulcers, cough, and weight gain. Increased appetite tends to last for at least 3 months; weight gain (averaging around 6 kg) tends to be permanent; other symptoms tend to last a few weeks. The increased appetite, weight gain and constipation arise from termination of nicotine intake but the others are probably related to other effects of stopping smoking (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

Any of the above effects of abstinence may in individual cases promote resumption of smoking following a quit attempt but statistically the association is inconsistent and weak; the main factors driving relapse appear to be cue-driven smoking urges and nicotine hunger (Fidler & West, 2011 ; West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

Many smokers report that smoking helps them cope with stress and increases their ability to concentrate. However, this appears to be because when they go for a period without smoking they experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms that are relieved by smoking. Long-term smokers who stop report lower levels of stress than when they were smoking and no reduction in ability to concentrate (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

It is commonly thought that smokers with mental health problems are using cigarettes to ‘self-medicate’ or treat their psychological symptoms. However, the evidence indicates that neither nicotine nor smoking improves psychological symptoms, and people with serious mental health disorders who stop smoking do not experience a worsening of mental health. In fact some studies have found an improvement (Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2013 ).

Smoking cessation

For most smokers, cessation requires a determined attempt to stop and then sufficient resolve in the following weeks and months to overcome what are often powerful urges to smoke. Factors that predict quit attempts differ from those that predict the success of those attempts (Vangeli et al., 2011 ). Approximately 5% of unaided quit attempts succeed for at least 6 months (Hughes, Keely, & Naud, 2004 ). Relapse after this point is estimated to be around 50% over subsequent years (Stapleton & West, 2012 ).

The most common self-reported reasons for smoking are stress relief and enjoyment, with around half of smokers reporting these smoking motives. Weight control, aiding concentration and socialising are also quite commonly cited (Fidler & West, 2009 ). Smoking for supposed stress relief, improved concentration, weight control or other functions has not been found to be related to attempts to stop or success of attempts to stop (Fidler & West, 2009 ). Smokers who report enjoying smoking are less likely to try to stop but not less likely to succeed if they do try (Fidler & West, 2011 ). In addition, having a positive smoker identity (liking being a smoker) predicts not trying to quit, over and above enjoyment of smoking (Fidler & West, 2009 ).

No clear association has been found between the number of times smokers have tried to stop in the past and their chances of success the next time they try (Vangeli et al., 2011 ). However, having tried to stop in the past few months is predictive of failure of the next quit attempt (Zhou et al., 2009 ). Belief in the harm caused by smoking is predictive of smokers making quit attempts but not the success of those attempts (Vangeli et al., 2011 ).

Some clinical studies have found that women were less likely to succeed in quit attempts than men but large population studies have found no difference in success rates between the genders (Vangeli et al., 2011 ) so it may be the case that women who seek help with stopping have greater difficulty than men who seek help with stopping.

Number of cigarettes smoked per day, time between waking and the first cigarette of the day and rated strength of urges to smoke prior to a quit attempt have been found to predict success of quit attempts (Vangeli et al., 2011 ).

Quit attempts that involve gradual reduction are less likely to succeed than those that involve quitting abruptly, even after controlling statistically for measures of cigarette addiction, confidence in quitting, other methods used to quit (e.g. nicotine replacement therapy) and sociodemographic factors (Lindson-Hawley et al., 2016 ).

Interventions to combat smoking

There is extensive evidence on interventions that can reduce smoking prevalence, either by reducing initiation or promoting cessation. Table ​ Table3 3 lists those that have the strongest evidence.

InterventionEffectiveness
Increasing the financial cost through increasing excise duty and reducing illicit supply1–2 percentage point reduction in prevalence for 10% increase in cost of smoking; increases cessation and reduces initiation
Anti-tobacco marketing campaignsEffect on cessation and initiation varies with content and intensity of campaigns
Brief physician advice to smokers1–3 percentage point increase in long-term smoking cessation rate in all those receiving it regardless of initial motivation to quit
Prescription for varenicline, nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion, nortriptyline or cytisine5–15 percentage point increase in quit success in those using it to try to quit (highest with varenicline and nicotine patches plus faster acting nicotine replacement therapy)
Behavioural support, either face to face or by telephone 3–10 percentage point increase in long-term quit success among those using it to try to quit for multi-session support delivered by trained specialists, the effect apparently being additive with pharmacotherapy
Printed self-help materials1–2 percentage point increase in long-term quit success in those using it to try to quit compared with nothing
Peer-led school-based anti-smoking programmes and social competence trainingReduction in youth uptake varies with content and intensity of the programme

Population-level interventions

Increasing the financial cost of smoking through tax increases and control of illicit supply on average reduces overall consumption with a typical price elasticity globally of 0.4 (meaning that for every 10% increase in the real cost there is a 4% decrease in the number of cigarettes purchased). Most of the effect is in getting smokers to reduce their daily cigarette consumption so the effect on smoking prevalence has been found to be an average of a 1–2 percentage point prevalence reduction for every 10% increase in the real cost (Levy, Huang, Havumaki, & Meza, 2016 ). It has been claimed that increasing taxes on tobacco increases the amount of smuggling of cheap tobacco, but the evidence does not support this (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015a ; Joossens & Raw, 2003 ).

Social marketing campaigns (e.g. TV advertising) can prevent smoking uptake, increase the rate at which smokers try to quit and improve the chances of success. This can lead to a reduction in smoking prevalence. Their effectiveness varies considerably with intensity, type of campaign and context (Bala, Strzeszynski, Topor-Madry, & Cahill, 2013 ; Hoffman & Tan, 2015 ).

Legislating to ban smoking in all indoor public areas may have a one-off effect on reducing smoking prevalence but findings are inconsistent across different countries (Bala et al., 2013 ). For example, in countries such as France it was not possible to detect an effect while in England, there did appear to be a decline in prevalence following the ban.

Although it is hard to show conclusively, circumstantial evidence suggests that banning tobacco advertising and putting large graphic health warnings on cigarette packets may have reduced smoking prevalence in some countries (Hoffman & Tan, 2015 ; Noar et al., 2016 ).

Individual-level interventions to promote smoking cessation

Brief advice.

