Smoking-Epidemic Or Harmful To Public Health?

This essay is aimed to explore, analyse and discuss smoking in adults. Smoking is a public health issue as such is one of the major contributors to high mortality and ill-health in the adults which is preventable (Health and Excellence Care (NICE) (2012). The United Kingdom (UK) is known to have the highest number of people with a history of smoking among people with low socio-economic status (Scriven and Garman, 2006; Goddard and Green, 2005). Smoking is considered a serious epidemic in the UK and the National institute for Health and Excellence Care (NICE, 2012) stated that 28% of adults with low economic status are tobacco smokers compared with 13% of those with economic status or having professional

In 2010, 87 percent of the world’s tobacco was grown in the developing world. A modern cigarette manufacturing machine can use up to 3.7 miles of paper an hour. Tobacco plants use more nutrients than many other crops, degrading the soil. Probably the most impact of a cigarette on the environment is the production of them. The land used to grow the crops could be put to better use by planting more trees or food production. Vast quantities of pesticides, fertilizer and herbicides are used on tobacco crops. Some crops require over a dozen applications of pesticides during the three-month growing period. Cigarette butts also do a lot of damage. You might think they were made of cotton, but actually they are often a form of plastic. The polymer acetate filters are comprised of thousands of fibers that can take up to 15-25 years to decompose. The residue from tobacco in the butts also releases toxins into the environment. Trillions of butts are discarded each year. Also discarded cigarettes are a major cause of forest fire in the USA, not to mention fatal house fires. Over 1000 Americans lose their lives a year from tobacco related fires.

An exploration of a contemporary public health issue using epidemiology. To appraise the chosen health promotion intervention in relation to the public health issue, designed to improve health and wellbeing.

The century-long epidemic of cigarette smoking has caused a public health concern of epic proportions. As health concerns about tobacco developed during the 1960s, the federal government moved in and initiated Tobacco Control laws. Smoking among adults in the mid-1960’s was prevalent with 42% of the population smoking compared to 18% in 2012. In 1964, the first report of the Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health identified smoking as a cause of increased mortality.

Proposed bills are being passed around in many different states to ban the use of cigarette smoking. Banning the controlled substance, nicotine, will put people in jail or up to a 6,250 fine if they continue to use the drug. Even though banning cigarette smoking will be hard to do, many civilians argue a good reason to ban the drug is because of all the lives that tobacco takes. Many places and manufacture companies have already banned and discourage tobacco use on their property due to the dangerous effects tobacco causes. The effects are smoking are very hazardous and causes many diseases. Clinical directors and Health Initiative Programs explain the causes and effects cigarette smoking causes. The ultimate goal is to have the world free

Health impact is not only on cigarette smokers but also the ones next to them. “Secondhand smoke is composed of side stream smoke (the smoke released from the burning end of a cigarette) and exhaled mainstream smoke (the smoke exhaled by the smoker)” (Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, 2010). Report shows that the health impact on second-hand smokers is even greater than that on the smoker. (Schick, S., & Glantz, S., 2005) Third-hand smoke is the tobacco smoke that attached to clothing, wall, furniture, hair, skin and other materials after the cigarette is extinguished. So,

Many people already know that smoking is very dangerous for your health, but only recently have we discovered that secondhand smoke is just as detrimental. Smoking is an expensive, bad habit that causes harmful, long-term effects on the smoker and all those around him. Unfortunately, non-smokers must witness, experience, and live with the smoke day in and day out. Secondhand smoke can result in both short and long-term health consequences, even though you are not actually smoking. Many smokers do not realize they are harming others when they smoke, but in reality, they may be hurting their neighbors more than themselves. Secondhand smoke, also known as passive or involuntary smoking, can lead to illness and various forms of cancer.

