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A Smoke Free Life

Tobacco smoke contains a stimulant nicotine which forms a strong physical and psychological chemical dependence (addiction). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim that nicotine is a "very addictive drug" that can be "as addictive as heroin or cocaine." Dependence is strongest when tobacco smoke is inhaled into the lungs and increases with quantity and speed of nicotine absorption. Nicotine is typically eliminated from the body within 2 to 3 days, however, physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms may last for much longer depending on the individual.

Medical research has found that smoking is a major contributing factor towards many human health problems, especially lung cancer, emphysema, cardiovascular disease, and other disorders. The actual extent of the damage caused by smoking is contested, but it has been found that many of the researchers reporting fewer problems receive funding indirectly from the tobacco industry. Tobacco industry documents, which are now available on the internet following litigation in the USA, show a carefully orchestrated campaign, designed to discredit the scientific evidence for the link between tobacco and death and disease. In recent years and in many countries tobacco advertising has been regulated or restricted. In some countries smoking bans have come into effect.

Health effects

Main article: Health effects of tobacco smoking

The health effects of tobacco smoking are related to direct tobacco smoking, as well as passive smoking, inhalation of environmental or secondhand tobacco smoke.

The United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes tobacco use as "the single most important preventable risk to human health in developed countries and an important cause of premature death worldwide".Twenty-four percent of pregnant women in Indiana smoke cigarettes. If they didn’t smoke, Indiana would reduce its infant mortality rate (12th highest in the country) by 9%. Tobacco smoke reduces the delivery of oxygen to the fetus through the presence of carbon monoxide, cyanide, and aromatic hydrocarbons. Nicotine and other substances in tobacco smoke cause reduction in placental blood flow, creating further reductions in oxygen delivery as well as reductions in nutrients to the unborn baby. Secondhand smoke exposure during pregnancy produces twice the risk of low birthweight babies. Smoking is the single largest modifiable risk factor in intrauterine growth retardation.

The main health risks in tobacco pertain to diseases of the cardiovascular system, in particular smoking being a major risk factor for a myocardial infarction (heart attack), diseases of the respiratory tract such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and emphysema, and cancer, particularly lung cancer and cancers of the larynx and tongue. Prior to World War I, lung cancer was considered to be a rare disease, which most physicians would never see during their career. With the postwar rise in popularity of cigarette smoking, however, came a virtual epidemic of lung cancer.

A person's increased risk of contracting disease is directly proportional to the length of time that a person continues to smoke as well as the amount smoked. However, if someone stops smoking, then these chances gradually decrease as the damage to their body is repaired.

Nicotine is a powerful, addictive stimulant and is one of the main factors leading to the continued tobacco smoking. Although the amount of nicotine inhaled with tobacco smoke is quite small (most of the substance is destroyed by the heat) it is still sufficient to cause physical and/or psychological dependence.

However, smokers usually ignore these facts and trade health risk for other qualities such as enjoyment and satisfied addictions. These smokers often think of the benefits of smoking rather than the downsides. Some smokers claim that the depressant effect of smoking allows them to "calm their nerves", often allowing for increased concentration.

The health risks of smoking are not uniform across all smokers but vary according to amount of cigarettes smoked, with those who smoke more cigarettes at greater risk, although light smoking is still a health risk.