Brief advice to stop smoking from a physician and offer of support to all smokers, regardless of motivation to quit, has been found in randomised trials to increase rate of quitting by an average of 2 percentage points of all those receiving it, whether or not they were initially interested in quitting (Stead et al., 2013 ). The offer of support appears to be more effective in getting smokers to try to quit than just advising smokers to stop (Aveyard, Begh, Parsons, & West, 2012 ).

Pharmacotherapy

Using a form of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT: transdermal patch, chewing gum, nasal spray, mouth spray, lozenge, inhalator, dissolvable strip) for at least 6 weeks from the start of a quit attempt increases the chances of long-term success of that quit attempt by about 3–7 percentage points if the user is under the care of a health professional or provided as part of a structured support programme (Stead et al., 2012 ). Some studies have found that NRT when bought from a shop and used without any additional structured support does not improve the chances of success at stopping (Kotz, Brown, & West, 2014a , 2014b ). A small proportion of people who use NRT to stop smoking continue to use it for months or even years after stopping smoking, but NRT appears to carry minimal risk to long-term users (Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ; Stead et al., 2012 ).

Data are sparse but at present, using an electronic cigarette in a quit attempt appears to increase the chances of success at stopping on average by an amount broadly similar to that from NRT; the variety of products available and the greater similarity to smoking appear to make them more attractive to many smokers as a means of stopping than NRT (McNeill et al., 2015 ; Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ). Electronic cigarettes deliver nicotine to users by heating a liquid containing nicotine, propylene glycol or glycerol and usually flavourings to create a vapour that is inhaled. They appear to carry minimal acute risk to users. If they are used long-term, their risk is almost certainly much less than that of smoking (based on concentrations of chemicals in the vapour) (McNeill et al., 2015 ; Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ).

‘Dual-form NRT’ (combining a transdermal NRT patch and one of the other forms) increases the chances of success at stopping more than ‘single-form NRT’ (just using one of the products) (Stead et al., 2012 ). Starting to use a nicotine transdermal patch several weeks before the target quit date may improve the chances of success at quitting compared with starting on the quit date (Stead et al., 2012 ).

Taking the prescription anti-depressant, bupropion (brand name Zyban), improves the chances of success of quit attempts by a similar amount to single-form NRT (Hughes, Stead, Hartmann-Boyce, Cahill, & Lancaster, 2014 ). Bupropion often leads to sleep disturbance and carries a very small risk of seizure. Bupropion probably works by reducing urges to smoke rather than any effect on depressed mood, but how it does this is not known. It is contra-indicated in pregnant smokers and people with an elevated seizure risk or history of eating disorder (Hughes et al, 2014 ). Taking the tricyclic anti-depressant, nortriptyline also improves the chances of success of quit attempts, probably by about the same amount as bupropion and NRT (Hughes et al., 2014 ). Its mechanism of action is not known. Nortriptyline often leads to dry mouth and sleep disorder and can be fatal in overdose (Hughes et al., 2014 ).

Taking the nicotinic-acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, varenicline (brand name Chantix in the US and Champix elsewhere), improves the chances of success by about 50% more than bupropion or single-form NRT (Cahill, Lindson-Hawley, Thomas, Fanshawe, & Lancaster, 2016 ). This is true for smokers with or without a psychiatric disorder (Anthenelli et al., 2016 ). Varenicline appears to work both by reducing urges to smoke and the rewarding effect of nicotine should a lapse occur (West, Baker, Cappelleri, & Bushmakin, 2008 ). Varenicline often leads to sleep disturbance and nausea. Serious neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular adverse reactions have been reported, but in comparative studies these have not been found to be more common than placebo or NRT (Anthenelli et al., 2016 ; Cahill et al., 2016 ; Sterling, Windle, Filion, Touma, & Eisenberg, 2016 ).

Taking the nicotinic-acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, cytisine, appears to improve the chances of success at least as much as single-form NRT and probably more (Cahill et al., 2016 ). Cytisine often causes nausea. No serious adverse reactions have been reported to date (Cahill et al., 2016 ). Where it is licensed for sale, cytisine is less than 1/10th the cost of other smoking cessation medications (Cahill et al., 2016 ).

Behavioural support

There is good evidence that behavioural interventions of many kinds, delivered though several modalities can help smokers to stop. Thus, behavioural support (encouragement, advice and discussion) from a trained stop-smoking specialist, provided at least weekly until at least 4 weeks following the target quit date can increase the chances of long-term success of a quit attempt by about 3–7 percentage points, whether it is given by phone or face-to-face (Lancaster & Stead, 2005 ). Group behavioural support (specialist-led groups of smokers stopping together and engaging in a structured discussion about their experiences), involving at least weekly sessions lasting until at least 4 weeks after the target quit date can increase the chances of success of a quit attempt by a similar amount or possibly more than individual support (Stead & Lancaster, 2005 ). Scheduled, multi-session telephone support can improve rates of success at stopping smoking by a broadly similar amount (Stead, Hartmann-Boyce, Perera, & Lancaster, 2013 ) but some large studies have failed to detect an effect so contextual factors and/or the precise type of support could be crucial to success. The effects of behavioural support and medication/NRT on success at stopping smoking appear to combine roughly additively (Stead, Koilpillai, & Lancaster, 2015 ). Smoking cessation support appears to be effective in primary care, secondary care and worksite settings (Cahill & Lancaster, 2014 ; West et al., 2015 ). Financial incentives, in the form of vouchers, have been found to increase smoking cessation rates for as long as they are in place (Cahill, Hartmann-Boyce, & Perera, 2015 ; Higgins & Solomon, 2016 ). Printed self-help materials can improve the chances of success at stopping long term by around 1–2 percentage points (Hartmann-Boyce, Lancaster, & Stead, 2014 ).

There is still relatively limited evidence on the effectiveness of digital support interventions for smoking cessation. Thus, while there is evidence that tailored, interactive websites can improve the chances of success at stopping smoking compared with no support, brief written materials or static information websites, many of those tested have not been found to be effective and it is not clear what differentiates those that are effective from those that are not (Graham et al., 2016 ). Text messaging programmes have been found to increase the chances of success of quit attempts by about 2–7 percentage points (Whittaker, McRobbie, Bullen, Rodgers, & Gu, 2016 ). There is currently insufficient evidence to know whether smartphone applications can improve success rates of quit attempts, although preliminary data suggest that they might (Whittaker et al., 2016 ). Evidence on alternative and complementary therapies is not sufficient to make confident statements about their effectiveness as aids to smoking cessation (Barnes et al., 2010 ; White, Rampes, Liu, Stead, & Campbell, 2014 ).

