TyWhalin

KarenJernigan
SLS1501
July31,2002

EffectsofSmokingandMore

Whysmokingshouldnotbeallowedandsomeofthehazardsthatsmokingcausesareaseriousset
oftopicsthatcoverawidevarietyofdifferentsubjects.Therearemanyreasonsthatpeopleshouldnot
smokecigaretteswhichrangefromcatchingdiseasesallthewaytohowsecondhandsmokeeffectspeople
thatdonotsmokecigarettes.First,Evidencepointstohealthrisksofsecondhandsmokewhileatthesame
timeplansarebeingconsideredthatlimitsmokinginrestaurantsandotherpublicspots.Nationally,the
numberofordinancesonpublicsmokinghasswelledsixfoldduringthelast15years.

Today,845municipalitiesand28stateshavelawslimitingsmokinginpublicplaces,accordingto
theAmericanNonSmokersRightsFoundationandthefederalCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.
"Boston,NewYork,LosAngeles,SanFrancisco,SanDiegoallhavecontrolsonsmokinginpublic
places,"saidEdwardSwedaJr.,aseniorattorneywiththeTobaccoControlResourceCenterat
NortheasternUniversityinBoston."Controllingsmokinginpublicplaceshasbecomeanestablished
municipalactivity.(Jaffe).

Sowhatpreciselyisknownaboutsecondhandsmokeandtherisksitposes?Secondhandtobacco
smokesopermeatessocietythatonefederalstudyfoundtracesofnicotineinthebloodofnineoutof10
nonsmokersamong10,000peopletested.Buttheweightoftheevidenceoverthelast14yearspointstothe
growinglikelihoodthatenvironmentaltobaccosmokecontributestocancer,andheartdisease.Thereis
lotsofinformationnowsuggestingthatsecondhandsmokeisasignificantpublichealthissue,"saidMary
Smith,directoroftheU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency'sIndoorEnvironmentDivision.Thedata
comefromabout40epidemiologicalstudiesonsecondhandsmokeandlungcancerand20studieson
cardiovasculardisease.

"Theyhavebeenprettyconsistent,"saidJonathanSamet,aJohnsHopkinsUniversitySchoolof
PublicHealthepidemiologistandanexpertonsecondhandsmoke.(Jaffe).Secondhandsmokingkills
between40,000and68,000Americanseachyear.(TheNationalCancerInstitute).Accordingtoastudy,
Nonsmokingindividualslivingwithheavysmokershavefourtimestheriskofheartattackcomparedwith
thosewholiveinsmokefreeenvironments."Theseresultsunderlinetheimportanceofnewpublichealth
policyagainstenvironmentaltobaccosmoke,"sayArgentineresearchersledbyDr.MarioCiruzziofthe
ArgentineSocietyofardiologyinBuenosAires.Thereport,publishedinthecurrentissueoftheJournalof
theAmericanCollegeofCardiology,included336adultswhohadbeenadmittedtothehospitalaftera
heartattack,and446patientsadmittedtohospitalforreasonsunrelatedtoheartdisease.

Theresearchersdiscoveredthat43%oftheheartattackpatientsreportedasmokingspouseorchild,
comparedwithjust28%ofthoseadmittedforotherreasons.Thestudyalsofoundthatnonsmokers
increasedtheirriskofsufferingfromheartattackby59%iftheylivedwithasmokingspouse.Riskswere
evenhigherformenthanforwomennonsmokinghusbandsofsmokingwivesfaceda92%increasein
theirriskforheartattack,comparedwitha50%increasedriskamongthenonsmokingwivesofsmoking
husbands.Therewasalso"astrongpositiveassociationbetweenthenumberofcigarettessmokedperday
bythespouseandtheriskof(heartattack)forthe(nonsmoking)patient,"theresearcherssay.

