No matter which form of tobacco is used, the effects of tobacco and smoking take a toll on personal health and freedom. When people start smoking cigarettes, cigars or pipe tobacco, they begin a period of compulsive behavior that can cause serious health problems and detracts from their social appeal. Nonsmoking employers, friends, family and potential mates may think twice about maintaining relationships with smokers. Those that do, may endure the pain of seeing a loved one's physical condition decline, and may suffer ill consequences themselves.
Addiction
The first effect of tobacco use is addiction, which often begins within days after initially inhaling. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, debunk the myth that cigars, pipes and "light" cigarettes prove less harmful than regular cigarettes, as all types contain super-addictive nicotine, which enters the bloodstream and moves throughout the body.
The amount of nicotine per puff doesn't matter, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, because the mechanism of addiction creates cravings to keep smoking until a maximum tolerance level is reached.
Social Isolation
Public laws have increasingly become stronger about sending smokers to isolated areas, to minimize the harm of secondhand smoke on nonsmokers. The American Lung Association notes that this effect from smoking cigarettes becomes an inconvenience that impacts daily life. Keeping up relationships and work performance may become more difficult when smoking is a priority.
Financial Drain
Employers realize the effect that smoking cigarettes has on their work force, and this may enter into hiring and retention decisions. According to the American Cancer Society, health problems that range from more frequent colds and the flu to the crippling effects of cancer can keep smokers home sick.
Tobacco users or their employers must foot the bill from lost productivity and medical expenses, which totaled $193 billion nationwide in 2004, as per the CDC. The annual price tag for purchasing tobacco products continues to climb as well, affecting smokers' personal and household finances.
Health Problems
The physical effects of tobacco use damage health over time, with symptoms that include "smoker's cough," shortness of breath, and deterioration of skin, teeth and bone condition.
The CDC reports that smoking cigarettes more than doubles the risk for coronary heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. Failure or inability to quit eventually causes emphysema and may lead to catastrophic cardiac events.
Early Death
On average, smokers live 13.8 years less than nonsmokers, the CDC has determined, and health problems from smoking cause about one in five deaths nationwide. Smokers may lose their lives to heart attack, emphysema, pneumonia or cancer of the lung, throat, stomach, pancreas or kidney. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, the scope of smokers' elevated health risks makes tobacco use the greatest preventable cause of early death.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Health Myths
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: Effects of Nicotine
- American Lung Association: Why Quit?
- American Cancer Society: Guide to Quitting
- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: New Surgeon General's Report Expands List of Diseases Caused by Smoking
