Lauren Wolvington

Professor Paul Roberts

Health 1050
9 December 2015
Current Drug Issue: Tobacco

Tobacco use began back in the time of Native Americans. They

used it in ceremonial as well as medical purposes. In the 14th century,
Christopher Columbus brought tobacco leaves over to Europe starting
its spread across the world. Tobacco became one the first known drug
across the world. Its popularity spread and people tried to find new
ways to use the product mainly smoking. Up until the past few years,
the effects of tobacco were unknown. Now the world battles to put an
end to tobacco or face the thousands of deaths a year it causes.
Many products contain tobacco such as chew, cigars, dip,
electronic cigarettes, hookah, pipes, and cigarettes. Tobacco has over
four thousand separate compounds in it that are oxidized then
released through cigarette smoke. The most abundant chemicals found
in tobacco are tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide. There is also a
chemical called Acetaldehyde that is used in resins and glue. These
products build up inside of your lungs causing many diseases. The
amount of tar is anywhere from 12 to 16 milligrams per cigarette. This
makes up about 50% of the cigarette, which makes the last few puffs

more hazardous than the first ones (Levinthal 255). The tar attaches
to the cilia inside the lungs, which makes it near impossible for them to
eliminate foreign objects in the lungs.
Another product that goes in hand with tobacco is Nicotine.
Nicotine is what causes the addictive factor in cigarettes and drugs. It
can be anywhere from colorless to a brown color. Cigarettes contain
two to eight milligrams of nicotine which is a lot considering that about
sixty milligrams could kill a healthy adult (Levinthal 256). Nicotine is
ingested into the blood stream within seconds when the user smokes.
It creates a calm effect however internally, it creates a sort of
adrenaline rush that increases your blood pressure. The breakdown of
nicotine is relatively quick only lasting two to three hours which is why
smokers have to have cigarettes fairly sooner after they have finished
one.
The process of quitting tobacco use is a very long and difficult
one. Most users choose a quit date but it takes many attempts before
they are successful. During times of war, the need for tobacco
increases to the point where soldiers would rather have a pack of
cigarettes then food. Nicotine is the cause to blame for this because it
stimulate the release of dopamine. There are many supplies on the
market to help smokers get over their habit such as Nicorette Gum,
patches, E-Cigs with low to no levels of nicotine, etc. There are lots of
new products on the market to help with the addiction however, if you

arent ready to quit for good, its easy to fall back into the pattern of
smoking. When a smoker first decides to quit, they face the symptoms
of headaches, inability to concentrate, irritability, drowsiness, and
fatigue.
The biggest reason that tobacco needs to become illegal is
because of the various health diseases it causes. Those include
cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and other
various cancers as well. Tobacco can cause a variety of cardiovascular
diseases but one of the biggest ones is Coronary Heart disease that
damages the heart as a result of a restriction of blood flow through the
coronary arteries (Levinthal 257). Smoking is responsible for thirty
percent of all CHD deaths. It is one of the biggest causes of death that
smoking causes. Those with is feel a pain or squeezing sensation in
their chest and there also may be pain in shoulders, arms, neck or
back. It also frequently leads to a heart attack, which is where many
discover they have CHD.
There are several respiratory disease that can be caused by
tobacco use as well but they are generally classified as chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease. Only twenty percent of people develop
COPD however eighty to ninety percent of all cases are caused by
smoking(Levinthal 258). Two examples of COPD are chronic bronchitis
and emphysema. Chronic bronchitis occurs when excess mucus builds
up in the air passage and leads to inflammation of bronchial

tissues(Levinthal 258). Emphysema is when the air sacs in the lungs

are abnormally enlarged and the air sacs either become inelastic or
rupture. These two diseases are the cause of one hundred thousand
deaths each year(Levinthal 258). It also can cause asthma in those
who are younger and start to heavily smoke.
In 2012, 226,000 new cases of lung cancer were found to be
caused by the use of smoking. Males are more likely to develop lung
cancer than women are so doctors ask that they get checked
frequently and quit smoking. With tar latching onto the cilia, it leaves
the lungs open for attack and they are more receptacle to catch
infection in the body. Cancerous growths, known as carcinomas, can
grow within the lungs if the cilia cannot remove infection and this is
how lung cancer begins. Lung cancer is generally related to smoking as
well as those who are around second hand smoking.
There are other cancers that can be caused by smoking as well.
Since tobacco and chew enter your body through your mouth, oral
cancer is a big issue as well. My mom is a dental assistant and sees
several people with oral cancer and ruin their teeth. Leukoplakia and
erythroplakia are white and red spots that form inside your mouth and
nose and are the most visible signs of oral cancer. For years, people
thought that chew would not cause oral cancer because it wasnt going
inside your lungs however in the past few years, scientist have found
that nitrosamines are present in all forms of tobacco. After this,

warnings had to be placed on chew and e cigarettes to warn people

they were still harmful to them.
Tobacco and smoking is also harmful to those who dont
participate but are in the same area as the user. Second hand smoke
causes 46,000 premature deaths from heart disease and 3,400
premature deaths from cancer in adults (Levinthal 261). Scientist first
discovered traces of nicotine metabolite in the bloodstream of nonsmokers are were confused to find it there. They later discovered that
by being in the same room or car ride with someone who is smoking,
you are breathing in the chemicals that the smoker is exhaling and
damaging your body.
With all theses effects that smoking causes, you would think that
the world would try to ban tobacco and people wouldnt use it.
However, because of the addictive qualities is possess, people cannot
quit. Teenagers in high school and those as young as junior high age
can easily get cigarettes and its generally the first drug they try that
lead to other drugs and alcohol later on. A study has found that 22
percent of people twelve or older have smoked a cigarette within the
past month. That is equal to 57 million Americans (Levinthal 261). The
positive side is that young adults opinions on cigarettes have changed
and they are least accepting of people who smoke them. Young adults
can have a positive influence on their friends and can help them to not
get started with smoking in the first place.

In order to properly educate young adults about the risks that

come from participating in the use of drugs and tobacco, the D.A.R.E
program began in schools across the nation. It was created to properly
education kids in elementary and is one of the most well known
programs still occurring today. Unfortunately, the results from the
program have changed the students opinions little to none. The
program was created with good intentions and is the only form of
education on the subject of tobacco that students really learn anything
from. Schools need implement a stronger program and have students
learn about it in health classes as well.
Tobacco use is slowly decreasing from where it was 50 years ago.
Its still an issue though and we can only filter is out by properly
educating young people to not participate in the first place. Its easier
to say no to a cigarette when you have never had one then it is for a
person who has been smoking them for several years. The
environment would also benefit from second-hand smoke to go away.
The air would become cleaner and easier for other people to breath.
Tobacco provides nothing healthy or good to the user of the
environment. Hopefully within the next few years, tobacco will go away
for good or become very limited.

Bibliography

Levinthal, Charles F. Drugs, Behavior, and Modern Society.

Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2002. Print.

Nordqvist, Christian. "What Chemicals Are in Tobacco?"

Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 13 July 2015.
Web. 12 Dec. 2015.

"The Real Cost." The Real Cost. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2015.

"Youth and Tobacco Use." Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14
Oct. 2015. Web. 12 Dec. 2015.