SMOKING

Smoking can be described as an act where tobacco is burned up and the smoke is inhaled into the lungs. Smoking is the act of inhaling or exhaling the smoke of tobacco.
Apart  from  cigarette smoking, there are other forms of smoking that are as damaging. They are;
1.  Hand rolled tobacco - this can be very dangerous because they do not comply with any standards.

2. Water-pipe smoking
3. Smoking of cigars
4. Pipe smoking
5. Bidis smoking- this is tobacco rolled in dried leaf.

Reasons why  people smoke
1. Wanting to be like others - some people think that they need to smoke in order to have a sense of belonging, especially if they have friends who smoke.They are afraid of being different.
2.  Fear of being laughed at.
3. To gain greater prestigue- they feel that smoking will kind of accord them some respect.
4. Peer pressure- if you have friends that smoke, you may not be able to resist smoking.
5. It has become a habit- they have become addicted and find it difficult to stop.
6. To relax
7. For pleasure

Effects of smoking on our health
1. Tobacco is made up of about 300 chemicals, when one smokes the chemical enters the bloodstream.
2. Cigarettes contain nicotine which is a powerful drug that makes both the blood pressure and the heart rate to increase.
3. Tar  from tobacco contains a number of substances  that can cause cancer. When a person inhales tobacco smoke, the tar goes into the lungs.
4. Tobacco smoke contains irritants that affects the cells in the air passages. In order to protect the cells, mucus is produced. Smokers cough to clear the irritants and extra mucus.
5. Tobacco smoke contains carbon monoxide, a deadly gas which affects the blood's ability to carry oxygen around the body. Without energy, the body works at a slower pace.
6. Every  cigarette a person smokes shortens his life by  five and half  minutes.
7. It takes 10 years after you stop smoking for the body to shake off the effects.
8. Smoking  contributes and causes diseases such as bronchitis, emphysema, heart disease, lung cancer, colds, flu, blood-clots, stomach ulcer etc.The babies born to pregnant mothers are affected.

Social effects of smoking
1. Money - cigarettes are expensive, money spent on cigarettes  would have being used to meet other needs.
2. Pollution- non smokers are forced to breathe smoke because of smokers around them making them secondary smokers.
3. Many non-smokers find the behaviour of smokers extremely anti-social.
4. Non smoking wives who live with smoking husbands have a 50% chance of developing lung cancer.
5. Ecology - acres of trees are cut down to dry and grow tobacco.The long term effects of growing tobacco are deforestation, erosion of the soil and loss of land fertility.
With all these fearful consequences , is it really healthy to smoke? please write your comment.