Theeffectsofsecondhandsmokecancausemanydifferenthealthproblemsinnonsmoking
individuals.Peoplewhosmoke,comparedtopeoplewhodontsmoke,cansufferfromlungdiseases,heart
problems,asthma,pneumonia,andbronchitis.Statisticallythereare150,000300,000childrenchildrenthat
becomeinfectedfromsecondhandsmoking(SecondhandSmokeAndYourFamily).In1992,asurvey
donefortheCoalitiononSmokingorHealthcofounderbytheAmericanLungAssociationrevealedthat
nineoutoftenadultswasawareofhowharmfulsecondhandsmokingistoinfants,children,pregnant

women,andadults.Amongthisstatisticsthepercentagehasincreasedtobansmokingrestrictionsinpublic
placesandmalls.TheEPAdeterminedthatsecondhandsmokeincreasesthechancesofmucusreflux,ear
infections,abnormalbreathingandcoughinginchildren.AnotherEPASfacthasproventhatthereare
37,000heartvictimswhodieeveryyearand13,000nonsmokerswhodiefromlungcancer(Garrison).

Specifically,theyfoundthatnonsmokerswithhousemateswhosmokedmorethan20cigarettes
perdayhadmorethanfourtimestheriskofheartattackcomparedwithpeoplewholivedinasmokefree
environment.Theinhalationoftobaccosmokedamagescardiachealthbyreducingtheabilityoftheblood
todeliveroxygentotheheart,whileatthesametimeincreasingtheactivityofbloodclottingcells,which
couldencouragetheformationof(potentiallydangerous)clots.

Inarelatedstudy,GreekresearchersatUniversityofAthenssaycloseinvestigationof48smokingand
nonsmokingmenrevealedthat"bothpassive('secondhand')andactivesmokingareassociatedwithan
acutedeteriorationintheelasticpropertiesoftheaorta,"themajorarteryleadingawayfromtheheart.In
theirstudy,publishedinthecurrentissueoftheAnnalsofInternalMedicine,theresearchersexplainthat
theaortaactslike"anelasticbufferingchamber"forbloodleavingtheheart,andanylossofelasticity
forcesthehearttoworkhardertopumpblood.(JournaloftheAmericanCollegeofCardiologyAnnalsof
InternalMedicine(Tobacco).

Afterfurtherresearchingsomeofthechemicalsthatarebeingbreathed,suchasbenzene,
formaldehyde,benzopyrene,carbonmonoxide,acetone,acroleinandnicotine.Ifoundthatthefumes
ofaclassAcigarettecontains4,000chemicals,including45knownorsuspectedcarcinogensHow
muchofthesechemicalsfindtheirwayintothelungsofanonsmokerdininginarestaurantorbendingan

elbowatalocalpubisnotclear.Onestudy,however,foundthatinasmokybarapersoncouldinhaleas
muchas98partsperbillionofbenzeneinanhour.ThereisnoEPAambientairstandardforbenzenethe
healthstandardfordrinkingwateris5partsperbillion.Thatanhourinasmokybarcanalsogivea
nonsmokerthesamedoseofnitroamineanothercarcinogenassmoking35cigarettes,accordingto
HealthCanada,thatcountry'snationalhealthagency.(Jaffe).

Therearealotofeffectsthatsecondhandsmokecancause.Thisisseriousnessofsecondhand
smokeisobviousjustbylookingattheinformationthatisprovidedthroughoutthisreport.For
informationconcerningmorethan200dangerouscancercausingchemicalsyoucancheckoutthese
chemicalsandhelppreventunnecessarycancerriskstoyouandyourfamilybyavoidingthesecancer
causingsubstanceshumancarcinogens.(TheFederalGovernment).

Thepeerpressureofteenagesmokingtheyaresusceptibletothepressureonadailybasis.Teens
feelthatiftheysmoketheycanbeacceptedintoagroup.Theirbreathing,taste,smell,talkingpatternsand
concentrationalsobecomeseffected.Ateenagermustgrowintoanadult,theyalsobegintorebelinsteadof
listeningtoreasonfromtherepeers.Ifateenagersleepingpatternsareaffectedbysmoking.Teenagers
gradesarealsoaffectedbyalackofconcentration(Brain).

