We have all been told that smoking cigarettes are extremely
harmful to our health as well as the ones around us. However very few of us,
including me, know exactly what in them are hazardous and why, so this is what
I researched. I was able to find out that Tobacco use is the leading
preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States.
According to the CDC, cigarette smoking causes more than 443,000 premature
deaths in the United States each year. 1 in 5 U.S. deaths and an additionally
8.6 million people suffer with a serious illness caused by smoking.
Affects on the Brain – Cigarettes and all other forms of
tobacco contain the drug nicotine. It is readily absorbed into the bloodstream
when a tobacco product is taken. A person who smokes about 30 cigarettes daily
gets 300 hits of nicotine each day. When it enters the bloodstream it
immediately stimulates the adrenal glands to release the hormone adrenaline.
This increases blood pressure, respiration, and heart rate. For many tobacco
users long term brain changes induced by continued nicotine exposure result in
addiction.
Adverse Effects – Cigarette smoking accounts for one-third
of all cancers, including 90 percent of lung cancer cases. In addition to
cancer, smoking causes lung diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema,
and increases the risks of heart disease, stroke, and heart attack. Among
Nicotine there are other toxic chemicals in cigarettes. Tobacco smoke is a
complex mixture of chemicals such as carbon monoxide, tar, formaldehyde,
cyanide, and ammonia.
Treatments – Are there effective treatments for tobacco
addiction? The answer to that is yes, however, it is extremely hard to quit.
Some can quit without help but this is not the norm. There are behavioral
treatments that involve counseling, as well as Nicotine Replacement Treatments
which are patches that deliver a controlled dose of nicotine to a smoker in
order to wean one off of the drug.
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