Tobacco was a big hit when it first came out many years ago. Back then, tobacco companies were able to advertise their products. No one seemed to know the harmful effects that tobacco has on a person's health, societal health, money, and government. Now, so many negative effects of tobacco are known, and the use of tobacco is being greatly discouraged.
Tobacco is so addicting because it contains the chemical nicotine. Short-term effects include an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and the flow of blood from the heart. Arteries narrow, and the amount of oxygen in demand to the amount of oxygen present is not equal. People experience shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. Smoking also causes a person to have a change in their appetite. The tar from the tobacco will start its build-up within the lungs. Your hair, breath, and clothes begin to smell. Teeth start getting black specks. Even just using tobacco for a short period of time causes damage to a person's personal health.
Tobacco's long-term effects include: tobacco will not only eventually cause lung cancer, but it can cause cancer of the mouth, nose, voice box, throat, bladder, somach, kidney, liver, pancreas, esophagus, uterine cervix, and acute myeloid leukemia. People that do not smoke but are around those who do may suffer health problems from the secondhand smoke. Nearly 3,000 non-smoking adults die from lung cancer every year because of the secondhand smoke. Soon, the smoker's lungs are black from the tar, and the suffer from respiratory diseases like bronchitis or emphysema. Your brain can be effected from using tobacco. Blood could clot and cause a stroke; fat deposits develop in arteries around the heart and cause a heart attack. Don't forget the changes in appearance that occur also. Teeth become tinged yellow, a smoker's face could become gaunt looking, and it seems as though you permanently reek of the smoke that comes with tobacco. There are many more effects from tobacco that result from long-term use.
Tobacco users' societal health will also suffer. When an individual begins their habits, they are probably hanging around a new crowd of people. Their old friends are probably the ones who frown upon tobacco users and are only thinking for the best of their friend when they try to stop them. Basically, people who do not approve of tobacco use or do not want to risk the chance of becoming addicted themselves or ill from secondhand smoke will begin to alienate themselves from the tobacco users. Tension may occur between a couple or family members because they do not like to see their precious child, mother, father, or spouse killing themselves. Just by beginning to use tobacco, relationships that used to be strong and healthy may no longer be that way or even exist at all.
Smokers do not risk their health just by smoking; they risk their lives because they could end up poverty-stricken. Buying the tobacco is not the only way a person loses money because of tobacco. Insurance for smokers is more expensive, they have to spend more on dry cleaning and teeth cleaning, and they even lose money on the resale value of their homes and vehicles. In the end, smokers do not receive as much in Social Security benefits or in pension. Although money may be tight as it is because you need to buy a pack of cigarettes a day, some workplaces are no longer hiring those who smoke. Some places could even end up firing their employees because they tak too many "smoke breaks." 5% of companies prefer to hire those who do not smoke, and 1% of companies just do not hire smokers at all. If all companies began denying smokers jobs, they would have no choice but to quit smoking or live in poverty. Tobacco products are no where near being cheap, and hopefully in th future, moeny constraints and the lack of jobs for smokers/tobacco users will cause everyone to quit smoking.
Right now, the issue of legalizing drugs is a big debate. People who are for the legalization of drugs are citing the legal use of tobacco as an excuse. Just because tobacco i still legal definitely does not mean the other drugs should be too. Governments also have to keep making and passing new laws regarding tobacco use because of the new evidence found that tobacco has major health problems. To make it easier on themselves, our national government should take a step towards improving the health of its people.
I personally feel that tobacco use should be illegal. Reading about all the health risks and deaths that occur every year because of tobacco use is really astounding. Tobacco use is not bad for just the people who make the conscious decision to use it, but it also harms the people just walking by. Secondhand smoke can be nearly as harmful as mainstream smoke, and no passing individual asked the smoker to blow a puff of cigarette smoke in their face. I have also had personal experience with losing people to tobacco use. My grandpa suffered a stroke, most likely from all the tobacco he used. Keeping tobacco use legal just seems to be an extra hassle for government officials who have to consider new laws to please the non-smoking public. When our economy is so horrible, I think there are better ways a person can spend their money. Buying tobacco has to be the biggest waste of $5-ish/pack I have ever heard of. If you bought a pack a day, it would cost $1,825/year plus the tax on each pack!! I just know that even if tobacco remains legal for the rest of my life, I will never use any form of tobacco.
http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/drug_guide/Tobacco
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2x_Tobacco-Related_Cancers_Fact_Sheet.asp?sitearea=PED
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/health_effects/respiratory/index.htm
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourHealth/HighCostOfSmoking.aspx
http://www.con-suming.com/Tobacco/should_tobacco_be_legal.htm
http://consumerissues.cas.psu.edu/PDFs/TobaccoCostsAdult.pdf
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