Smoking

Introduction

Most people do not smoke and therefore it is better that a ban on smoking is imposed in public places such as, restaurants, cinemas, parks, etc. One argument is that if smoking is banned in restaurants, more families and more people who do not smoke would visit such places. Obviously, smokers do not like the idea as barring smoking in public places. A common argument is that smoking is a lifestyle. Furthermore, they believe that the government wants to impose on their lives and control. This paper discusses smoking in a holistic context. In addition to this the paper discusses the history of smoking, the main elements within the smoke and their effects, Socio-dynamic and socio-biological causes, and the health effects of smoking. Furthermore, the paper puts forward the different arguments by smokers and non-smokers.

Discussion

Tobacco smoking or smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke. The smoke from cigarettes originates from the incomplete combustion of tobacco and paper that wraps it (cigarette), which consists of at least 4,000 substances. The main elements within the smoke are irritants, tar, carbon monoxide, and nicotine. The filters at one end of a cigarette reduce the amount of these substances that get into the respiratory tract, but these substances are not eliminated completely. The top ten countries with the most widely accepted cigarette smoking, includes, in addition to Nauru, Guinea, Namibia, Kenya, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mongolia, Yemen, Sao Tome and Principe, Turkey, Romania. According to the World Health Organization, each year 5 million people die from the consequences of tobacco use. Annually, around fifteen-thousand deaths have smoking as their main cause (www.oxygen.org.au).

When nicotine contained in the smoked cigarette is released, of which up to 95% of the body is available (bioavailability). A portion of the absorbed nicotine reaches the brain within 7 to 8 seconds, where it acts on the so-called nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and triggers a series of physiological reactions in the course of the release and certain neurotransmitters are activated. The high potential for addiction, in addition to the direct effect on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, especially the influence of the dopamine system, particularly the reward center of the brain called the nucleus, are confirmed by numerous studies. By dopamine the reward effect of smoking is conveyed and it interprets the reception of nicotine directly as existentially necessary action. Smoking as per the studies the stimulated the release of nor-adrenaline causes an increased attention. The regular nicotine intake leads to an increase of the central nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, resulting in the absence of nicotine delivery to withdrawal symptoms that are initially perceived unconsciously and cause to the re-use of tobacco products (USDHHS, Pp. 2-7; Grisham, Pp. 2-6).

History of smoking:

Smoking was present in various ancient American cultures, has long been a traditional ritual and was operated in the first place. Oldest depictions of smoking in Mayan priests are already known from 600-500 BC. The priests of the Maya lit sacred fire and then inhaled tobacco smoke. After the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, ...