Tobacco smoking has been confirmed as the single largest cause of premature and preventable deaths in the USA. The effect of cigarette smoking on both active and passive users has sparked debates on whether the product should be banned. This has given rise to mixed reactions, where tobacco use has been viewed as a valuable stress relief tool despite its harmful effects. The use of tobacco in the United States becomes popular as early as the colonial era (Prabhat et al., 2013). The number of users dramatically increased following the invention of the cigarette and sequentially the cigarette-making machine in the mid to late 19th century. The reduced prices and increased access to tobacco ensured that halfway into the 20th century, more than 40% of American adults were frequent cigarette smokers. Increased awareness of the detrimental effects of cigarette smoking has led to a decline in the proportion of smokers. By 2015, the figures stood at 15.1% adult smokers, representing a significant 36.5 million American citizens. Despite the fact that cigarette is addictive, economically expensive and harmful health-wise, 13% of young adults are tobacco users (Chen, 2013). Moreover, among American youth and young adults, 2100 become daily smokers with every passing day mainly due to peer pressure, raising alarms on the need to ban cigarette use.
Tobacco is a plant cultivated for its leaves. When mature, the leaves are picked, dried and cured for use in various tobacco products. Tobacco can be used in many forms including chewing, sniffing and smoking (Cheyne et al., 2014). The latter has become the most popular, where the cheaper and easier to use cigarette is preferable to cigars due to its effectiveness and efficiency in absorption of nicotine. Over time, tobacco use has evolved to include the use of hookahs and vaporizers as well as electric cigarettes. Moreover, marketing, flavoring, and diversification of tobacco products have increased its use. Cigarettes are mainly smoked for social and psychological reasons. While some people smoke for recreational purposes, others may do so just to fit in or blend more easily in social environments (Prabhat et al., 2013). Still, a greater fraction smoke for the relaxing and mind-clearing effect, especially in stressful situations. The calming effect of smoking is attributed to the chemical nicotine, which is both a stimulant and depressant. It reaches the brain within seconds of smoking, and its effects wear off quickly, resulting in cravings that eventually evolve into nicotine dependence when satisfied.
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Majority of cigarette users are oblivious to the fact that cigarette smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals, where 43 are carcinogenic and 400 significantly toxic. The main ingredients include nicotine, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, DDT, tar, and arsenic, which are added for various processing purposes (Chen, 2013). The highly addictive nature of nicotine increases cigarette consumption, where some manufacturers have been accused of increasing nicotine levels to boost product demand. Although the majority of smokers are negligent on the related health concerns, inveterate cigarette smoking has been directly linked to various types of cancer including lung, mouth, larynx, esophagus, liver, bladder, throat and stomach cancer. Smoking also results in chronic constructive pulmonary disease as well other physical effects including teeth staining and poor oral hygiene (Cheyne et al., 2014). Moreover, these harmful effects are experienced by passive users as well, where the degree of effects increases with a decrease in age.
Although cigarette smokers and supporters of the habit have termed it as psychologically valuable, the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. Other than the health concerns raised, cigarette smoking has been linked to other drug dependences as smoking intensifies the effects of other drugs as well as the rate of addiction. Furthermore, smoking has been viewed as an ineffective stress relief technique as the desired effects wear off too quickly, resulting in either habitual use or leaving the user in a worse state due to withdrawal effects (Prabhat et al., 2013). Moreover, smoking dependence has aroused debates on legalizing marijuana in its stead, yet marijuana itself contains 50-70% more carcinogens. Given the effects and the forecasted preventable deaths especially among the American youth, cigarette and tobacco use should be promptly prohibited.
References
Chen, G. G. (2013). Cigarette Consumption and Health Effects. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Cheyne, A. et al. (2014). The debate on regulating menthol cigarettes: closing a dangerous loophole vs. freedom of choice. American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), 104 (7), e54-e61
Prabhat J. et al. (2013). 21st-Century Hazards of Smoking and Benefits of Cessation in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine, 368 , 341-350
