Michael Speegle

Alicia Grimes

English 1310

November 28, 2004

Smoking Effects and Benefits of Cessation

Smoking tobacco products can have several hazardous effects on the human body that can distort appearances and endanger lives. Cigarettes and other tobacco products that are used for smoking contain numerous harmful substances that can cause complications for the consumer. Eileen Heyes, author of Tobacco U.S.A.: The Industry behind the Smoke Curtain, states that, “More than 4,700 chemicals have been identified in cigarette smoke; more than 40 of those are known to cause cancer” (49). Smoking tobacco not only destroys the body of the smoker, but “second-hand smoke” can also have damaging effects on those around the smoker as well. This type of harmful “second-hand smoke” is called Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS). Tobacco smoke is a hazardous substance that can cause some minor physical problems and some major problems that can be life-threatening for the bodies of smokers and nonsmokers; furthermore, as damaging as smoking may be, through cessation of smoking, smokers can gain immediate and long-term health benefits.

The smoking of tobacco products can have several minor physical effects on the smoker. These effects are yellow teeth, foul breath, damaged taste buds, and stained fingernails. Yellow teeth and foul breath are two unpleasant effects that are caused by the tar in cigarettes. Karen Fanning verifies that, “Tar . . . stains smokers’ teeth . . . Tar stimulates the growth of bacteria in the mouth, which leaves smokers with bad breath” (par. 6,7). To have damaged taste buds is to have a loss of taste from the mouth. Fannning confirms the loss of taste as a cause of smoking by describing, “The chemicals in cigarettes deaden your sense of taste . . .” (par. 8). Having stained fingers and fingernails is another minor yet embarrassing effect of smoking cigarettes. The article Killer Smoke explains the causes of the discoloration of fingernails and fingers as, “The tar on the filter tip of a cigarette turns fingernails yellow” (Fanning par. 13). The tar in cigarettes causes these minor effects on the body; however, there are many other harmful chemicals and substances in cigarettes that can cause other defects as well. Smokers are usually more prone to wrinkles earlier in life than non-smokers. These wrinkles are caused by the nicotine in cigarettes. Karen Fanning explains this fact by stating, “Nicotine in cigarettes constricts blood vessels in the body. That prevents a smoker’s skin from getting the oxygen and nutrients it needs” (par. 14). These minor effects on the human body may appear small, but are in fact the most observed by others since they are physically obvious traits. Cigarettes are filled with detrimental substances that can cause minor effects on the smoker.

The minor physical effects on a smoker are awful, but there are even greater effects that can occur. These harmful health effects include: nicotine addiction, black lungs, fetus health problems (caused by pregnant women that smoke), and an ill heart. Nicotine, an ingredient in cigarettes, is a very potent chemical that is extremely addictive. Becoming addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes may sound harmless, but it is actually one of the most dangerous effects of smoking. Eileen Heyes in her book, Tobacco U.S.A.: The Industry behind the Smoke Curtain, explains that, “Nicotine, the addictive agent in smoke, is a poison sometimes used in pesticides . . . Although a single drop of pure nicotine would kill an average-size man, the amount in a puff of cigarette smoke is small enough for the body to quickly break down” (49). Since nicotine is addictive, smokers are tempted to consume more and more cigarettes, which ultimately will lead to other smoking effects. Another hazard of smoking is developing a condition called Black Lungs. Karen Fanning, in her article Killer Smoke, explains the cause and effect of Black Lungs by stating, “Carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke decreases the lungs’ ability to take in oxygen, which leaves smokers short of breath” (par. 10). Fanning also affirms that, “Cigarette smoke can damage cells in the lungs, causing inflammation, which may eventually lead to chronic bronchitis, cancer, or emphysema, a serious illness that destroys the lung’s air sacs eventually making it impossible to breathe” (par. 10). Even unborn babies are susceptible to the health problems caused by their mothers’ smoking. Eileen Heyes explains this fact by confirming, “Nicotine kills brain cells and retards brain development in human fetuses. The child of a woman who smoked during pregnancy is more likely to have learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, or mental retardation” (58). In addition, people who smoke are putting themselves at risk to die of heart disease. In Eric Northup’s book Science Looks at Smoking, a survey shows that, “ . . . Survey of the American Cancer Society, based on a follow-up study covering about 188,000 white men aged 50-69, claims that cigarette smokers run a much higher risk of dying of lung, and heart disease too, than do nonsmokers” (143). Many people die from heart disease and almost 20 percent of these deaths fall victim from smoking (Heyes 57). Clearly, smoking can cause very serious health problems. These health problems range from addiction, to death, and can affect the smoker as well as an unborn child.

