FREE ESSAY ON LUNG CANCER

LUNG CANCER

The Health Hazards of Smoking
Smoking affects a person's health in many ways, having both immediate and long term
effects. It is a 
serious addiction, caused by the drug nicotine. Once inhaled, nicotine reaches the brain
almost 
immediately (within seven seconds). Milligram for milligram, the nicotine contained in
all cigarette smoke 
is more potent than heroin.
Humans have been using tobacco for 1,000 years or so. Until about 100 years ago, most
tobacco use was in 
the form of pipe tobacco, cigars, chewing tobacco and snuff. Those who smoked cigarettes
had to roll their 
own, using loose tobacco. Then, in 1881, the cigarette-rolling machine was invented and
smokers went 
from consuming 40 cigarettes a year on average to over 12,000 each year.
Risk from tobacco smoke is not limited to the smoker. It has been estimated that exposure
to 
environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) increases the risk of lung cancer by about 30% (about
3,000 cases a 
year in the USA). Non-smoking infants and children who are chronically exposed to in
utero and 
environmental smoke have an increased risk of respiratory diseases, malignancy, and other
health problems 
that result in increased hospitalization and days lost from school. Non-smoking adults
who are exposed also 
have more respiratory symptoms that are likely to contribute to work absenteeism due to
illness.
Whenever you light up, the nicotine in tobacco causes an increase in your heart rate and
blood pressure, 
and the air passages in your lungs constrict, making it more difficult for you to
breathe. As small blood 
vessels constrict, your skin temperature may also decrease, causing your fingers, toes
and skin to feel cold. 
Smoking dulls your senses, particularly your sense of smell and taste. Finally,
carcinogens, or cancer 
causing agents, and toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide, enter your bloodstream. This
can result in more 
rapid onset of chest pain and disturbance of heart rhythm during physical activity or
exercise. The long 
term effects of smoking are very serious. Smoking contributes to various respiratory
diseases, such as 
chronic bronchitis, or a shortness of breath and eventual chronic cough; emphysema, or
extreme breathing 
difficulty and gasping for air; and lung infections, including continual colds, flu and
pneumonia.
In addition, smoking can lead to cardiovascular illnesses such as heart disease and
arterial disease (clogged 
arteries). As arteries constrict, there is also a greater risk of stroke, which results
in a disruption of the flow 
of blood carrying oxygen to the brain. In fact, studies show that smokers are two to
three times more likely 
to have a stroke than non-smokers, and the risk of cardiovascular disease is highest for
smokers with high 
blood pressure and relatively high for women who smoke and use oral contraceptives.
Tobacco use is the single most important preventable risk to human health in developed
countries, and an 
important cause of premature death worldwide. In countries which report deaths
attributable to smoking 
(representing about one-third of the world's population), annual deaths from smoking
numbered about 1.7 
million in 1985, with an estimated 2.1 million in 1995 (and hence about 21 million in the
decade 1990-99: 
5-6 million in the European Community, 5-6 million in the the USA, 5 million in the
former USSR, 3 
million in Easter Europe and 2 million elsewhere). More than half of these deaths occur
in people 35-69 
years of age. During the 1990's, tobacco will cause about 30% of all deaths in people
aged between 35-69 
years in developed countries (making it the largest single cause of premature death) plus
about 15% of all 
deaths at older ages. In addition, increasing incidence of smoking in the developing
world is likely to lead 
to a new epidemic of smoking-related disease.
Smoking contributes to the onset of many diseases, and is thought to account for 87% of
deaths in lung 
cancer, 82% in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 21% in coronary heart
disease (CHD) and 
18% in stroke cases. Therefore, once addicted to nicotine, the smoker faces an
unacceptably increased risk 
of respiratory, neoplastic and cardiovascular disorders. Even without overt pulmonary
symptoms, the 
smoker has a chronic inflammatory disease of the lower airways with an accelerated
decline in lung 
function.
In addition to causing lung cancer, smoking has been linked to other forms of cancer,
including cancer of 
the larynx (or voicebox); cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus; and cancer of the
kidneys, pancreas 
and bladder.
Pregnant women who smoke have a greater chance of miscarriage or giving birth to
stillborn, low-
birthweight or premature babies.
Recent studies have also linked smoking to premature facial wrinkling. In fact,
researchers say smoking 
more than triples the average person's chance of premature facial wrinkling, and that the
severity of 
wrinkling increases with the number of pack-years, doubling and in some cases quadrupling
depending on 
the number of packs smoked per day over a long period of time.
Smoking also stains your fingers and teeth, and leaves a stale smell on your hair, breath
and clothes.
Studies indicate that breathing second-hand smoke, or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS),
can also pose 
certain risks. The poisons in second-hand smoke can burn the eyes, nose and throat, and
cause coughing; 
increase the heart rate; raise blood pressure; cause headaches; and upset the stomach.
Over time, breathing 
second-hand smoke can increase the risk of lung problems, cancer, heart attacks, and
strokes.
Those with health problems are at greater risk, particularly those with heart problems,
allergies, or 
breathing problems, such as asthma.
Infants and young children may also be seriously affected by second-hand smoke. Studies
indicate that 
children of smokers are more likely to have coughs, colds, lung problems, ear infections,
behavior 
problems, heart disease and cancer later in life.
But, that's not all. Smoking also greatly increases the risk of heart disease. There were
almost 180,000 
deaths from cardiovascular disease in 1990 that were caused by cigarette smoking. And in
1990, smoking 
caused more than 84,000 deaths from lung diseases such as pneumonia, emphysema,
bronchitis, and 
influenza.
There is some good news, however. If a smoker kicks the habit, the death rate from heart
disease drops to 
the rate of nonsmokers after 5 years. And the rate of cancer drops to that of the
nonsmoker after quitting for 
10 years.