Smoking

Why do people smoke? It effects you physical and mentally. The smoke as soon as it hits your lungs makes the Adrenalin glands go crazy and start producing epinephrine (or Adrenalin). It also makes signals go to your head that release dopa means (or making your brain think you are experiencing pleasure). There are actually benefits to smoking. There have been a few studies showing that a new smoker actually has an increased reaction time. Maybe this is because of the higher respiration rate, blood pressure, heart rate. Smokers at first feel more calm... and other such soothing feeling. So, is this why people smoke? If so, it's a pretty pathetic and potentially dangerous habit.

One cigarette contains over 4,000 different chemicals. That alone should send warning signs to any smoker. Included in these chemicals is Arsenic (which is a poison), Acetic Acid (Corrosive to respiratory tract), Acetone (used in nail polish removers), Ammonia. (Used in floor and toilet cleaners), Cadmium (Car battery Fluid), Carbon Monoxide (interferes with the supply of oxygen in the blood to the rest of the body), DDT/ dielderon (Insecticides), Ethanol (Alcohol), Formalin (used in preserving human tissue and fabric), Hexamine (used in explosive compounds), Hydrogen Cyanide (Poison), Methane (Petroleum Gas), Naphthalene (used in moth balls)
Nicotine (Schedule 6 Poison), Nitro Benzene (a petrol additive), Phenols (used in disinfectants), Stearic Acid (used in candle wax), Toluene (Industrial solvent), Vinyl Chloride (used in PVC). These are just a few from http://home.honolulu.hawaii.edu/~pine/Phil110/cig-contents.html. Smoking, as we all know, increases chance for heart attack, stroke, lung cancer, etc.

Now some say cigarettes can't be proving to cause lung cancer, while others say it can. So how about I give some interesting facts. 48 million people smoked last year. 180,000 people were diagnosed with lung cancer last year. Although the ratio to smokers to lung cancer is very low, here's something interesting. Of those 180,000 people that were diagnosed with lung cancer, 96% of them smoked. That is a huge percentage! If you don't see the connection between % of smokers, to % of lung cancer, to % of lung cancer and smokers, I suggest taking a statistics class because this is pretty obvious.

But like all statistics, #'s can be used both ways. For smokers, they can say the chance is very slim, and is easy to repair (that is if you stop smoking before anything bad happens. The cilia repairs its self in three days. And in 5 years, your chance for stroke and heart disease is that of a non-smoker.

But those against smoking can say, why risk it? The benefits to bad consequences is highly in favor of bad consequences.

I honestly don't care either way, but don't get in the way of my life by needing health care for your baby cause you smoked while pregnant, or put my health in danger with careless smoking, or complaining about anything that I can tie back to smoking. Smoking is your choice; don't let it affect mine not to smoke.