Overall, the highest smoking cessation rates appear to be achieved using specialist face-to-face behavioural support together with either varenicline or dual form NRT. With this support, continuous abstinence rates up to 52 weeks, verified by expired-air carbon monoxide tests, of more than 40% have been achieved (Kralikova et al., 2013 ). More commonly, 52-week continuous abstinence rates with this treatment are between 15 and 25% (West et al., 2015 ).

Smoking cessation support for pregnant smokers

In pregnant smokers, there is some evidence that NRT can help promote smoking cessation but evidence for an effect sustained to end of pregnancy is not conclusive (Sterling et al., 2016 ). There is also evidence that written self-help materials and face-to-face behavioural support can aid smoking cessation (Jones, Lewis, Parrott, Wormall, & Coleman, 2016 ), and financial incentives have also been found to improve quitting rates among pregnant smokers (Tappin et al., 2015 ). Almost half of women who stop smoking during pregnancy as a result of a clinical intervention relapse to smoking within 6 months of the birth (Jones et al., 2016 ).

Effectiveness of programmes to reduce smoking uptake

School-based programmes that involve both social competence training and peer-led social influence have been found to reduce smoking uptake (Georgie, Sean, Deborah, Matthew, & Rona, 2016 ) but educational programmes have not (Thomas, McLellan, & Perera, 2013 ). Mass media campaigns and increasing the financial cost of smoking reduce smoking uptake (Brinn, Carson, Esterman, Chang, & Smith, 2012 ; van Hasselt et al., 2015 ).

Reducing the harm from tobacco and nicotine use

Smokers who report that they are reducing their cigarette consumption smoke only 1–2 fewer cigarettes per day on average than when they say they are not (Beard et al., 2013 ). Clinical trials have found that use of NRT while smoking can substantially reduce cigarette consumption compared with placebo (Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ) but national surveys show very little reduction in cigarette consumption when smokers take up use of NRT in real-world settings (Beard et al., 2013 ). The benefit from using NRT while continuing to smoke appears to be in promoting subsequent smoking cessation. Using NRT (or varenicline) to reduce cigarette smoking with no immediate plans to quit leads to increased rates of quitting subsequently (Wu, Sun, He, & Zeng, 2015 ).

‘Snus’, a form of tobacco that is placed between the gums and the cheek and which is prepared in a way that is very low in carcinogens, gives high doses of nicotine but without evidence of an increase in risk of major tobacco-related cancers and either no, or a small, increase in risk of heart disease. It does appear to increase risk of periodontal disease, however. Snus is very popular in Sweden. Sweden has very low rates of smoking and tobacco-related disease indicating that a form of nicotine intake other than smoking can become popular and suggesting that this can contribute to a substantial reduction in tobacco-related harm (Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ).

The introduction of complete bans on smoking in indoor public areas can also be considered as a harm reduction measure. In this case, the main issue is harm to non-tobacco users. The evidence shows that such bans have been rapidly followed in the UK and several other jurisdictions by a reduction in heart attacks in non-smokers (Action on Smoking and Health, 2014a ).

Conclusions

Tobacco smoking causes death and disability on a huge scale and only about half of smokers report enjoying it. Despite this, approximately 1 billion adults engage in this behaviour worldwide and only around 5% of unaided quit attempts succeed for 6 months or more. The main reason appears to be that cigarettes deliver nicotine rapidly to the brain in a form that is convenient, and palatable. Nicotine acts on the brain to create urges to smoke in situations where smoking would normally occur and when brain nicotine levels become depleted. Concern about the harm from, and financial cost of, smoking are mostly not sufficient to counter this.

Governments can reduce smoking prevalence by raising the cost of smoking through taxation, mounting sustained social marketing campaigns, ensuring that health professionals routinely advise smokers to stop and offer support for quitting, and make available pharmacological and behavioural support for stopping.

Statement of competing interests

RW has, within the past 3 years, undertaken research and consultancy for companies that develop and manufacture smoking cessation medications (Pfizer, GSK, and J&J). He is an unpaid advisor to the UK’s National Centre for Smoking cessation and Training. His salary is funded by Cancer Research UK.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

This work was supported by Cancer Research UK [grant number C1417/A22962].

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Essay on Smoking Cigarettes

Students are often asked to write an essay on Smoking Cigarettes in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Smoking Cigarettes

Harmful habit.

Smoking cigarettes is a dangerous habit that can lead to many health issues. The chemicals in cigarettes damage the lungs and heart, and they can also cause cancer.

Effects on the Lungs

Smoking cigarettes paralyzes the tiny hairs in the lungs that help to keep them clean. This makes it easier for tar and other harmful substances to build up in the lungs, which can lead to lung disease and cancer.

Effects on the Heart

Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. The chemicals in cigarettes damage the blood vessels and make them more likely to form clots. Smoking also raises blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which are both risk factors for heart disease.

Effects on Cancer

Smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of preventable cancer deaths. The chemicals in cigarettes can damage DNA and cause cells to grow out of control. Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of cancer of the lungs, mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidney, and bladder.

250 Words Essay on Smoking Cigarettes

Smoking cigarettes: a harmful habit.

Smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of preventable cancer deaths. Cigarettes contain chemicals that can damage the DNA in your cells, which can lead to cancer. The chemicals in cigarettes can also cause inflammation, which is a risk factor for cancer.

Heart Disease

Smoking cigarettes increases your risk of heart disease. The chemicals in cigarettes can damage the blood vessels in your heart, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Smoking cigarettes can also raise your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which are also risk factors for heart disease.

Other Health Problems

Smoking cigarettes can cause a variety of other health problems, including:

Quitting Smoking

If you smoke cigarettes, quitting is the best thing you can do for your health. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, and other health problems. It can also improve your appearance, energy levels, and overall quality of life.

Smoking cigarettes is a harmful habit that can have serious consequences for your health. If you smoke, quitting is the best thing you can do for your health. There are many resources available to help you quit smoking.

