Causes and Effects of Smoking

Causes and effect of smoking has been the subjects of various researches as it is a public knowledge that smoking causes a variety of diseases in addition to lung cancer. Coldez and Hunter (2000) affirmed that it is not surprising should smoking be a cause of so many different types of cancer (p. 7). Coldez and Hunter asserts that inhalation is a very effective way of distributing chemicals throughout the body (p. 7) while tobacco smoke is believe to contain some fifty chemicals that are known to be carcinogenic in animal experiments. But what is really the cause and effects of smoking remains the subject that demands verdict in order to finally address the health issues confronting this subject.

Causes of smoking
What are the causes of smoking Most studies done on the subject show that smoking causes cancer and various diseases which may rightly be true as many health care professionals confirm that health hazards brought by tobacco smoking. These hazards include cancers of the mouth, lip, oro-and hypopharynx, esophagus, pancreas, bladder, kidney, and stomach to name a few. Apparently however, these are effects of smoking and most studies are concerned on the effects of smoking than most authors are on the causes why people smoke.

Viscusi (2002) cited that people who smoke are aware of the potential hazards of smoking on health. One of the causes of smoking of however is the enjoyment of smoking or perhaps is the allusion that smoking enhances social position, that is, to look more mature while others smoke because they want to experiment. Generally however, most smokers started smoking when they were yet teenagers. Smoking had been identified with maturity and many young people smoke to appear they are already mature. According to Viscusi, smoking was once the norm among the U.S. adult population (p. 1) in which, one in five American adults smoke.

For adults however, smoking is connected to their attitudes especially when confronted by enormous stress and pressures due to economic difficulty. Indeed there may be countless of reasons why adult smoke despite they know the risk associated to tobacco.

According to Ernest Dichter, smoking is pleasurable, it is fun and it is way of relaxing one self for moment. As stated earlier, there are many reasons why people smoke, and these reasons seemed so important that despite the risk it bring, many teens and adult still smoke.

Effects of smoking
Effects of smoking on health are enormous. According to the information report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) smoking is the leading cause of death in the United States. According to the paper, the unpleasant effect of smoking accounted for about 443,000 deaths annually or nearly one of every five deaths, in the United States. The report cited that smoking raises the risk of coronary disease by two to four times. It also increase the chance to have stroke also by two to three times. Martin (2008) noted that in the year 2000, in the global level, smoking had been the cause of some 1, 690, 000 deaths

For developing cancer for men, smoking increase the chance to develop lung cancer by twenty-three times while for women it can cause to develop lung cancer by 13 times. Smoking can also cause death from chronic obstructive lung diseases by twelve to thirteen times.

On the chances of having cardiovascular disease, smoking is the leading cause of death. Cigarette smoking reduces circulation of blood by narrowing the blood vessels putting the smokers at risk of heart attack. The effect of smoking also causes abdominal pain due to deterioration or the swelling of the main artery of the body.

Other effects of smoking on health aside from cancer and cardio-vascular related diseases includes emphysema, bronchitis, chronic airway obstruction, infertility,  miscarriages, stillbirth, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome. There are more diseases caused by cigarette smoking which are deadly or lives shortening diseases yet smokers are willing to take the risk.

In view of the enormous effect of smoking on health, most government around the world prohibits the sale of cigarettes to minor but allows older folks and ban cigarette advertisements on print and broadcast media. Because of its deadly effect on health, most cigarette companies faces suit but it has become the choice of the individual to take the risks as its consequences are known.

The cause and effect of smoking therefore lies on ones prerogative, ones freedom to chose, on ones freedom to do what one thinks is best for him. Despite its health hazards, it remains afloat on the market because the government are getting huge amount of money in the form of tax and other charitable contributions of these companies to government programs. According to Viscusi, tobacco companies pay billions of dollars in the form of tax to the government.

The causes of smoking are preventable as well as the million premature deaths are preventable too. However, due to the amount contributed by these cigarette makes in the government treasury, cigarette smoking may not at all be root out from the society. Cigarette companies contributed some thirty-five billion dollars annually and employed thousands of employees. Thus despite of its effect, the government will continue to allow these companies operation producing and selling cigarettes world wide. Tobacco will remain the worlds number one source of diseases and death, but it will also remain number provider of funds for the government and jobs for the individuals. The cause and effect therefore of smoking is the government inability to control the production, sale and distribution of cigarettes in the nation.