Childrenarealsoaffected,someexamplesarebirthdefects,prematurebirthandevensometimes

earinfectionscanoccur.Theimpactofenvironmentalsmokeonchildrenisevenclearer,withstudies

showingdecreasedlungfunction,higherriskofrespiratoryinfectionsofAmericanchildreneachyear.A

totalof$31millionwasspentfortreatingchildrenfordiseases,suchasasthmaandotherrespiratory

conditions,causedbysecondhandsmoke.(Williams).Theeffectsofsmokingonpeoplecanbe

devastatingafterlongtermuse,whichcouldleadtolungcancer,sinuscancer,heartdiseaseandevendeath

eventually.Mostpeopledonotpayanyattentiontotheeffectsofsmokinguntilsomethingserious

happens.

Likemostpeopletheydonotthinkabouttheeffectsuntiltheyarediagnosedwithsometypeofcanceror

heartdiseaseandeveninsomecasesDNAdamage(NEWYORK,ReutersHealth).Severalrecent

studieshavecalculatedthatenvironmentaltobaccosmokemaybeanevenmoreseriousthreatforheart

diseaseandcouldberesponsibleforasmanyas62,000heartdiseaserelateddeathsayear20timesthe

numberoflungcancerdeaths.(Jaffe).ArecentstudybyHealthCanadaalsoindicatedthatlongterm

exposuretosecondhandsmokemightbelinkedtoasignificantincreaseinbreastcancer.

Morewomendieofbreastcancerthanfromanyothercancer.Itisnowthesecondleadingcauseofdeathin
Americanwomen.PublishedinMarchinCancerCauseandControl,thestudyevaluated1,420women
andfoundthatpostmenopausalwomenwithlongtermexposuretosecondhandsmokehada100percent
greaterchanceofcontractingbreastcancer.Inpostmenopausalwomentheriskwas30percentgreater.
(Jaffe).

Smokingcancausecervicalcancer,spontaneousabortions,cysticfibrosis,andotherconditions.Thereare

alsoalotofotherthingsthatcanbeconsideredwhensmoking,suchastheeffectsthatsmokinghason

otherpeoplethatdonotsmokecigarettes.Justthinkaboutthesmell,stenchandthediscomfortthat

smokingcangiveotherpeoplewhodonotsmoke.Theseriousnessofthesetopicscoverawidevarietyof

differentsubjects.Thereareseveralarticlesthatdiscusstheissuesofsmokingandsomeoftheeffectsof

smoking.

Smokingproducesmanyrisksduringthecourseofpregnancy.Pregnantwomenwhomsmoke

decreasesanunbornchildchancesofsurvival.Inayearstimethereareapproximately61,000babiesthat

weighunder5lbs.9oz.Thatarebornbecauseofmotherswhomsmoke.Smokingduringpregnancy

increasesthechancesofspeechimpairmentintellectandpossibleattentiondeficitdisorderinthebeginning

stagesofachildslife(Baily).Pregnantwomenthatsmokesincreasestheexternalcostoftherefetes

(Chaloupka).


HealthCarecostshaverisentoanextremehighfromtheaddictionoftobacco.TheAmerican

HeartAssociationfiguredthatthecostofheartdiseasesis151.3billiondollarsperyear.Approximately

30%40%ofheartdiseasesareattributedtosmoking.CanceristhebiggesthealthcarecostintheUnited

Statestoday,theestimatedcostinthemedicalcareindustryduetosmokingis56.39billionannually.

Therearemanydifferentstatisticsofsmoking.Ina20minuteperiodthepulseratedecreases,

bloodpressurelowerstonormal,withinthehandsandfeetrises.Ina8hourtimeframethepoisonousgas

decreasesintheblood.Inacompletedaythepossibilitiesofaheartattacklowers.Within2daysthesmell

andtastefunctionsarestrengthened.Ina2to12weekperiodwalkingbecomeseasierandthelungsriseto

30%.In1to9monthssweatglandslower,coughingdecreases,nasalblockagealsodrops.Inayearstime

anextrachanceofheartdiseaseisdecreasedby50%.Ina5yearperiodbasedonaonepackdaysmoker,

peoplewhodiefromlungcancerreducesbycloseto50%.Thechancesofhavingastrokelowersto515

yearsdirectlyfollowingsmoking.Cancerofthemouth,throat,oresophagusis50%lessthanasmoker.Ina

10yearperiodpeopledie4soflungcancerequaltothatofanonsmoker.Thecancerouscellbecomes

replenished.Finallyaftera15yearperiodthechancesofheartdiseasesisthesameasanonsmoker

(SomeBenefitsofQuittingSmoking).