500 Words Essay on Smoking Cigarettes

What are cigarettes.

Cigarettes are small, cylindrical objects made of tobacco leaves that are rolled in paper. They are lit at one end and smoked, with the smoke being inhaled into the lungs.

Why Do People Smoke?

There are many reasons why people start smoking cigarettes. Some people think it looks cool, while others believe it helps them to relax or concentrate. Still others may smoke because they are addicted to nicotine, a chemical found in tobacco that can make people feel good.

The Dangers of Smoking

Smoking cigarettes is a very dangerous habit. It can cause a number of health problems, including lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Smoking can also increase the risk of developing other diseases, such as COPD, emphysema, and bronchitis.

The Effects of Smoking on the Body

When you smoke a cigarette, the nicotine in the tobacco quickly enters your bloodstream. This can cause your heart rate and blood pressure to increase, and it can also make you feel lightheaded or dizzy. Smoking can also damage your lungs and other organs, and it can lead to a number of health problems.

Smoking cigarettes is a harmful habit that can lead to a number of health problems. If you smoke, the best thing you can do for your health is to quit. There are many resources available to help you quit, so there is no reason to continue smoking.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

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The Effects of Smoking on Health

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Published: Mar 1, 2019

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tobacco is harmful essay

Essay On Harmful Effects of Tobacco

Essay On Harmful Effects of Tobacco Chewing, Have you ever heard of tobacco smoking? Of course, yes. It is the most common thing to see people smoking tobacco cigarettes. It is not good to smoke, but people still are addicted to smoking. Today, we would be going to talk about tobacco like what is it, what are its effects, etc. So, start reading:

essay on harmful effects of tobacco

Essay on Tobacco

What is tobacco.

essay on harmful effects of tobacco

It is the most common name of some plants in the genus Nicotine belonging to the family Solanaceae. There are more than 70 species of tobacco, which are known in the world. But N. tabacum is the chief commercial crop. The more powerful variant N. Rustica is also utilized in some countries.

We have seen the use of tobacco cigarettes and other addictive products like pipes, cigars, and shishas. In these products, dried tobacco leaves are used for smoking. Tobacco is also being used as chewing the Tobacco, snuff, snus, and dipping Tobacco.

What does Tobacco contain?

Tobacco has the highly addictive stimulant alkaloid nicotine and many other harmful alkaloids. If we talk about the history of Tobacco, it has been used in America for many years, with some cultivation sites located in Mexico. People in the USA tribes grow and use Tobacco in a traditional way.

Historically, people belonging to the Northeast Woodlands cultures have brought Tobacco in pouches in the form of a readily accepted trade item. People used Tobacco smoking both ceremonially and socially like when they had to seal a peace treaty or any kind of trade agreement.

There are several native cultures, where Tobacco is considered a gift from the Creator, with the tobacco smoking in ceremonies carrying one’s prayers and thoughts to the creator.

What’s about Tobacco smoking?

Tobacco smoking is the method of burning Tobacco and consuming the smoke, which is developed throughout the process of smoking. The smoke produced through the use of Tobacco may be inhaled as is performed with cigarettes.

Some people like to release it from the mouth, as is generally performed with cigars and pipes. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia by European colonists in the late 17 th century, where it followed common trade ways.

The practice encountered disparagement from its first import to the Western world forwards but surrounded itself in a certain section of many societies before becoming spread in the entire world upon the introduction of automated cigarette-rolling apparatus.

Smoking is the most common way of consuming Tobacco. The agricultural product is often combined with additives and then combusted. As a result, the smoke is then inhaled and the active substances are absorbed via the alveoli in the oral mucosa or lungs.

Several substances in cigarette smoking activate chemical reactions in nerve endings that increase alertness, heart rate, and reaction time. Endorphins and dopamine are released that give a sense of pleasure to humans.

Also Read: Nasha Mukti Par Essay in English

As of 2008-2010, Tobacco is consumed by about 49 percent of men and 11 percent of women having an age of 15 years or older in middle income and low-income nations such as India, Bangladesh, Mexico, China, Egypt, Philippines, Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, and many others. People in these countries almost use Tobacco in the form of smoking.

Tobacco Essay in English

Health effects of tobacco.

Most people are addicted to Tobacco smoking. Today, the government has put many initiatives to control the use of Tobacco in smoking products. But still, people who are addicted have a hard time quitting smoking.

This is why it is important to understand the risk effects of Tobacco on health if anyone of us is an avid smoker. Using Tobacco for a long time can boost your risk for many health-related issues in human beings.

Tobacco is a plant and its leaves are chewed, smoked, or sniffed to feel a variety of effects. Due to the presence of the chemical substance known as nicotine, it is known to be an addictive substance.

Apart from nicotine, Tobacco smoking contains a number of other chemicals, which are 7000 in number and at least 70 of which are a reason for occurring cancer and other health problems. Tobacco, which is not burned is known as smokeless Tobacco.

There are around 30 chemicals in smokeless Tobacco that can develop cancer in humans, which also includes nicotine.

Health problems caused by smoking or smokeless Tobacco are mentioned below:

Heart and blood vessel problems:

  • Blood clots in the legs that can reach the lungs
  • Temporarily heightened blood pressure after Tobacco smoking
  • Blood clots, as well as weakness in the walls of blood vessels in the human brain that arises stroke
  • Poor blood supply to the legs
  • Coronary artery disease, which includes heart attack and angina
  • Problems faced by men with erections due to the reduced blood flow into the penile region

There are some other poor effects of Tobacco on the health of a human being. These are:

  • Cancer can take place in various parts of the body such as lungs, larynx, mouth, throat, stomach, esophagus, kidney, cervix, colon, pancreas, nose and sinuses, rectum, and a lot more.
  • Damage to sperm, which may create infertility in men.
  • Poor wound healing after any kind of surgery
  • Loss of sight because of an increased risk of macular degeneration
  • Aging of the skin like wrinkles
  • Tooth and gum diseases
  • Lung-related problems like asthma, COPD, etc. that is not easy to control
  • Reduced ability to taste and smell
  • Problems in women during pregnancy like babies born at low birth weight, miscarriage, early labor, and cleft lip

Health effects of secondhand smoke

If someone is living around the smoke of others known as secondhand smoke, then he/she is having a higher risk for lung cancer, heart attack, heart disease, sudden and severe reactions (eye, throat, nose, and lower respiratory tract).

