Mulligan 1

Dylan Mulligan
Comp I: 8:00
Brandon Hobson
April 22, 2015
Smoking
If one was to sit down with any member of the medical field and inquire about the
number of patients ill due to smoking cigarettes, the numbers would be shocking. Smoking
should be illegal due to the wide range of health issues incurred by individuals who still chose to
smoke.
First, everyone knows the risks to smoking, so why would anyone start smoking in the
first place? According to Cunningham, the number one reason for people to start smoking, and
continue smoking, is for stress relief. Many smokers start as teenagers to be rebellious and
cool to their fellow students (Payne 252). Even if these teens just smoke every once in a while
for social reasons, they can soon develop a dependency on cigarette. Payne defines dependency
as a physical or psychological need to continue the use of a drug (241). Others smoke to offset
boredom, anxiety, or social immaturity. A psychological reason for smoking is susceptibility to
advertising (Payne 246). Advertising companies carefully targets adolescents, women, and
minorities by suggesting a better life with the use of their product (Payne 246).
Many people smoke for these reasons and others, but why should they not smoke?
Cigarette smoking has been identified as the most important source of preventable morbidity
(disease and illness) and premature mortality (death) worldwide (General Smoking Facts).
Smoking comes with so many health risks, so why take the chance?

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The first health risk most think of associated with smoking is lung cancer. Norqvit
provides the striking statistic that 90% of lung cancer patients developed their disease because
of smoking (2). Lung cancer is primarily caused by the tar in cigarettes. In a normally
functioning respiratory system, particulate matter suspended in the inhaled air settles on the
tissues lining the airways and is trapped in mucus produced by specialized goblet cells (Payne
252). This mucus is then continuously swept upward to the throat by cilia. After reaching the
throat, the mucus is swallowed and goes into the digestive system (Payne 252). According to
Payne, When tobacco smoke is drawn into the respiratory system, its rapidly dropping
temperature allows the particulate matter to accumulate (252). The tar in the cigarette smoke is
known to damage the cilia and goblet cells. As the cilia get more damaged, they become less
effective at sweeping the mucus. When the cilia can no longer clean the airway, tar accumulates
on the surfaces and brings carcinogenic compounds into direct contact with the tissues of the
airway (Payne 252). With prolonged exposure to the carcinogenic materials in the tar, cancer
cells begin to form (Payne 252). Most people with lung cancer die in a very uncomfortable,
painful way (General Smoking Facts).
Lung cancer is not the only cancer risk that comes along with smoking. Cancer in the
areas of the gastrointestinal system are also very common. This is caused by swallowing saliva
that contains an array of chemical compounds from tobacco (Payne 252). Smokers also risk
liver cancer because the liver breaks down carcinogens and toxic substances, kidney cancer due
to the filtering of toxic blood, bladder cancer as toxic material eventually concentrates in the
bladder, pancreatic cancer, and many others (Payne 252).

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Cardiovascular disease is also a major health concern for smokers. The cigarette smoker
has more than double the risk of experiencing a heart attack (Payne 249). Payne also explains,
Smokers also increase their risk of cardiac arrest by two to four times (249). Nicotine has a
major role in cardiovascular disease because it increases heart rate which increases blood
pressure which, in turn, eventually weakens the heart (Payne 251). Nicotine also increases
platelet adhesiveness (Payne 251). This makes the platelets more likely to clot. Women who
both smoke and use oral contraceptives are four times more likely to die from a heart attack than
women who just smoke (Payne 251).
Smoking impacts the reproductive system for both males and females. In men, smoking
impacts blood flow to erectile tissue, reduces sperms mobility, alters sperm shape, and decreases
the number of viable sperms (Payne 259). In women, smoking negatively influences estrogen
levels which results in underdevelopment of the uterine wall and ineffective implantation of the
fertilized egg (Payne 259). Smoking increases the chance of a tubal pregnancy and causes early
onset of menopause (Payne 259).
All doctors tell women not to smoke while pregnant. They say this for a specific reason;
smoking while pregnant is dangerous. Smoking in pregnancy accounts for an estimated twenty
to thirty percent of low-birth weight babies, up to fourteen percent of preterm deliveries, and
some ten percent of all infant deaths (General Smoking Facts). Even if smokers baby is carried
to full-term and seemingly healthy, they tend to be born with narrowed airways and reduced lung
function (General Smoking Facts). Payne says, Statistics also show that infants are more likely
to develop chronic respiratory problems, have more frequent colic, be hospitalized, and have
poorer overall health during their earlier years of life (259).

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Smokers do not only risk their own health, but they risk others health as well through
secondhand smoke. Each year, secondhand smoke is responsible for approximately 3,400 lung
cancer deaths and 22,700 to 69,600 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States
(General Smoking Facts). Smoking by parents is associated with a wide range of adverse effects
in their children including exacerbation of asthma, increased frequency of colds and ear
infections, and sudden infant death syndrome (General Smoking Fact). Another source says, In
addition, large numbers of people exposed to involuntary smoke develop eye irritation, nasal
symptoms, headaches, and coughs (Payne 260).
Health risks aside, there are many other reasons not to smoke. Smoking stains your teeth
and your fingernails; makes your breath, clothes, house, and car stink; and makes it hard to
impress a potential friend, significant other, or employer (Henderson). Smoking also can take a
toll on your social life as some do not want to be exposed to secondhand smoke or wait for the
smoker during their smoke breaks. Another significant reason not to smoke is the cost. If a
smoker smokes a pack a day, averaging four dollars a pack, a smoker will spend $1460 per year
(Henderson). Think of all that money wasted just to ruin ones health.
There are all kinds of reasons-big and small-of why one should not smoke, so why do all
these people still chose to do it? Too many people have chosen to smoke-risking their health and
the health of others. I am not the only one who feels this way. On debate.org, there is a survey
with the question Should smoking be illegal? 79% of people surveyed said yes, smoking
should be illegal (Should Smoking be Illegal). One opinionated person said, If you had a gun
and you were shooting yourself in the foot and a policeman saw you, would he let you continue?
No. He would stop you and say that you were not only endangering your life, but everyone else
who is around you. You are not only doing yourself harm, but also others. I find it very selfish

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(Should Smoking be Illegal). Why give individuals the choice to ruin their health and their life?
Smoking should be illegal so they do not get the choice.

Works Cited
Should Smoking be Illegal? Debate.org. May 2013. Web 22 April 2015.
www.debate.org/opinions/should-smoking-be-illegal
General Smoking Facts. American Lung Association, June 2011. Web. 29 March 2015.
www.lung.org/stop-smoking
Cunningham, Matt. 10 Reasons People Start Smoking 11 May 2011. HowStuffWorks.com.
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/smoking-cessation/10-reasons-people-startsmoking.htm
Henderson, Samantha. Quitting time: attention, smokers: Our eight-step plan will help you
extinguish the habit for good. Scholastic Choices 22.3 (November-December 2006).
Health Reference Center Academic. Web. 31 March 2015.
Nordqvit, Christian. Why is Smoking Bad for You? Medical News Today, October 2014. Web.
2 April 2015. www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/10566.php
Payne, Wayne, Dale Hahn, and Ellen Lucas. Understanding Your Health. New York: McGrawHill, 2013. 238-261. Print.