Smoking the American Cancer Society (Acs) Reports Essay

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Smoking

The American Cancer Society (ACS) reports that one in five deaths in the United States is the result of tobacco use. The Surgeon General issued a statement in 1982 that is still true thirty years later: "Cigarette smoking is the major single cause of cancer mortality [death] in the United States" (Leo Rosen, 2011). The effects of cigarette smoking can be deadly and perhaps surprisingly, less than half the deaths associated with smoking are cancer-related. Emphysema, heart disease, and stroke are among the fatal consequences of smoking. The effects of cigarette smoking also can be seen in diseases that are not immediately life-threatening, such as asthma and peripheral vascular disease (PVD), but they nevertheless bring a great deal of suffering and cost billions of dollars each year to treat.

There are more deaths associated with smoking than from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined ("Centers for Disease," 2012). Smokers, compared to non-smokers, have at least double the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Men who smoke are twenty-three times more likely to develop lung cancer; women who smoke are thirteen times more likely than their non-smoking peers. Smokers of both genders are twelve to thirteen times more likely to die from chronic obstructive lung diseases.

Cigarette tobacco contains chemicals such as nicotine, formaldehyde, ammonia, and cyanide that are poisonous to the body in high enough doses. The effects of ingesting these poisons can happen slowly, although first-time smokers may get sick as the body goes in defense mode in reaction to these poisons.

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It is not unusual for first-time smokers to feel pain or burning in the throat and lungs. Some people even feel sick or throw up the first few times they try tobacco (Hirsch). It is the body's way of coping. When something make one sick, it is a warning signal that the substance is dangerous and should be avoided.

The Centers for Disease and Prevention also report coronary heart disease is currently the leading cause of death in the United States. This disease can be one of the most common, and deadliest, effects of smoking. The mixture of carbon monoxide and nicotine temporarily increases one's heart rate and blood pressure. Carbon monoxide robs the muscles, brain, and body tissue of oxygen, making all systems in the body, especially the heart, to work harder. Fat deposits can narrow and ultimately block blood vessels.When one has coronary heart disease, the arteries narrow. It puts great stress on the aoerta -- the main artery of the body -- and can result in problems in the limbs ranging from pain to tissue loss or gangrene. Some smokers eventually have to have limbs amputated (Johnson).

Lung cancer can be another effect of smoking. Tar, a byproduct of tobacco smoke, coats the lungs the same way soot coats a chimney. One's lungs literally begin to rot away. Emphysema is another illness that can result from smoking, and it, too, rots the lungs. People with emphysema are more susceptible to bronchitis and suffering repeated bouts can bring about lung and heart….....

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