How to quit Tobacco smoking?

Like any form of addiction, quitting Tobacco is not an easy task, particularly if you are doing it on an individual basis. You can seek assistance from friends, family members, and coworkers.

We can engage in therapy sessions in a healthcare center. There are hospitals, community centers, health departments, and work sites, which can help us quit smoking.

This is an Essay On Harmful Effects of Tobacco Chewing, from this entire article, we cover information regarding essay on tobacco in English, anti tobacco essay in English. If found anything missing let us know by commenting below. For more info kindly visit us at wikiliv.com

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tobacco is harmful essay

How to make a video essay: A guide for beginners

tobacco is harmful essay

What type of content do you primarily create?

tobacco is harmful essay

Video essays are an incredibly popular genre on YouTube, and many new creators are eager to have their views heard on topics in culture and politics. But making a video essay involves a lot more than just sitting in front of a camera and pressing record. This guide is intended for beginners who don’t quite know where to start. 

What is a video essay?

A video essay’s primary defining feature is that it sets out to make an argument. It is, to put it simply, like an essay you wrote in school. Video essays often cover politics, popular media, or science.

But unlike the essays you wrote in school, video essays need extensive visual accompaniment, whether that’s footage (or B-roll ), still images, or animation.

Here’s how you can get started:

Step 1: Craft a thesis

Good video essays will have a central thesis explored throughout the piece. If you can’t summarize your thesis in a sentence (sometimes two), you’ve still got work to do. The best theses immediately leave the viewer wanting to know more. Test it on friends: If you state your thesis to friends and get reactions of curiosity or excitement you’re on to something.

Consider one of my favorite video essays, whose thesis is right in the title: "Why Snowpiercer is a sequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

‎ Sometimes, a thesis is a little more subtle, but nonetheless important. In Yhara Zayd’s video on horror movies, she argues that horror has always been a genre for social criticism.

‎ The rest of your video isn’t just proving that thesis, though that’s important. You'll want to explore the twists and turns of the idea. What questions does your thesis raise? What are the big doubts about your thesis, and how do you address them? How can we zoom out from your thesis and ask even bigger questions? 

Step 2: Determine your audience  

Your audience will dictate what level of complexity and detail you should cover in your video. If you’re an engineering channel, maybe you want to appeal to working engineers who understand the jargon of the profession. But if you’d like a broader audience, you’ll need to take the time to define terms and give background information. The best video essays usually appeal to both—their topics are unique enough to be interesting to people with prior knowledge of the topic, while accessible enough to be understood to a casual viewer.

Step 3: Organize your research early

Your video essay should have lots of supporting evidence. Aside from the usual list of articles and books, video essays can also use visual evidence.

If you’re commenting on media, that means hyper-specific shots and lines of dialogue. If you’re commenting on history, that means old news clips. Filmed interviews are a great resource regardless of the topic.

Whenever I'm trying to cover a show, I’ll watch the show (sometimes twice), take extensive notes, pause to write out lines of dialogue, and mark where specific moments supported various themes, motifs, or ideas. 

I've always regretted telling myself I’d remember a specific line or shot because I'd find myself spending an hour to hunt it down later in the process.

Whether you’re commenting on news footage, video games, or film and TV, I cannot stress enough how much extensive notetaking will improve your video essay later in the process.

The same advice goes for any books or news articles you might cite: annotate extensively and cite them in your piece.

Step 4: Familiarize yourself with "fair use"

Many video essays source footage from the news, TV, and film without licensing them. I'm not here to give advice on the legality of that, but I do think any video essayist should familiarize themselves with fair use .

Fair use is a set of criteria that a creator can use to defend their use of copyrighted work. It's not a license to freely use copyrighted work if you think you fit those standards; it’s a series of tests a judge should weigh in court. 

Usually, it doesn’t come to that. Most copyright issues go through YouTube’s copyright claim system , which you should also read up on. A film studio may claim your content, or block it altogether, for using their copyrighted material. YouTube allows you to appeal these claims , but if both parties won’t give up, the question can only be settled by a judge (in the US, at least).

Step 5: Start your script

Be sure to use a two-column script, rather than just writing out everything as if it were a traditional essay.

In one column, you’re writing what you’re saying, or what the footage is saying. In the other, write what you plan to show. Your notes here should be specific enough to help you later in the editing process. You may want to add a third column for notes, or sources to cite later.

Writing a video essay follows some different rules than what your English teacher might have expected. Most video essays use a conversational style, and include words, phrases, and grammar that would never fly with the written word. Sometimes that includes filler words, like starting a sentence with “so” or putting an “um” for effect. Just don’t overdo it.

Other writing rules still apply. Be concise, use active verbs, and otherwise just make sure you sound like a human.

Step 6: Film (or record)

You don’t need a $10,000 filming setup to make good video essays. Plenty of  people start with just a microphone, completely avoiding the camera altogether in what's known as a faceless YouTube video .

The two most important things to recommend: get good sound, and be natural. People can tolerate a lot of visual sins, but usually won’t put up with bad audio quality. Similarly, you don’t need to have the charisma of a talk show host, but people have no tolerance for on-screen performances that seem forced or fake.

That is all to say, get a decent microphone and be yourself. If you’re on-screen, buy a cheap teleprompter setup for your phone or camera.

Step 7: Start editing

There are many options for video editing software out there (and Descript is a great one), even for people with limited video editing experience. This article isn’t long enough to be an editing guide , but a few quick tips for a true novice:

  • Don’t linger on any one visual for too long. Instead, mix up the visual interest of your video.
  • Emphasize important concepts with text on screen.
  • Take the time to learn a little about color grading .
  • Clean up any noticeable background noise .

Step 8: Figure out your title and thumbnail

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Replacing tobacco with hemp in the beqaa is financially rewarding for farmers and government in lebanon.

tobacco is harmful essay

1. Introduction

1.1. the purpose of the study, 1.2. reasons to replace tobacco with hemp, 2. materials and methods, 2.1. methodology.

