The Dangers Of Smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Dangers Of Smoking - Essay Example Therefore, it will be the express intent of this author to focus upon the risk of cancer, breathing diseases, up to and including emphysema, and heart disease that smoking has been known to trigger. Moreover, the analysis will also consider the secondary health affects that smoking can visit upon the individual exposed to â€Å"secondhand† smoke or passive smoking. Through such an analysis, the far reaching and broad health impacts that smoking portends can readily be noted. Whereas many individuals are of the opinion that smoking is a dangerous process that threatens the overall health and well-being of the individual, the fact of the matter is that the overall scope of danger that smoking represents is much greater than most individuals realized. Accordingly, as a means of categorizing this danger and promoting a level of understanding with respect to the full range of damaging impact that smoking can have upon the individual, this brief analysis will consider and discuss th e litany of negative health impacts that smoking engenders. ... will make is one that I based on a logical framework of understanding the known risks which smoking provides to both the smoker and to those that inhale the second-hand smoke. Firstly, it must be understood that smoking accounts for nearly ? million deaths each and every year within the United States. This is a figure that is larger than the overall number of people that succumb to HIV/AIDS, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle death, suicide, or murders combined. As such, the overall scope of the damage that smoking can have upon an individual is profound and affects their life in a number of different ways. Most obviously, high rates of lung cancer can almost entirely be attributed to smoking. Current estimates place this number from 80-90% of all lung cancer cases; depending upon what demographic and gender is measured. Regardless of the actual number, the statistics that have been provided show that smoking is invariably attributed to high rates of lung cancer and death. Yet, this statistic oftentimes confuses individuals who assume that lung cancer is the only means through which smoking can adversely impact upon the overall health of an individual. However, smoking also increases the chances of developed coronary heart disease by up to several times the normal rate. Moreover, a vast percentage of all deaths that are the result of chronic obstructive lung disease are normally caused by cancer. Yet, of all of the health impacts that can be felt, it is the health impact of cardiovascular disease that is the most overlooked. Due to the impact that nicotine has as well as the artery hardening properties of prolonged exposure to first or second hand cigarette smoke, the narrowing of blood vessels helps to put smokers at high risk for any type of blockage or