Nicotine And Tobacco Essay, Research Paper

?One out of three people who use tobacco will die from it.? Nearly 3,000

young Americans each day become regular smokers. Of these, 1,000 will die early

from tobacco-related diseases. More Americans die due to complications from

smoking than from any other major killer such as AIDS, car accidents, drug abuse

and homicide. Why do so many people continue to smoke when they know the

possible risks involved? Many have become addicted to cigarettes because of the

addictive substance, nicotine, which cigarettes contain. How much did tobacco

companies know about this addictive substance, and what is their defense for

making addicts of their customers? Also, do people realize how much money they

are actually spending on cigarettes? These reasons and many more are the reason

tobacco is so addictive (www.tc.bmjjournals) Nicotine, the chemical substance

found in tobacco leaves, is recognized as a highly addictive drug. Tobacco

originated from the Western Hemisphere and eventually spread to Europe by

explorers such as Columbus. In the early 1600’s the colonists introduced tobacco

to America, and eventually it became one of the major crop and trading

commodities of the Jamestown colony. Unfortunately people were not aware of the

adverse affects of tobacco until the 1960’s. Since the public has been informed

about the possible health risks of smoking, over 38 million people have quit

smoking. Matherne 2 However, 50 million Americans, regardless of the medical

research, continue to put their health at risk. (www.historian.org) The

cigarette manufacturers used a series of unscientific techniques to make people

be skeptic about the addictivness of nicotine. The manufacturers invented a

definition of addictiveness, which said, addiction is "intoxication,

tolerance and a physical dependency that was manifested by

withdrawal"(www.tc.bmjjournals). Because smokers are not intoxicated, the

industry argued that it was ridiculous to concur that nicotine was addictive.

The tobacco industry also falsely claimed that because smokers can quite on

their own that it is impossible to be addictive. However, they failed to note

that no scientific authority on addiction ever considered being able to quit on

your own an attribute for a non-addictive substance (www.tc.bmjjournals).

According to the FDA, "many heroin addicts become abstinent by themselves,

and more than three-quarters of recovered alcoholics in a recent survey achieved

success without formal treatment? (www.tc.bmjjournals). Another erroneous

statement made by cigarette companies is that because smokers do not use

"ever-increasing amounts to achieve a desired effect," than nicotine

does not influence tolerance. Despite the manufacturer’s feeble attempt to

manipulate the facts, the truth is that over a third of occasional users do

become daily smokers. To attach further information that nicotine is an

addicting substance, a new study shows that nicotine stimulates the "reward

system" in the brain (www.news.bbc.co). This area of the brain is proven to

be targeted by such drugs as cocaine, amphetamines, and morphines. Results from

research on this new documentation suggest that some methods used to treat

cocaine addition may be useful Matherne 3 for smokers as well. Hopefully smokers

will have enough money to afford help if they didn’t already spend on their

cigarette addiction. (www.http://cnn.com) The cost of cigarettes lately is

outrageous. One pack is almost four dollars. If you smoke two packs a day, in a

week you might have spent over thirty-five dollars or more. That?s money that

could be used to pay car notes, or insurance. Many people do not realize the

amount of money they spend on healthcare due to cigarette smoke. ?Nationally

it cost 72.7 billion dollars a year to treat smokers who suffer from

smoking-related diseases? (www.health.state). That is a lot of tax dollars

that?s going to people who are only hurting themselves. All you are really

paying for by smoking is an early ticket to see God. Most smokers are not aware

of the possible damage smoking can cause to their health. In women ?smoking

increases your risk of cervical and rectal cancer?.smoking worsens your

period?.smoking damages your fertility?.and smoking can affect your unborn

babies? (www.cnn.com). If all women smoker?s knew the actual effects smoking

has on them and their future offspring, there would be many soon-to-be

nonsmokers. Men aren?t off the hook either. In a man ? smoking increases the

chance of impotence?.smoking impairs sperm mobility?.and smoking changes the

shape of the sperm, which may be related to a greater incidence of miscarriages

and birth defects? (www.health.state). So all the myths about ?it?s the

women?s fault for miscarriages? is false. Men who smoke have a 50%

responsibility for the absence of a newborn child. Even though all this

information on smoking is out there, people continue to smoke and increase the

chance of destroying another life. Matherne 4 Lies by the tobacco companies,

your money, and your health do not compare to the biggest problem with smoking.

The biggest problem with smoking is that it flat out kills people. ?According

to recent figures smoking is responsible for approximately 3.5 million deaths

worldwide every year-or about 7% of all deaths? (news.bbc.com). Just like

those new commercials say, ?tobacco kills one-third of its users?. I hope

that you?re smart enough not to be hoping to be that one. Humans just aren?t

that lucky. You are basically throwing your life to chance on a 3:1 odd that you

are going to die from smoking. Most gamblers would bet it all and say, ? Let

it ride?.

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1. www.historian.org/bysubject/tobacco1.htm 2. www.health.state.mo.us/SmokingAndTobacco/NICOTINE.html

3. www.http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/medical_notes/newsid_473000.stm 4.

www.health.state.mo.us/SmokingAndTobacco/HEALTH.html 5. www.tc.bmjjournals 6.

www.http://cnn.com/HEALTH/women/9911/08/women.smoking.2.wmd/index.html 7.

www.health.state.mo.us/SmokingAndTobacco/COSTS.html