  • Identifying hemp for medical and industrial uses as an alternative to tobacco, establishing benchmarks, and defining the scope of the investigation.
  • Determining the respective costs of tobacco and hemp, encompassing the estimation of total costs and financial savings.
  • Highlighting the direct, quantifiable, and tangible benefits arising from both alternatives.
  • Based on the analysis, we selected hemp as the more economically advantageous product.

2.2. Assumptions

2.3. limitations, 3. understanding cannabinoids, 3.1. why hemp is important, 3.1.1. use of hemp and cbd oil, 3.1.2. the market, 3.1.3. trends and market dynamics, 3.2. the major driver: legalization and regulatory changes, 3.2.1. challenges, the concentration of generated wealth in big pharma, cost of cbd challenge, 3.2.2. opportunities, policy amendments to address past failures, the green rush of investors, 3.3. key players in the international market, establishing local and regional supply chains, 3.4. the economic crisis and the flourishing drug production in lebanon, 3.5. the legal framework for cannabis in lebanon, key aspects of law no. 178.

  • Defines the cannabis plant and its derivatives, including the psychoactive THC and non-narcotic CBD.
  • Establishes the regulatory authority, its structure, and its roles, including the appointment of a committee to assess licensing compliance.
  • Charged with implementing and enforcing the law, determining cultivation areas, and setting substance levels.
  • Tasks include developing a national strategy for cannabis, advising sectors, granting licenses, and preventing monopolization.
  • The authority is also responsible for creating an electronic database for monitoring and regulating the industry.
  • Managed by a board of directors and a general manager.
  • The board comprises seven members, representing various ministries and experts in related fields.
  • The authority has exclusive rights to issue licenses for cultivation and related operations.
  • Types of licenses include importation, cultivation, manufacturing, research, and exportation, among others.
  • Entities eligible for licenses include Lebanese pharmaceutical and industrial companies, foreign companies, cooperatives, individual farmers, and research institutions.
  • Licenses are issued for three years and include specific conditions, with a renewal process in place.
  • Applications are evaluated for compliance with legal standards, and decisions are made within sixty working days.
  • The authority must provide clear reasoning for any rejection, and applicants have the right to appeal.
  • Regular inspections ensure adherence to license conditions and industry standards.
  • The law emphasizes transparency and traceability from seed importation to product sale.
  • Licensed entities must maintain detailed records accessible to the authority and preserved for ten years.
  • Entities must comply with the conditions for importation and exportation, including submitting detailed operational plans to the authority.
  • Annual estimates and periodic data must be provided to both the authority and the International Narcotics Control Board.
  • A specialized register, overseen by the General Director, logs all transactions and losses, with strict prohibitions on record alterations.
  • Criminal penalties for violations include imprisonment, fines, and license revocation.
  • Companies are required to fund awareness campaigns and support rehabilitation initiatives.
  • Personnel implementing the law are subject to existing tax laws.
  • The law aims to provide economic benefits, support sustainable development, and align with global trends in regulating cannabis cultivation.

4. Research Gap

6. discussion, 7. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Hemp Based ProductApplication
Hemp based foodsHemp foods have significant health benefits and may help as a food supplement to combat hunger [ ]. Hemp seeds have a high nutritional value, along with the oil extracted from them [ ].
Hemp in Cosmetic and Therapeutic IndustriesOver 100 bioactive compounds in hemp inflorescences have been identified, including THC and CBD [ ]. Hemp seed oil products have regenerative, anti-aging, and anti-inflammatory properties and therefore have found application in the cosmetics industry [ ].
Hemp as an Eco-Friendly Multipurpose CropHemp is a cash crop with environmental benefits, adaptability to various agronomic conditions, and numerous beneficial uses such as carbon dioxide absorption, phytoremediator for soils, production of bioplastics, and eco-friendly paper production [ , , ].
Hemp as an Energy SourceHemp has found uses as a versatile energy resource, suitable for heat, electricity, and biofuel production, and may serve as a raw material for the production of numerous consumer goods [ ].
Hemp Fibers as a TextileHemp constitutes one of the strongest plant-based fibers, which has amplified its application in the traditional textile and paper production [ ].
Hemp as a replacement to the Traditional Construction MaterialHemp is increasingly recognized as a widely utilized plant in the production of bio-based building materials. However, they have a limitation due to their relatively low mechanical strength, which could restrict the scalability of these products as structural components in construction [ , ].
DescriptionValue
Total units sold in kg in the Beqaa area374,053/year
Average price of one kg of tobaccoUSD 4.14/kg
Total Purchase Value by Regie$1,458,248.00
Average production of Kg tobacco 220 kg/dunam
Revenue for farmers828 $/dunam
220 kg/permit × USD 4.14/kg
The Total Revenue of the farmer per Permit: 300 Kg=USD 1129/permit
Land preparation cost55 $/dunam
Seedlings cost40 $/dunam
Planting cost70 $/dunam
Post-Planting cost115 $/dunam
Harvesting cost70 $/dunam
Post-Harvesting cost25 $/dunam
Breakeven or fixed total costs for farmers 375 $/dunam
Farmers’ Profit828 − 375 = 453 $/dunam
Gross Contribution Margins = 55%
Total Cost (Tobacco) in USDAverage Cost in USD/kg
(Tobacco)
Average Cost in USD/kg
(Hemp)
Average Purchasing Price1,458,248 3.78 3.78
Labor Costs7481 0.02 0.02
Transportation Costs7500 0.02 0.02
Procurement Costs8000 0.02 0.02
Cost of rejects0.2 × 1,458,248 = 291,650 0.8 0.8
Other Costs (including seeds)3740 0.01 1.91
Total Cost1,776,6194.64 6.54
Selling price374,053 − 374,053 × 0.2 = 299,242.4 kg
299,242.4 kg × 3.20 USD /kg = USD 957,576
3.2 18
Net Drain/Profit819,043 −1.44 +11.46
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Share and Cite

Abboud, M.; Gemayel, J.; Khnayzer, R.S. Replacing Tobacco with Hemp in the Beqaa Is Financially Rewarding for Farmers and Government in Lebanon. Agriculture 2024 , 14 , 1349. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14081349

Abboud M, Gemayel J, Khnayzer RS. Replacing Tobacco with Hemp in the Beqaa Is Financially Rewarding for Farmers and Government in Lebanon. Agriculture . 2024; 14(8):1349. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14081349

Abboud, Mazen, Joseph Gemayel, and Rony S. Khnayzer. 2024. "Replacing Tobacco with Hemp in the Beqaa Is Financially Rewarding for Farmers and Government in Lebanon" Agriculture 14, no. 8: 1349. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14081349

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How Smoking Is Harmful to Your Health Essay

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Introduction

The impact of smoking on cardiovascular system, the impact of smoking on oral system, the impact of smoking on mental health.

