Death Wish
Cellulose, starch, alkaloids, pectic substances, hydrocarbons, phenols, fatty acids, sterols, and inorganic minerals. Sounds appetizing, doesn�t it? This is the diet of many people, both teenagers and adults. It is not a food diet, but something very harmful. These materials are some of the many substances in a tobacco leaf. This �diet� is called smoking. Smoking is one of the most harmful, yet casual things American teenagers do today. So casual, in fact, that 19 percent of the nation�s 13- and 14-year-olds smoke (Castellanos A01). Despite the many diseases and unpleasant aftereffects, people still start. Some say it�s due to peer pressure, some say advertising, and yet others say it is because we are being influenced by parents or other role models. People, especially teenagers, should know about smoking because it has harmful effects, the chemistry of it is needed to be known to have a better knowledge, and to help antismoking actions take place in the future.
President Bill Clinton stated this fact, �Today and every day this year, 3,000 young people will begin to smoke. One thousand of them ultimately will die of cancer, emphysema, heart disease, and other diseases caused by smoking. That�s more than one million vulnerable young people a year being hooked on nicotine that ultimately could kill them� (Clinton). Despite the harmful effects of smoking, many Americans continue to and start to smoke. Smoking is a cause of many diseases. Many of these involve the respiratory or circulatory system. For example, smoking is the major cause of lung cancer among men. In fact, ninety percent of all lung cancer cases occur in people who smoke (Collier 100). Smoking causes more cases of chronic bronchitis and emphysema than air pollution. In an industrialized society like our own, you would think the opposite. But, when people smoke, they smoke a lot. Some smoke as many as twenty cigarettes per day. This compounds the problems that may occur after smoking for a long period of time. The chemical substances in a cigarette help lung cancer flourish. The cancer is triggered by chemical substances, some of which are found in a cigarette. These are just some of the problems that might occur after smoking. It is perplexing that so many people continue to smoke despite all of the health risks.
There are many other health concerns attached to smoking. Many of these are related to cancer. The tar from tobacco contacting tissues irritate the cells leading to cancer. Cancer of the larynx is greatly influenced by smoking. Although it still occurs among non-smokers, this cancer is directly related to the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Cancer of the lip is affected by smoking, mainly that of pipes. This is the only oral cancer that leads to cancer. Cancer of the esophagus is also related to smoking. The risk of dying from esophageal cancer is four to five times higher for smokers than nonsmokers. Cancer is one of the most deadly and painful diseases someone can face. Compounding it by smoking is like suicide. The relationship between someone�s health and whether or not they smoke is always going to be present. Although not all people experience these diseases or complications, it is prudent to refrain from smoking or being around someone who smokes. These are just some of the many health concerns related to smoking.
The very chemistry of a cigarette is needed to be known. If everyone knew what was inside a tobacco leaf, it is likely that many people would avoid being in contact with cigarette smoke. The substances I mentioned earlier were only a few of the materials in a tobacco leaf. It contains: Cellulosic products, starches, proteins, sugars, alkaloids, pectic substances, hydrocarbons, phenols, fatty acids, isoprenoids, sterols, and inorganic minerals (Collier 99). Many of these substances are in other plants, but there are two that are known for being in a tobacco plant: Alkaloid nicotine and isoprenoids. Cigarette smoke, with a temperature of 1623 degrees Fahrenheit, is a mixture of 60 percent gases and 40 percent liquid particles. A cigarette might have anywhere from 3 to 40 milligrams of tar. The gas phase of cigarette smoke is of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, argon, and methane. There are also 40 other elements that are in trace amounts. Anyone who looks at what is inside tobacco is likely to have second thoughts about smoking.
All of the chemicals present in tobacco and cigarette smoke can slow down the activity of cilia in the respiratory system. These structures expel mucus and other substances from the throat. This is why all people who smoke on a regular basis tend to cough. The cell changes caused by these chemicals can initiate changes that can lead to cancer. Although nicotine doesn�t constitute as a health threat, it is the thing that makes smoking so addictive. It is involved in the metabolism of a person or other animal. The by-products of this aren�t harmful, but tobacco companies put it into a cigarette to produce either stimulating or sedating effects. There have been people who have tried to make a safe cigarette. The factor slowing this process down is the fact that there are over 2,000 components in cigarette smoke (Collier 99). The harmful components are difficult to find and it could take an even longer process to eliminate them. Filters could be developed to remove most of the particles, most of the taste would be eliminated as well as most of the industry. The cigarettes now are less dangerous in the fact that they have less nicotine and tar in them. Many of the chemicals contained in the tobacco leaf or in cigarette smoke are harmful. Effects of smoking last long and are widespread.
There are antismoking measures taking place to help reduce the problem among young people. Bill Clinton authorized the Food and Drug Administration to take some actions in reducing smoking among young people. He let them force young people to prove their age with an I.D. card to buy cigarettes. Cigarette vending machines which detour bans on sales to kids will be prohibited. Advertising such as using the picture of Joe Camel won�t appear on billboards or in ads that will be seen by a large number of children. The tobacco industry must fund and institute a $150-million campaign to stop teens from smoking through educational efforts. These measures that are taking place are because, unless he wanted to write something into a law, President Clinton could not have done anything else. This had to be completely voluntary. Because of all the risks, people have tried to do everything they can to stop smoking among young people. Smoking is such a problem that a quarter more 10th-graders are smoking than there were 10 years ago. The different actions taking place are simply because this problem is increasing on a large scale. There isn�t much left for us to do other than to make some sort of law that would ban smoking.
We, the common people, have to implement some actions to persuade people not to smoke. Bill Clinton has also spoken on this. He said, �To those who produce and market cigarettes, take responsibility for your actions. Sell your products only to adults. Draw the line on children. Show by your deeds as well as your words that you recognize that it is wrong as well as illegal to hook one million children a year on tobacco� (Clinton). The problem is that this is not working. Cigarette companies claim that they aren�t trying to hook teenagers, but they are. The problem is that they are getting away with this. They are only trying to make money, and the best way to do that is to influence people who will be open to suggestion. We need to persuade our friends and family so that they will stop. One person can make a difference. In time, we will eventually solve this problem.
Smoking has started to be a problem among teenagers. Despite the harmful effects, despite the chemistry of a tobacco plant, and despite antismoking measures, teenagers are still smoking. It�s not just the harmful effects of smoking that can hurt someone, but what may come after. Drugs are also becoming a major problem. Smoking may just seem like a little thing, but is can lead up to things that can destroy one�s life, such as drugs, alcohol, or even smoking a few packs of cigarettes a day. This is something that must be stopped. We have tried to make people aware of the harms, but that hasn�t helped. We have taught people what is in the tobacco leaf, but that hasn�t helped either. We have tried many antismoking measures, but those efforts have been met with equally limited success. The measures we are taking are not working. We need to make people even more aware of the harmful effects and the chemistry of smoking. If we embed these facts into each individual�s brain, something good might happen. If this doesn�t work, then we need to keep people away from cigarettes. We may have to use the law to make this stop. But, as long as this stays a problem, people�s lives will be ruined. We need to stop the problems that have happened in the past, then stop the problems in the present; then, we will have a good future.
Works Cited
Castellanos, Cami. �Youth and Cigarettes: More Teens are Smoking Despite Risk.� The Oregonian July 20, 1995: A01. NewsBank, 1995.
Clinton, Bill. �Transcript of a Press Conference by the President [Part 1 of 2].� U.S. Newswire August 10, 1995. NewsBank, 1995.
�Smoking.� Collier�s Encyclopedia 1985: 97-102. MacMillen Educational Company, 1985.