subject: The Consequences of Cigarette Smoking [print this page] The Consequences of Cigarette Smoking The Consequences of Cigarette Smoking
A Science teacher in an Elementary class asked her students to bring a plastic alcohol bottle, a bunch of cotton balls, and a cigarette stick. The students were instructed to fill the bottle with cotton balls. After which, they bore a hole through the bottle, fit the size of the cigarette stick. They now have an instant lung model. With the cigarette placed in the hole, they squeezed the bottle in a pattern of a breathing lung. As the bottle is repeatedly squeezed, the cigarette eventually burned out and the cotton inside the bottle turned to yellow. This very same event occurs in the lungs of an active smoker.
There are more than four thousand (4000) chemicals condensed in a single cigarette stick. This fact explains the damaging effect of smoking. Nicotine, one of the chemicals released in cigarette smoking is the most potent above all. It is indirectly responsible for the release of what is called Dopamine, a chemical in the brain that controls pleasure and motivation. The effect is similar to the effects of other abusive and addictive drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Chronic exposure to nicotine results to addiction and tolerance. The pleasurable experience makes it harder for smokers to quit, instead it pushes them to crave more and more as time goes on.
There is more to just the addictive effect of smoking. The damaging substance, nicotine affects the whole body's normal functioning. To mention a few, these are: increased blood pressure, increased respiration, increased pulse and increased blood sugar content. Here's a simple pathology that explains the reason behind this event. As the body is continually exposed to nicotine, it releases adrenaline which is the substance that enables increased blood pressure and increased release of glucose. In addition, nicotine can suppress the release of what we call Insulin which is the chemical responsible for the absorption of sugar into the cells and not in to the blood. This is also the reason why smoking is a contributing factor to Diabetes. If not halted; the above mentioned pathological effects of smoking can lead to a more serious health condition such as Heart Failure, Chronic Pulmonary Disease, Cancer and other conditions concerning the circulatory system and respiratory system.
The danger of smoking that is mentioned above pertains not only to the active smokers, but also to the passive smokers as well. These are the people inhaling the smoke. Passive smokers are even situated in more danger than the active smokers as they are inhaling the unfiltered and the exhaled smoke of the active smoker. In certain studies, it was even stated that 40% of lung cancer patients are victims of passive smoking.
The public has to be well educated with the adverse effects that smoking has brought to humanity. Smoking Cessation campaigns with the help of mass media can help distribute the facts and realities of cigarette smoking.
