Ills of Cigarette Smoking
The commonly used term cigarette refers to a tobacco cigarette but can apply to similar devices containing other herbs. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder for the purpose of inhalation of its smoke from the other end, which is inserted in the mouth. There are many different tobacco cultivars which are made into a wide variety of mixtures and brands. Tobacco is often sold flavored, often with various fruit aromas, something which is especially popular for use with water pipes.
A considerable percentage of the adult population in many countries has tried smoking with smaller minorities doing it on a regular basis. Since cannabis is illegal or only tolerated in most jurisdictions, there is no industrial mass-production of cigarettes, meaning that the most common form of smoking is with hand-rolled cigarettes or with pipes. Rates of cigarette smoking vary widely. While rates of smoking have leveled off or declined in the developed world, they continue to rise in the undeveloped world.
The history of smoking can be dated to as early as 5000 BC, and has been recorded in many different cultures across the world. Early smoking evolved in association with religious ceremonies; as offerings to deities, in cleansing rituals. After the European exploration and conquest of the Americas, the practice of smoking tobacco quickly spread to the rest of the world. In Europe, it introduced a new type of social activity and a form of drug intake which previously had been unknown. The cultural perception surrounding smoking has varied over time and from one place to another; holy and sinful, sophisticated and vulgar and deadly health hazard. Only recently, and primarily in industrialized Western countries, has smoking come to be viewed in a decidedly negative light.
Cigarette smoke contains cancer-causing substances called carcinogens. Cigarette smoking is the major cause of lung cancer and emphysema (a serious disease of the lungs). People who smoke are also at increased risk for developing other cancers, heart disease, and chronic lung ailments. Cigarette smoke is called mainstream smoke when it is inhaled directly from a cigarette. Side stream smoke is smoke that is emitted from a burning cigarette and exhaled from a smoker’s lungs. Side stream smoke is also called environmental tobacco smoke or secondhand smoke. Passive smoking, or the inhaling of secondhand smoke by nonsmokers, is believed to be responsible for about 3,000 lung cancer deaths per year. Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke also have a greater chance of suffering from respiratory disorders.
Over 4,000 different chemicals have been found to be present in cigarette smoke. Many of these are carcinogenic, or capable of causing changes in the genetic material of cells that can lead to cancer. Cigarette smoke contains nicotine, addictive chemical and carcinogenic tars. In addition, smoking produces carbon monoxide, which has the effect of decreasing the amount of oxygen in the blood. When cigarette smoke is inhaled, the chemicals contained in it are quickly absorbed by the lungs and released into the bloodstream. From the blood, these chemicals pass into the brain, heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, muscle, and fat tissue. In pregnant women, cigarette smoke crosses the placenta and may affect development of the fetus.
There is a strong relationship between the lengths of time a person smokes; the number of cigarettes a person smokes each day, and the development of smoking-related diseases. Simply put, the more one smokes, the more one is likely to suffer ill effects. Cigarette smoke weakens blood vessel walls and increases the level of cholesterol in the blood, which can lead to atherosclerosis (a disease in which fatty material is deposited in the arterial walls). It can cause the coronary arteries to narrow, increasing the risk of heart attack due to impaired blood flow to the heart. Smoking also increases the risk of stroke (a blood clot or rupture in an artery of the brain).
In addition to lung cancer, smoking can cause cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, stomach, cervix, and bladder. Drinking alcohol while smoking causes 75 percent of all mouth and throat cancers. People who have a tendency to develop cancer because of hereditary factors may develop the disease more quickly if they smoke. Smoking is the leading cause of lung disease in the United States and results in deaths from pneumonia, influenza, bronchitis, emphysema, and chronic airway obstruction. Smoking increases mucus production in the lungs and destroys cilia, the tiny hair like structures that normally sweep debris out of the lungs.
The nicotine in cigarette smoke causes the release of a chemical in the brain called dopamine. When the level of dopamine in the brain is increased, a person experiences feelings of extreme pleasure and contentment. In order to sustain these feelings, the level of nicotine in the body must remain constant; a smoker becomes dependent on the good feelings caused by the release of dopamine and thus becomes addicted to nicotine. The well-proven health hazards of smoking have caused many countries to institute high taxes on tobacco products and anti-smoking campaigns are launched every year in an attempt to curb smoking. Several countries, states and cities have also imposed smoking bans in most public buildings.