Above all the problems smoking has to offer, cancer is the most deadly disorder. Also, Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) is a major problem area for nonsmokers. ETS is the smoke left behind from a smoker, which is then inhaled by a nonsmoker. Furthermore, smoking can cause cancer to many parts of the human body. A major cancer caused by smoking is lung cancer. Eileen Heyes points out that, “Smoking is responsible for more than 85 percent of lung cancers, about 30 percent of all cancer deaths . . . Smokers are eleven times as likely to die from lung cancer as are nonsmokers ” (57). She continues her facts by adding, “Every year about 3,000 nonsmokers die of lung cancer . . . from breathing others’ cigarette smoke” (58). This fact that Heyes implies is important because ETS causes the lung cancer deaths for the nonsmokers. Since the smoke from cigarettes can cause nonsmokers to develop lung cancer, ETS is a major concern among the people who study it. Lung cancer isn’t the only tragic cancer. The carcinogens in cigarettes affect many other parts of the body as well as the lungs. Heyes holds this fact true by elaborating, “Cigarette smoke is also linked to cancers of the kidney, bladder, cervix, pancreas, mouth, throat, and esophagus” (58). Moreover, research has shown that stunningly, minorities are more prone to lung cancer than whites. Heyes explains this by stating, “African-American men die of lung cancer at a rate about 50 percent higher than that of white men. A 1998 study suggested that blacks absorb more nicotine per cigarette than smokers of other ethnicities” (59). Conclusively, cancers in the human body are mutated cells that are repeatedly produced. These mutated cells cause harmful outcomes that might not be controllable if the cancer is caught too late, resulting in death.

One way to eliminate or at least slow down adverse health effects is by cessation, or to quit smoking. If a person begins cessation their health will benefit greatly from it. As noted by Richard Edwards in his Journal, The Problem of Tobacco Smoking, he notes, “Stopping smoking has substantial immediate and long term health benefits for smokers of all ages. The excess risk of death from smoking falls soon after cessation and continues to do so for at least 10-15 years” (par. 10). Cessation for the most part can reduce the risk of a lot of ailments; however, there are some that cannot be fixed. The book Tobacco U.S.A.: The Industry behind the Smoke Curtain explains, “The destruction of lung tissue that leads to emphysema, however, is permanent” (Heyes 59). One major fact pointed out by Edwards is, “There is benefit from quitting at all ages, but stopping before age 30 removes 90 percent of the lifelong risk of lung cancer” (par. 11). Smokers that quit younger have a good increase in health benefits. A smoker can maintain about the same life expectancy as that of a nonsmoker, as long as they quit smoking before 35 years of age (Edwards 10). Overall, cessation is an excellent direction towards a healthier life for a smoker. Smokers can benefit substantially from cessation, with a greater percentage for the ability to surpass life-threatening situations.

Consumption of tobacco smoke products by smokers leave themselves and nonsmokers with physically embarrassing effects and a possibility for life threatening ailments; although, for those that quit smoking, positive health benefits can result. Since smoking can cause many problems, the smoker takes a risk at losing years off their expected life span. Eileen Heyes puts this fact into perspective by implying, “Smoking cuts an average of seven years off a smoker’s life” (58). Notice, that’s only the average, some people can erase even more than seven years off their life. Although an abundance of people smoke, a big percentage would most likely quit if they could. Heyes backs this point up by adding, “Four fifths of smokers say they would not start smoking if they had it to do over. But 90 percent of smokers who try to quit fail” (60). Anticipation of smoking tobacco products to come to a total end is arguably questionable, but smoking numbers may drop if the public is continually informed from research and lab studies about the dangers of smoking.