 Smoking
Why do people smoke? why does the government make such a big effort to discourage people from smoking? is cigarette smoking really a major health problem? these are some of the questions many people would ask themselves. smokers are not convinced that cigarette smoking is detriment their health. they often argue that even non-smokers have been known to get lung cancer or that they have been smoking for several years and yet nothing has happened to them.
WHY DO PEOPLE SMOKE?
some young people smoke because they believe that smoking is a symbol of adulthood. This is reinforced by advertisements from cigarette companies. The advertisers try to give the impression that maturity, social status, happiness and success are linked with smoking. however, surveys have shown that many young people smoke in order to cover up for their weaknesses or short comings such as failing in their studies or sports!
There are young people who start smoking out of curiosity, They want to experience what smoking is all about. Unfortunately, cigarette contains drugs that are addictive, and so smokers find it difficult to give up smoking.
young people may also like to imitate their parents who smoke. Many others smoke because they want to be accepted as members of a group of friends who smoke. their friends persistent teasing and urging may make them feel that they are not "SPORTING" enough if they do not smoke. This is called "PEER GROUP" pressure.
WHY DO PEOPLE CONTINUE TO SMOKE?
The reasons given by people who continue to smoke are that smoking is stimulating and that it relieves tension, depression or even boredom. These are actually psychological effects because smoking cannot provide stimulation and reduce tension at the same time.
People who need to smoke a certain number of cigarettes in a day at particular time for e.g after meal have already formed the habit. If they do not smoke at those times, they feel that something is missing.
A cigarette is a drug, you can become addicted to it. People who try to stop smoking may develop with drawl symptoms if they have smoked heavily for a long time. these symptoms include a craving smoke, become sleepless and irritable, numbness in the arms and legs, an inability to concentrate on their work and coughing more than usual. These unpleasant symptoms usually disappear with in a relatively short time.
Cigarette smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals. Some of which are very harmful to the body.
Nicotine:
This is the addictive drug present in tobacco.
It stimulates the brain at first maker the smoker feel alert and relates the muscles. Later it dulls the brain and senses.
It causes the release of Adrenaline. This increases the blood pressure and the rate of heartbeat.
It makes blood clot easily. Therefore it increases the risk of blood clots, blocking blood vessels. If such clots block the coronary arteries, a heart attack may occur, or if they occur in blood capillaries of the brain, a stroke may result.
Carbon Mono-oxide:
If the concentration of Carbon monoxide in the air is increased by 1% it can produce a deadly effect-- a person inhaling such a concentration of the gas may die with in 10 minutes. This is because CO reduces the efficiency of the red blood cells to transport oxygen.
It increases the rate at which fatty substances are deposited on the inner walls of arteries causing thick lumen to become narrower.
It damages the lining of blood vessels, ths increasing the tendency of the blood to clot and so block blood vessels.
Tar:
This is a brown sticky substance that accumulates in lungs during smoking.
It contains many cancer causing (carcinogenic) chemicals blocking the air sacs, reducing the efficiency of the gaseous exchange.
It paralyzes the cilia lining, the air passages. This prevents the cilia from removing dust particles from the lungs and trachea.
Irritants:
Examples include hydrogen cyanide and acrolein.
These substances paralyzes the cilia the air passages and weaken the walls of the alveoli.
They irritate the cell lining, the air passages causing them to produce mucus. This, in turn, causes a "smokers' cough". ---------------------------------------------- | 
Re: Smoking 
