Negative Consequences of Cigarette Smoking Essay

Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy could lead to the placenta not developing fully. As the placenta carries oxygen and blood to the foetus this may impair growth and link to low birth weights. Babies born to smoking mothers are 30% more likely to have a premature baby which could lead to respiratory distress, problems feeding and they could have difficulty regulating their body temperature. Babies undergo withdrawal like systems and tend to be more jittery and harder to settle. Babies being brought up in a smoking household are at increased risk of cot death and may go on to develop asthma during childhood.

Smoking while pregnant can cause a various of issues to the fetus and to the child while they are in their young ages. It can cause the child to be born 162-226 grams. This weight is lighter than a baby whose mother did not smoke. For example, while the baby is in the womb, it will slow the development of the baby’s organs, due to the toxins entering the baby’s bloodstream (Holmes ?). Another way it can harm the baby while he/she is still in the womb is by causing the baby to be stillborn (not cited yet). This sympathetic damage would have lasting impact on the mother psychologically. This could be especially painful when she has done everything right to protect her unborn

It can stain your teeth and gums, resulting in yellow teeth and bad breath which can affect your social life. It can cause sexual problems for men by reducing the amount of sperm they can produce. It has also been proven that 'smoking causes aging of skin' (Buzzle 36), because the skin is deprived of blood. Pregnant women should not even try to smoke cigarettes during their 9 months because of the harm it could do to the baby and themselves. The affects of smoking on women and the child during pregnancy are as follows: high possibility of miscarriage, pregnancy complications and possible death of the baby. These are just a small variety of facts on smoking and how dangerous it can be, yet millions of people across the U.S choose to smoke anyways, without realizing the harm it can doing to their bodies. For secondhand smokers, the same principle applies. Don’t smoke and you will live a healthy lifestyle. I have personally seen many of my friends who hang around with their other friends that happen to smoke. When I confront them about the harm it is doing to them, they tend to ignore the advice I offer, so I let them be, hoping that one day they will realize that smoking harms more people than just the smoker themselves. It causes harm to the people around them and to the environment, increasing the pollution in our world. Former U.S vice-president Al Gore, believes that smoking is

Research shows that smoking during pregnancy is harmful to both the unborn child and mother. Cigarette smoke causes serious harm to the fetal growth, causes severe neonatal risks and affects the progress of the pregnancy. (BBC News Health) Smoking can also increase the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, still-birth and sudden expected death in infancy. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2010) highlights that smoking also increases the risk of infant mortality by an estimated 40%. In the recent decades research has emphasised that maternal smoking increases the risk of placenta praevia, abruptio placentae and premature rupture of membranes, this develops other adverse events including serious respiratory illness and asthma attacks and sudden infant death (Luanaigh

Infants born from mothers that smoked are three times more likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), a condition in which babies who appears healthy die suddenly while sleeping, as are babies whose mothers do not smoke during pregnancy. This is also a point of contention between researchers as well. "Children born to mothers who smoked while pregnant, and possibly children whose grandmothers smoked while pregnant, have a higher risk of developing childhood asthma (Child)." Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to be born with birth defects such as cleft lip or palate and to have low birth weight.

Irreversible kidney failure, heart failure, lung damage, lung cancer, mouth cancer, throat cancer, stroke, bad circulation to limbs (which may lead to amputation), and more.

Since many of the carcinogens from cigarette are excreted through urine, it can cause bladder cancer. Stomach acid secretion increases due to smoking, leading to heartburn and ulcers. Smoking is known to cause deadly pancreatic cancer. Hazardous effects don’t end here. We are all aware of the fact that smoking not just affects the smoker, but also the people around the smokers. Cigarette contains thousands of chemicals which are exhaled and released into the air which will be inhaled by others. Passive smoking affects all the people around a smoker. One of my friends was a chain smoker. Because of his continues smoking habit at home, his kids developed severe respiratory problems. There are many such smokers in this world, who should be guided before it’s too late.

To begin let’s talk about the many, many health risks that are caused from smoking. I’ll start off with the biggest consequence smoking causes. Cancer. According to the CDC.gov website, nine out of ten lung cancers are caused from smoking cigarettes. And although lung cancer is the most common cancer associated with smoking, it is definitely not the only one. Smoking can cause cancer anywhere in the body. From the mouth to the colon, nothing is safe from cancer when you smoke. According to betobaccofree.gov, the chemicals in cigarettes harm your blood cells and damage your heart, increasing your likelihood of developing aneurysms, cardiovascular disease, Coronary heart disease, and strokes. Smokers also develop mouth sores and ulcers and as stated on deltadentalins.com, smokers are about 4 times more likely than non-smokers to develop gum disease. Smokers experience muscle deterioration because blood and oxygen are restricted and can’t reach the muscles.

Statistics show that 400,000 people a year die due to smoking related problems. Experts have proven that smoking damages the lungs and kidneys, but people continue to smoke to relieve stress. This paper will expose the various ways that smoking can harm the people and environment.

There are many dangerous side effects of smoking such as cancer, lung disease, heart failure and much more. There are also some minor effects such as yellow teeth, nicotine stains on fingers, bad breath and your home and body can constantly smell of smoke. Smoking is not only a danger to you but can be to others as well through passive smoking. Inhaling other peoples smoke can cause dizziness, eye irritation, headaches, coughing, nausea and sore throat. It also increases the risk of cot deaths and if a pregnant woman smokes it can affect the baby's development.

The effects of cigarette smoking can be horrifying. Smoking is dangerous not only to those who smoke, but to non-smokers and unborn children as well. Cigarette smoking is also physically and socially harming.

Smoking increases the risk of suffering from heart diseases, stroke, other lung diseases and other respiratory illnesses. The body develops horrific reactions to the daily onslaught of smoking. It damages the blood vessels in the legs and arms for example, which lead to restricted circulation and even amputation of the limbs. Also, a smoker addict will eventually start getting eye irritations (which leads to blindness), foul smelling hair, hair loss and even start developing a loss of smell. All of these reactions are due to the dangerous chemicals cigarettes contain.

Ob-gyn Robert Welch, who is on the committee of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Providence Hospital in Southfield Michigan, has helped thousands of women realize their dreams of a healthy baby. He states that “‘Smoking cigarettes is probably the number one cause of adverse outcomes for babies’”(Woolston). He has seen the complications many times with the same outcome every time. Babies are born prematurely, born to small, or die before they can be born at all.

Smoking starts causing harm, even to the unborn. A mother is a baby`s only form of life support through the umbilical cord. So,

Other than that, smoking exposes loved ones and everyone else around them to the harmful chemicals. Which puts their health into risk due to the harmful impacts. There are people who can handle being in the designated areas for smoking without being bothered, but in the long run it affects them if they continue to place themselves in the harmful air. Then there are people who can’t stand cigarette smoke, either they dislike the smell produced, or their eyes get irritated etc. But for the people who already have health problems like asthma, or even allergies, environmental tobacco smoke is a serious health threat for them. According from a study made by Takeshi Hirayama, a nonsmoker that was married to a smoker who smoked 14 cigarettes a day had a 40 percent risk of lung cancer (Hirschfelder, page 152, 2010). Overall, this expensive habit causes impacting effects to smokers, and the people around them.