More and more people become addicted to smoking every year. However, few of them are aware of the health damages all smokers may face in a long-term perspective. Smoking causes such incurable diseases as cancer, diabetes, asthma, or blindness. That is why many people nowadays substitute tobacco cigarettes with something they consider less damageable, for instance, electronic cigarettes or vapes. Although, there is almost no difference between smoking tobacco cigarettes and vapes or electronic cigarettes (Rofles et al., 2020). All of them are equally harmful to people’s health and may cause severe diseases.

The primary purpose of the present speech is to inform the audience about the detrimental effects of smoking. The speech is divided into three parts. First, I will discuss the impact of tobacco on the cardiovascular system. Then I will proceed with the discussion of oral system diseases caused by smoking. Finally, I will finish the speech by speaking about the mental health problems that smoking causes.

The first system of the human body that suffers from cigarettes is the cardiovascular system. Almost one-third of smoke-related deaths worldwide are caused by cardiovascular disease (Kondo et al., 2019). Even people who smoke not so often may face cardiovascular problems. However, they have significantly lower chances of suffering from cardio diseases than those who smoke from 5 to 20 cigarettes on a daily basis.

Both active and passive cigarette smokers consume such dangerous chemicals as nicotine or carbon monoxide that may cause high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, or atrial fibrillation. The diseases in question carry the risk of a sudden heart attack both for men and women leading to hospitalization or death.

Besides, excessive consumption of nicotine and carbon monoxide causes congestive heart failure. In that case, the heart is unable to send blood around the body at a proper speed. Cognitive heart failure is also called heart aging, which means that a 30-year-old smoker may have the heart of a 50 or 60-year-old. That is why it is hard sometimes for people who smoke to do some physical activities, as their hearts cannot endure high tension.

Tobacco cigarettes smoke is proven to behave like a toxin or even drug. Interestingly, if at least one toxic chemical that tobacco smoke contains is excluded, the smoke becomes less damageable for the cardiovascular system (Kondo et al., 2019).

That is why many people substitute tobacco cigarettes with electronic cigarettes because the latest contain such toxic chemicals as carbon monoxide, reactive oxygen species, carbonyls, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons to a lower degree than tobacco cigarettes. However, the nicotine level of electronic cigarettes remains unreasonably high, and the toxin affects all body systems and elevates cardiovascular risks.

However, smoking impacts not only the cardiovascular system of humans’ bodies. Now I am determined to discuss its influence on the oral system. The oral cavity system is the first one that meets toxic chemicals that cigarettes contain. Hence, it is logical to suppose that most of them remain on people’s teeth and tongues.

However, mucosal cells of the oral cavity are susceptible to nicotine and other substances (Yu et al., 2017). That is why smokers often either do not notice some signs of oral cavity diseases or just do not relate them to smoking.

Apart from that, high temperature of cigarettes traumatizes the oral cavity. The temperature of smoldering tobacco is about 300°C and is higher than the average temperature of the oral cavity, so the smoke harms capillaries in the mouth.

Tobacco smoking causes changes in the pH of saliva (Yu et al., 2017). Cigarettes provoke oral dysbiosis and may become the reason for emerging unpleasant scents, which may also be a consequence of dehydration of the oral cavity. The last often causes the loss of antibacterial and antiviral functions of saliva, which weakens oral mucosal immunity.

Refreshing toothpaste, mouthwash or chewing gum help to reduce unpleasant smells for some time, but they do not clean the oral cavity completely.

Weak oral immunity may also result in teeth disruption and discoloration. If not properly treated, these symptoms may cause parodontitis or complete teeth loss.

Now it is time to discuss what impact smoking has on mental health. Many people, especially the younger generation, see cigarettes as a means that helps to reduce stress and anxiety. It is true because nicotine, as one of the psychoactive substances stimulates adrenaline and dopamine release, provoking happiness and reducing stress (Chambers, 2017).

That is why people with mental disorders are more susceptible to smoking than anyone else. There are several reasons for that. First, people with mental illnesses seek all the possible ways to lessen stress, and smoking becomes for them the only source of dopamine. Second, culture itself associates depression and mental disorders in general with smoking, as in many books and movies, people suffering from mental illnesses are portrayed as smokers.

However, nicotine does not cause mental disorders. Cigarette addiction may be the result of depression or another mental illness. Nicotine, in that case, not only releases dopamine and adrenaline but also increases the risks of irrational behavior (Hefner et al., 2019). That is why many smokers are incredibly nervous and have trembling hands if they do not smoke at least for an hour. According to Hefner et al., nicotine addiction may be compared to alcohol addiction and cause far more damage.

It is necessary to remember that not only people with mental disorders may become addicted to smoking. For people who do not suffer from mental illnesses, nicotine addiction may shorten the attention span, cause problems with concentration and irrational behavior.

Many people nowadays are addicted to smoking. However, not all of them realize to which consequences it may lead. It is essential to assess all possible damages and be considerate of your health.

All the issues mentioned above comprise only a tiny part of negative effects smoking causes on people’s health. It requires a lot of time and effort to number all of them. There were only three aspects of cigarettes’ harmful influence on people’s health discussed today, but there are far more of them.

Concerning the present speech, it is possible to conclude that the harmful effects of smoking may not be noticeable when a person only starts doing it. However, in a long-term perspective, cigarettes pose a considerable threat to people’s physical and mental health.

Agarwal, N., Huq, S. M. & Dorji, C. (2018). The fatal link between tobacco smoking and cardiovascular diseases. The WHO South-Asia region.

Chambers, M. (Ed.). (2017). Psychiatric and mental health nursing: the craft of caring. Taylor & Francis.

Hefner, K.R., Sollazzo, A., Mullaney, S., Coker, K. L. & Sofuoglu, M. (2019). E-cigarettes, alcohol use, and mental health: Use and perceptions of e-cigarettes among college, by alcohol use and mental health status. Addict Behav. 91, 12-20.

