What are the
Disadvantages of Smoking Cigarettes?
Coming from a person who smokes, it is very clear that people
should not smoke cigarettes. Smoking is pretty common in today’s society and
has been for quite some time now. However, smokers are becoming the outcast in
today’s society. Thus, proving the fact one should not smoke cigarettes. Surprisingly,
the rate of smokers has drastically dropped in the past fifty years. Currently,
the rate is standing just under twenty percent. Fifty years ago it was sitting
around forty percent. (Daynard)
Have you ever walked past somebody who has just smoked a cigarette? The stale
smell is completely repulsive. Frankly, the offensive odor that smoker’s put
off is probably one of the least problematic outcomes of smoking. Smokers
typically have a yellow smile, and bad breath, to go along with the smoke smell
that lingers off of their clothes. Overall, it is embarrassing and downright
gross. Smoking is bad for several reasons. In particular, cancer and illnesses
can lead to a deadly result. In addition, employers have become strict on
enforcing a non-nicotine work place. Lastly, it is an extreme waste of money.
First of all, annually taking six million lives each year,
people should really think twice before ever lighting up. (Matthew) There
are countless aspects of this, however, all are different forms of cancers and
illnesses. Smoking basically suffocates a person’s lungs which results in lung
cancer. Smoker’s typically have what is called a smoker’s cough due to the
buildup in a person’s lungs. It also causes heavy snoring from sinus congestion.
Both of these are minor problems and don’t cause concern, but still another
disadvantage of smoking. Another most common form of cancer found from smoking
is esophagus cancer[KH1] . (Wu, Chen and Sarwar) Smoking still
affects all parts of the body. For instance, the kidney, bladder, pancreas, and
stomach, just to name a few. Some common forms of diseases and illnesses
include heart disease, stroke, COPD, and asthma. (Wu, Chen and Sarwar) Lighting up causes a
person to be more susceptible to become sick in any of the forms above, but
even down to a simple cold. A smoker is more likely to get a cold then a
non-smoker. In fact, statistics prove a smoker has seven colds a years to a
non-smokers one cold. Smoking also causes nausea and gastrointestinal issues
such as constipation. (Matthew) In general people
don’t realize the seriousness in each of these cases, usually until it is too
late and the addiction has such a hold over them. People end up in the hospital
due to smoking related health problems and are told they need to quit as a
matter of life or death and still consumers cannot kick the habit. When middle
aged people end up sick in the hospital, in this position they feel why quit
now? Unfortunately, the longer a person goes smoking, the harder it is to quit.
This proves the importance of trying to quit now.
Secondly, throughout the past several years, as a country, we
have worked towards becoming smoke free. Some states brought smoking bans into
effect in public places such as restaurants or smoking within so many feet of
entering a public building. More states continue to jump on this bandwagon.
Certain employers are also working towards aiding this control on ending
tobacco use. (Voigt) Mainly hospitals and
health care fields are supporting this non-nicotine policy. Hospitals and
health care fields are leaning towards this policy so their workers enforce a
good health role model towards their patients. (Voigt) They
are doing so through testing job applicants for any kind of tobacco use.
Tobacco testing results in any kind of nicotine proving the test positive. This
includes, even people who are only exposed to secondhand smoke. Now that’s not
fair to somebody who doesn’t smoke, but does prove the point that people
shouldn’t smoke cigarettes. Imagine
going to college for four years, maybe longer, graduating with a well-earned
degree, and then not being able to get the dream job you deserve all due to the
fact of enjoying smoking cigarettes. It may be an enjoyable habit at first,
however, eventually it reaches a point where it is no longer enjoyable, rather
something that a person has to do because of the addiction. Yet, still people
cannot quit. Is it really worth it? The control on tobacco is only minimal
years in effect and it is only going to continue to get stricter, creating more
bans and more laws on situations where it is okay to be a smoker. Society has
gone from favoring smokers to the complete opposite. Initially, people could
smoke anywhere they wanted, and now society is leaning towards favoring
non-smokers. This is good because it is a positive health effect to those who
are not smokers. However, it does create an inconvenience to engage in smoking
because, it still doesn’t get consumers to quit.
Lastly, smoking is probably one of the largest wastes of
money coming to mind. Smokers probably realize this to a certain extent,
however not the bigger picture. For example, say somebody smokes a pack of
cigarettes a day, a pack averages $5.00, give or take, which is $1680.00 a
year. Now let’s multiply that by five years, $8400.00. Ten years, $16,800.
Twenty years, $33,600. Lastly, multiply that by fifty years, if the smoker
lives that long, and reach $84,000. That is a small fortune. We could do so
much with all of this extra money. Many people work their whole lives and try
and save money for retirement. Imagine the shape those people would be in had
they quit smoking. If they would have put that money in an account, they could
have done something they enjoyed with the money or had something to show for
the money. If more people thought about this and figured the numbers would they
still want to smoke? Cigarette prices are continuously rising and taxes for the
product continue to rise. (Matthew) Time is money and
especially in the case of cigarettes. It takes on average five minutes to smoke
a cigarette. Based on a pack a day smoker, an hour and forty minutes are wasted
each day. Which results in over ten hours per week. That is a ton of wasted time considering that
time could be spent doing something productive instead. Not to mention, all of
the time wasted on emptying ashtrays or cleaning cars and houses to mask that
odor.
In conclusion, all of this is only the beginning of the
disadvantages of being a smoker. With countless amounts of negative side
effects, the hold that cigarettes have over its consumers is out of control.
Join the aid in ending tobacco use by spreading the message of the advantages
in quitting. All of the effects of long term tobacco use are very discouraging,
but after just a couple months of being tobacco free, the rates of cancers
drastically drop. The risk for heart disease and stroke generously goes down,
and the body starts repairing itself almost immediately after quitting. Quitting
smoking is a challenge, however a doable challenge. In the long run it creates
a healthier life style and saves money. Who can say no to that? Quitting
smoking results in not just a healthier lifestyle for the smoker, but more
importantly the consumers’ family members. Secondhand smoke is actually worse
than being a smoker which makes an unhealthy environment for children and loved
ones. “Cigarettes result in almost four-hundred thousand preventable deaths
each year.” (Daynard) It is imperative
that people quit smoking: Tobacco use results in many disadvantages through
leading an unhealthy lifestyle, being the outcast in the workplace, and
practically handing money away.
Works
Cited
Daynard, Richard. "Regulatory Approaches to
Ending Cigarette-Caused Death and Disease in the United States." American
Journal of Law and Medicine (2013): 290-297. Academic Search Complete.
Matthew, Allen. "Confronting the Vector of
Tobacco- Related Disease." American Journal of Law & Medicine
(2013): 308-331. Academic Search Complete.
Voigt, Kristin. "Nonsmoker and
"Nonnicotine" Hiring Policies: The Implications of Employment
Restrictions for Tobacco Control." American Journal of Public Health
(November 2012): 2013-2018. Academic Search Complete.
Wu, Fen, Yu Chen and Golam Sarwar. "A
Prospective Study of Tobacco Smoking and Mortality in Bangladesh." PLoS
One (March 2013): 1-11. Academic Search Complete.
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