Effect Of Tobacco Use – Gideon Aryertey Embry Riddle Aeronau

Effect of Tobacco Use Gideon Aryertey Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

Over decades, many individuals have been using tobacco without being aware of its harmful effects. For instance, in the U.S., the rate of cigarette smoking increased immensely in the early twentieth century. This was due to the invention of the cigarette rolling machine as well as an increase in the advertisement of tobacco products. As a result, cigarette smoking expanded regardless of the opposition of religious leaders or other members. Tobacco consumption reaches its peak especially between the ages of 20 to 40 in both females and males although statistically males consume more than females. Furthermore, the smoking rate amongst African-Americans (16.7%) are higher than the national average in comparison to Caucasians (16.6%). In fact, mixed race individuals and American Indian/Alaska Natives have higher smoking rates than African-Americans.

As a result, this shows that there’s a big issue with the use of tobacco. Tobacco has led to many diseases such as lung cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke. It also leads to addiction. However, it is significant for one to overcome the addiction of tobacco use to improve their health status. Educating people about the harmful effect of tobacco consumption and making tobacco less affordable will correspond to a gradual decrease in its use.

Tobacco use has caused numerous deaths amongst individuals despite their socioeconomic backgrounds. For instance, approximately 30 percent of people who perish due to cancer in the United States; 80 percent of these deaths are caused by lung cancer. Lung cancer is the main cause of cancer-related deaths in the youth and adults. (Addicott, Sweitzer & McClernon, 2018). Lung cancer attacks both genders and the treatment process can be very complex. Consumers of tobacco are affected by this disease because it exterminates the cells responsible for fighting against the disease. Also, the use of tobacco affects the proper functioning of all the organs in the body.

Other than lung cancer, tobacco consumption can also lead to mouth, esophagus, larynx, liver, kidney, bladder, cervix, pharynx, stomach, myeloid leukemia, pancreas and colon cancers (Ebbert, Elrashidi & Stead, 2015). In fact, about 7300 nonsmokers die from lung disease every year according to the International Agency that is responsible for Research on Cancer (IARC) after being exposed to tobacco. Additionally, a 2009 survey that was conducted in China indicated that about 38 percent of smokers were aware that smoking contributes to attack of coronary heart disease while 27 percent were aware that it can lead to a stroke (Ambrose, et. al, 2017). However, individuals who smoke about five cigarettes a day showed signs of various diseases and damages to the blood vessels (Gilreath, et. al, 2016).

In fact, blood vessels are thickened and then become narrower. As a result, the flow of blood from various body tissues and organs varies translating to heart disease. Failure of the heart to work correctly corresponds to high death rates because vitamins, proteins, and carbohydrates are not distributed to all parts of the body. (Landin, et. al, 2017). Nicotine is the primary chemical in tobacco that leads to addiction. It can be absorbed in the bloodstream of tobacco users or even inhaled through cigarette smoke. Nicotine increases the percentage of dopamine that stimulates regions of the brain. (Lee, et. al. 2015)

Conclusion

It is obvious according to research conducted that tobacco use weakens the cells responsible for preventing the diseases that occur which will eventually result in death if action is not taken. Tobacco use amongst youths and adults have led to more negative outcomes than positive. Therefore, all organizations that are responsible for reducing the use of tobacco should continue educating individuals about the harmful effects of tobacco as well as making it less affordable.

References

• Addicott, M. A., Sweitzer, M. M., & McClernon, F. J. (2018). The Effects of Nicotine and Tobacco Use on Brain Reward Function: Interaction With Nicotine Dependence Severity. Nicotine & Tobacco Research.
• Ebbert, J. O., Elrashidi, M. Y., & Stead, L. F. (2015). Interventions for smokeless tobacco use cessation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (10).
• Gilreath, T. D., Leventhal, A., Barrington-Trimis, J. L., Unger, J. B., Cruz, T. B., Berhane, K., ... & Pentz, M. A. (2016). Patterns of alternative tobacco product use: emergence of hookah and e-cigarettes as preferred products amongst youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 58(2).
• Landin, M., Kubasiak, J. C., Schimpke, S., Poirier, J., Myers, J. A., Millikan, K. W., & Luu, M. B. (2017). The effect of tobacco use on outcomes of laparoscopic and open inguinal hernia repairs: a review of the NSQIP dataset. Surgical Endoscopy, 31(2).
• Lee, Y. O., Hebert, C. J., Nonnemaker, J. M., & Kim, A. E. (2015). Youth tobacco product use in the United States. Pediatrics, 135(3).
• Levy, D. T., Mays, D., Boyle, R. G., Tam, J., & Chaloupka, F. J. (2016). The effect of tobacco control policies on US smokeless tobacco use: a structured review. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 20(1), 3-11.
• McNeill, A., Gravely, S., Hitchman, S. C., Bauld, L., Hammond, D., & Hartmann-Boyce, J. (2017). Tobacco packaging design for reducing tobacco use. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (4).
• Schizophrenia Bulletin, Wehring, H., Powell, M., Sayer, M., Hackman, A., Buchanan, R., Nichols, R., ... & Earl, A. (2019). T85. The effect of adjunct aripiprazole on measures of tobacco use and craving in women with psychotic disorders.
• Ambrose, K., et al. (2017). Smoking and cardiovascular health: implications for prevention and control. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.