Because cigarettes contain 4000 chemicals, 50 of which are known to be carcinogenic. (“The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke” 1) Children who breathe in these harmful chemicals from their exposure to smoke can develop lung cancer over time. Smoking does not only endangers the life of the smoker or the environment, it's affecting the lives of millions of children. Some other long-term effects of secondhand smoke are; bad lung development, heart disease, and cataracts. (“The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke” 1) People should be aware of the significant danger secondhand smoke has it is not a minor problem that causes 1 or 2 complications, instead it has multiple problematic effects. By limiting children’s exposure we can help them possess a healthy life. According to (“The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke” 1), “Children who grow up with parents who smoke are themselves more likely to smoke.” This then creates a cycle of continuous smoking that developed because of the children’s exposure to their parents smoking habits. If they weren’t exposed to secondhand smoke, these children would have grown up and stayed with a healthy

Smoking has become a health hazard to the world today, and there is no better way to settle the problem other than executing illegal smoking. Smoking causes approximately 40% more pollution than diesel car exhaust and is the leading cause of pollution due to its fine particulate matter. Former Professor in medicine, Anthony Rebuck states, “There is a triple threat[danger]… to human health… and it is due to people smoking.” Even though society

Tobacco has also been effected the environment. The cigarette butt have been found in the waterways, ground soil, harming wildlife and have even being causing fires. Because people are discarding their cigarettes all over it has become a problem that has been getting worse over the years. The chemicals contained in the cigarette butts are still contain toxic waste it damages the environment, and can be very costly to clean up. Because the tobacco plant is high in potassium, which can absorb up to six time as much as normal crops. This leaves the soil in poor condition making it harder to grow essential crops. The machine that are in use to product cigarettes use more than six kilometers of paper each hour which does not get recycled.

Cigarette smoking has been well documented to cause a wide range of health conditions such as heart diseases and respiratory problems and it is a major risk factor for getting various kind of cancers (Simpson & Nonnemaker, 2013). Besides illness and death, there are several research evidences presenting that cigarette smoking results in less productive life years and accountable for mounting unwanted medical costs. Globally, the preventable deaths caused by tobacco smoking accounts for over 6 million deaths yearly (Wilson et al., 2012). Currently, there are over 1 billion smokers in the world and over 80% of these smokers are living in low and middle income countries (Wilson et al., 2012). This figure is likely to increase to more than 8 million deaths a year by 2030. Sadly, this numbers only communicates that more than 80% of the deaths will be occurring in the developing world.

Smoking is worldwide problem. It has been proved by many studies to be harmful and deadly. “In the United States alone, more than 440,000 people die annually from the effects of smoking." (The Effects of Smoking). There are several negative effects of smoking on the health and the environment.

Secondhand smoke from a cigarette can have very dangerous longterm effects. The International Agency for Research on Cancer have classified secondhand smoke as “a known human carcinogen or a cancer-causing agent,” about seven thousand and three hundred lung cancer deaths were a result of secondhand cigarette smoke. The U.S. Surgeon General estimates that living with a smoker increases a nonsmoker’s chances of developing lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent. (Differences Between Smoking Cigarettes & Marijuana)

In the cigarette, scientists found a complex mixture of gases and more than 7000 chemicals, which are generated during the burning and smoking of tobacco products. Of these, more than hundreds are known to be toxic or carcinogenic. Second hand smoke could causes many diseases, cancer is only one of them. According to the American cancer society, “every year in the United States alone, second hand smoke responsible for estimated 42,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are current non-smokers,furthermore,it Making children much more likely to be put into intensive care when they are sick; they stay in the hospital longer, and they’re more likely to need breathing tubes than kids who aren’t exposed to SHS”.

Smokers possess the tendency to kill more people per year than guns. However, this does not only include smokers, as second hand smoke also enhances the tendency of negativity on this planet. Smokers negatively affect the environment through numerous ways and they cause irreparable damage to the entire ecosystem, water pollution, land, air, etc. Different facts clearly depict that how smoking creates a long lasting negative impact on this planet. The tobacco industry sacrifices around 600 million trees every year to fulfill the rising trends of smokers. Excessive amount of carbon dioxide production takes place because of excessive cigarette smoking. The United States contributes 16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in a single year (Tobacco Free Life ). Managing the tobacco industry in an effective manner would reduce the flow of carbon dioxide that would create a proactive impact on the environment.