Strauss 1

Ryan Strauss

Professor Loudermilk

Eng Comp II

14 April 2021

What are the complications of prolonged cigarette use? Why can’t we stop smoking?

Smoking causes and endless list of complications physically and mentally that

are detrimental to living a long healthy life. Learning of these complications early in our

school days, it has always perplexed me on why people start, continue, and cannot stop

smoking. Cigarettes contain nicotine, is the most common addiction in America.

(addictioncenter.com). Cigarettes cause cancers or multiple organs of the body.

Smoking can cause depression and anxiety, as well as cardiovascular and respiratory

problems. Perhaps being uninformed of all the complications may play a role in the

inability to quit. Perhaps the habit has gone on for so long the realization of the inability

to change life's outcome after a bad prognosis leads to continuation of smoking. There

are lots of questions surrounding smoking, and research has cracked the answers.

Tobacco products have been around for hundreds of years and was a hot trade

item once it was introduced in Europe. Nicotine, the addictive agent in cigarettes, was

not founded until 1789 and was not deemed a toxin until 1828 (medicalnewstoday.com).

Cigarettes came into existence in 1880 and made it extremely easy to mass produce

and the origination of big tobacco companies arose.

 Strauss 2

There are hundreds of complications caused by cigarettes and addiction, but I

am going to focus on five. Those five being cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory

disease, effects of secondhand smoke, smoking while pregnant. Covering these five

issues there will also be education on the mental aspect of cigarette use and the

addiction aspect.

Cigarette use can cause cancer in almost any organ in the body, from lung

cancer to bladder cancer, to stomach cancer to cancer of the voice box. Lung cancer is

the most common cancer coming from smoking. 90% of all lung cancer cases come

from cigarette use (cdc.gov). Fewer people smoke cigarettes now than they did in the

1960’s but people are at a greater risk for lung cancer today. Possibly from all the

additional toxins added. Even though we are in a great time for medical advancement,

lung cancer kills more people a year than any other cancer.

Cardiovascular disease is another common outcome of cigarette use. This group

of diseases contains atherosclerosis. Coronary heart disease, strokes, peripheral

arterial disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm. Smoking is related to 1 out of every 4

deaths caused by CVD (cardiovascular disease). CVD accounts for more than 800,000

deaths a year (cdc.gov)

Respiratory disease can also be caused by the effects of smoking, and I have

witnessed that firsthand. Included in this group is COPD, or chronic obstructive

pulmonary disease, and emphysema. These diseases make breathing extremely

difficult and do not allow many of the activities one may have been accustomed too,

such as walking, running, and climbing stairs.

 Strauss 3

Not only does smoking cigarettes have an adverse effect on your body, but it can

affect others as well. Smoking while pregnant can cause a miscarriage, ectopic

pregnancy and or placental abruption which can put the life of the mother and fetus in

danger. It can also cause multiple issues with the fetus; in the occurrence one makes it

full term. Low birth weight, developmental delays, heart defects, just to name a few.

Even people who choose to not smoke cigarettes can be affected by those who

chose to smoke. Secondhand smoke can be more dangerous. Breathing end smoke off

a cigarette or even the breath of someone who is smoking, gives off unfiltered toxins

that you breath in (clevelandclinic.com). A lot of children are at risk for secondhand

smoke complications.

It is hard to fathom that people still continue to use cigarettes knowing the

possible, if not probable outcomes. Addiction is an extremely hard habit to kick. Even

though researchers have cracked the code on nicotine, they have yet to determine why

it is so addictive. In 2018 it was reported by the World Health Organization that 1.1

billion people worldwide smoke cigarettes. Smoking is number one when it comes to

preventable death causes. I believe there is more research needed to be done on how

nicotine affects hormone levels in the body and the possible connection to addiction and

inability to quit.
 Strauss 4

Works Cited

Centers For Disease, Center. Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking. 2011. 8 4 2021.

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smo

king/.

Ockene, Ira S. and Nancy Houston Miller. "Cigarette Smoking, Cardiovascular Disease,

and Stroke." Circulation 96.9 (1997): 3243-3247. 8 4 2021.

https://ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.cir.96.9.3243

Association, American Heart. “Why it’s so hard to quit smoking” 2018. 10 17

https://www.heart.org/en/news/2018/10/17/why-its-so-hard-to-quit-smoking

Clinic, Cleveland. “Dangers of Secondhand Smoke.” My.clevelandclinic.org, 2020. 10 9

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/10644-secondhand-smoke-dangers

Perlik, Frantisek. “Impact of Smoking on Metabolic Changes and Effectiveness of Drugs

Used For Lung Cancer.” Central European Journal of Public Health, vol 28, issue 1,

March 2020, pp 53-58, doi:10.21101/cejph.a5620