Kondo, T., Nakano Y., Adachi , S. & Murohara, T. (2019). Effects of tobacco smoking on cardiovascular disease. Circulation Journal, 83, 1980-1985.

Naveed, A., Sohalib, A., Syed, N. B., Karobari, M. I., Anand, M., Charu, M., M., Pratibha, T., Pietro, M., Chan, Y., Y. & Scardina, G. A. (2021). Smoking a dangerous addiction: a systematic review on an underrated risk factor for oral diseases . I nt. J. Environ. Res. Public Health , 18 (21). Web.

Smoking and mental health. (n.d.). Web.

Yu, G., Philips, S., Gail, M. H., Goedert, J. J., Humphrys, M. S., Ravel, J., Ren, Y. & Caporaso, N. E. (2017). The effect of cigarette smoking on the oral and nasal microbiota. Microbiome, 5 (3).

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  • Exposure to the sun’s UV radiation may be good for you

For now, though, keep the sun cream handy

tobacco is harmful essay

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B ASKING IN THE sun has been considered a health hazard for at least four decades. The main risk comes from ultraviolet ( UV ) light, which the Sun emits alongside visible radiation. This can increase the chances of skin cancer—the number of diagnoses of which are rising—as well as bringing on premature ageing and leading to wrinkles. As a result, most developed countries recommend sunbathers protect their skin in the heat of the day with sun cream, especially in the summer months.

The risks UV poses are real, but new research suggests it may be time to consider the benefits. According to a study published recently in Health and Place , increased UV exposure appears to make people significantly less likely to die from cardiovascular disease as well as cancer. The risk of dying from melanoma skin cancer, the deadliest form of skin cancer, did not meaningfully change with UV exposure. Although smaller-scale studies have previously nodded at health benefits, this is the largest study to show a direct correlation between UV exposure and longer lifespans.

To conduct their analysis, the researchers from the University of Edinburgh used data from over 360,000 people in the UK Biobank, a database. They identified two cohorts more likely to have high UV exposure: those who claimed to use sunbeds or sunlamps; and those living in sunnier locations. To check that their assumptions about the subjects’ UV exposure were correct, the scientists also looked at vitamin D levels in a subset of blood samples. As vitamin D is synthesised in the skin in the presence of certain forms of UV radiation, it is a reliable indicator of solar exposure.

The researchers then examined the subjects’ death rates while correcting for other confounding factors, including age, gender, smoking and socio-economic status (in Britain, those who live in sunnier climes are typically wealthier). They also corrected for exercise, as some sun-seekers might lead healthier outdoor lives.

Their analysis showed that sunbed-users were 23% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease, and 14% less likely to die of cancer, than non-users. Similar trends held depending on where people lived. Someone living in Truro, for example, in the south of Britain, would on average experience about 25% more solar shortwave radiation (a measure that includes UV , visible and some infrared light) in a year than someone living in Glasgow or Edinburgh, which are much further north. The team concluded this translated to a 19% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and 12% lower risk of dying from cancer. Sunbed-users, in other words, lived an average of 48 days longer than non-users over the 15 years during which they were studied. The corresponding figure for those living in sunnier spots was 26 days.

According to Richard Weller, who co-led the study, most UV exposure guidance has thus far been firmly focused on preventing melanoma skin cancer. But, he says, “Many times more people die from other cancers and diseases. We have to think about how UV radiation could help them avoid illness.”

The exact mechanism whereby UV light might lengthen lives is unknown. The authors, for their part, believe part of the explanation may lie in vitamin D’s ability to boost the immune system and improve bone health. They also point to nitric oxide, a potent blood-vessel widener capable of reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Research published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology in 2014 showed that nitric oxide is released in skin cells that have moderate exposure to some UV radiation, and sunlight helps move it into the circulatory system where it could have health-boosting effects. The researchers hope that future studies might further clarify the causal chain.

There are other questions that need answering. For one thing, Dr Weller’s team was able to analyse data only from individuals living in Britain: different attitudes to the risks and benefits of sun exposure could arise in other places. Owing to the structure of the data, they also could not control for sun-cream use.

Most important, perhaps, they studied participants only of mostly white European ancestry, to ensure the response to UV was consistent. “We know that skin colour affects your body’s response to UV light and we don’t yet know how,” says Dr Weller. As people with darker skin are most at risk from vitamin D deficiency, more research on how UV exposure affects this population is called for, says Frank de Gruijl, an emeritus professor of dermatology at Leiden University Medical Centre. “We need to dig into the biology.”

The new research may prompt scientists and health experts to look deeper into the benefits of UV exposure versus its risks and, perhaps in the future, make available more nuanced advice about how different groups of people can best stay safe in the sun. But for now, experts agree, the study is not a licence to stop wearing sun cream. ■

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This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “UV’s bright side”

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Where Tim Walz Stands on the Issues

As governor of Minnesota, he has enacted policies to secure abortion protections, provide free meals for schoolchildren, allow recreational marijuana and set renewable energy goals.

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Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, center, during a news conference after meeting with President Biden at the White House in July.

By Maggie Astor

  • Aug. 6, 2024

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the newly announced running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris, has worked with his state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature to enact an ambitious agenda of liberal policies: free college tuition for low-income students, free meals for schoolchildren, legal recreational marijuana and protections for transgender people.

“You don’t win elections to bank political capital,” Mr. Walz wrote last year about his approach to governing. “You win elections to burn political capital and improve lives.”

Republicans have slammed these policies as big-government liberalism and accused Mr. Walz of taking a hard left turn since he represented a politically divided district in Congress years ago.

Here is an overview of where Mr. Walz stands on some key issues.

Mr. Walz signed a bill last year that guaranteed Minnesotans a “fundamental right to make autonomous decisions” about reproductive health care on issues such as abortion, contraception and fertility treatments.

Abortion was already protected by a Minnesota Supreme Court decision, but the new law guarded against a future court reversing that precedent as the U.S. Supreme Court did with Roe v. Wade, and Mr. Walz said this year that he was also open to an amendment to the state’s Constitution that would codify abortion rights.

Another bill he signed legally shields patients, and their medical providers, if they receive an abortion in Minnesota after traveling from a state where abortion is banned.

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