Finally,weshoulddiscussthecostofsmokingandwhatanindividualcouldsaveifhe
orshestoppedsmoking.AnewstudysayseverypackofcigarettessoldintheUnitedStatescoststhe
countrymorethansevendollarsinexpenses.Thereportalsosaystheaveragecostofcigarettesisjust
underthreedollarsapack.(
Health&Medicine
).

Fromadifferentreport,theTreasury
DepartmentDeputySecretaryLawrenceH.SummersonTuesdaytoldaSenatepanelthatAmericans
spendanother$60billionayeartreatingsmokingrelatedillnesses.Smokingduringpregnancy,hesaid,
coststhecountrymorethan$3billionayear.Firescostanother$500million,andsmokerswithgrouplife
insurancepushuppremiumsfornonsmokersinthesamepoolby$4billionayear,Summersadded.

TheClintonadministrationtodayisreleasingastudyofthecostofsmokingtotheAmericaneconomy.
CentraltoMcCain'spushthisweekisstrikingadelicatebalancebetweenraisingcigarettepriceshigh
enoughtodiscouragekidsfromsmoking,butnotsohighthatablackmarketwouldbeborn.Summerstold
thecommitteethatevery10centsaddedtothepriceofacigarettepackwoulddiscourage700,000
teenagers
fromsmokingandavoid200,000prematuredeathsamongminors.

PresidentClinton'splantoraisecigarettepricesby$1.10apackby2003wouldresultinapriceof$3.19by
thatyear,Summerssaid.ButClintonhasindicatedhealsowouldsupportalargerpriceincrease,suchas
thoseproposedinotherSenatebillsthatwouldraisethepricebyasmuchas$1.50apack.(Kellman).The
amountofmoneythatisspentsupportingthehabitofsmokingcigaretteseventuallycostanindividuala
averageofElevenHundreddollarsperyear.Thisnumberismycalculationatapurchaseofonepackper
day,Threedollarsperpack.

Thetobaccoindustrymustincreasetaxesoncigarettesmoking.Thepriceofsmokingtoan
individualisharmfultotheaddictionbecauseofmoneyandemotionalfeelings.AstudywasdonebyGary
S.Becker,MichaelGrossman,andKevinMurphysayingthatyoungpeopleareresponsivetocigarettes
thanthenormaladult.In1996,Therewasa16%decreaseinyoungsmokerswiththe43cintstaxhikethat
comesoutto2.6millionlesssmokersfromtheages017yearold.TherewasareportdonebyRobertL.
Ohsfeldt,R.G.Boyle,andE.I.Capiloutostatingmalesbetweentheagesof1624whousestobaccowould
rise12%ifthetaxrateoncigarettesincreaseby10%.Theuseofsmokelesstobaccowouldincreasethe
riskoforaldiseases(ChaloupkaandGrossman).


Now,thinkwhatyoucouldspendthemoneyonifyoudidnotpurchasecigarettes.Youcould
makehousepayments,carpayments,paybillsorevengoonashoppingspreeorsaveforanice
vacation.Thosearejustsomequickexamplesofwhereelseyoucouldspendthemoney.Thebiggestaspect
ofsmokingcigarettesistheeffectthatsmokingcauses,suchasthehealthaspectofsmoking.Tobaccouse
remainstheleadingpreventablecauseofdeathanddiseaseintheUnitedStates,responsibleformorethan
400,000prematuredeathseachyear.Givencurrenttrends,morethanfivemillionchildrenalivetodaywill
ultimatelydieprematurelyfromsmoking.(AmericanLegacyFoundation).

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ASHisa31yearoldnationallegalactionantismokingandnonsmokers'rightsorganizationwhichis
entirelysupportedbytaxdeductiblecontributions.
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