A. Introduction: According to the American Lung Association website, “Cigarette smoking is the number one cause of preventable disease and death worldwide. Smoking-related diseases claim over 393,000 American lives each year. Smoking cost the United States over $193 billion in 2004, including $97 billion in lost productivity and $96 billion in direct health care expenditures, or an average of $4,260 per adult smoker” (Smoking, 2015, paragraph 1). Smoking causes a range of diseases, including lung, brain, esophagus, and stomach cancers; heart disease; high blood pressure; COPD; chronic bronchitis; emphysema; and increases one’s chance of having a stroke (Smoking, 2015).
B. Thesis: However, quitting smoking can improve one’s health and reduce one’s chances of developing fatal and chronic smoking-related diseases.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Health Benefits of Quitting Smoking".
C. Hypothesis: If I were to conduct a study of 300 people, using 100 non-smokers, 100 smokers, and 100 ex-smokers who had been smoke free for ten years over a ten year period, I predict that the smokers would have the highest incidence of smoking related diseases, such as cancer, COPD, etc., versus the non-smoking and ex-smoker groups.
D. Literature Review: Within the past 20 to 30 years, much research has been conducted on the harmful health effects that are caused by smoking cigarettes. 50 percent of people who smoke usually end up dying from a smoking related disease, about 16 million lost lives in the United States, which translates to a 20% death rate of people who smoke. In research complied by the United States’ Center for Disease Control, adult men lost about 13.2 years of their life, while female smokers took off about 14.5 years of life. In addition to this, almost 500,000 smokers each year die prematurely (How does smoking affect your health?, 2014).
As stated earlier, smoking can cause many cancers, including lung, esophagus, larynx mouth, jaw, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach, and cervix. It can also cause harmful respiratory and heart diseases, such as emphysema, asthma, COPD, strokes, and, high blood pressure (Harms of smoking and health benefits of quitting, 2011). The brain is also affected by smoking, research showing that past and present day smokers have a thinner brain cortex than non-smokers, which contributes to cognitive decline, such as memory, language, and perception issues (Griffin, 2015) .
Smoking cigarettes is also harmful for babies of women who are pregnant. For example, pregnant smokers have a higher likelihood of having an ectopic pregnancy, miscarriages, babies with low birth weights, and infants who are born with a cleft palate or cleft lip. The lower a baby’s weight, the higher the baby’s morality rate and propensity to have physical problems (How does smoking affect your health?, 2014).
However, a smoker can improve one’s health by quitting, the benefits both immediate and long-term. Immediately, one’s heart rate and blood pressure start to decrease to normal levels. Carbon monoxide levels in the blood drop within a few hours. Within a few weeks, individuals experience better circulation and do not cough and wheeze as much, phlegm along decreasing. After a few months, one’s lung function also improves, as well a person’s sense of taste and smell (Harms of smoking and health benefits of quitting, 2011).
Besides lowering the risk of developing cancer, quitting smoking by certain ages also helps to restore health. For instance, quitting by at age 30 decreases one’s likelihood of dying early from a smoking-related diseases over 90%. By age 50, the percentage drops to 50%, and by age 60, the percentage is not as clear cut, but the ex-smoker will still probably live longer than a person still smoking at age 60 (Harms of smoking and health benefits of quitting, 2011).
- Griffin, C. (2015, February 11). Smoking may thin your brain’s cortex and impact your thinking later in life. Retrieved from Science World Report.com website: http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/22229/20150211/smoking-thin-brains-cortex-impact-thinking-later-life.htm
- Harms of smoking and health benefits of quitting. (2011, January 12). Retrieved from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services : http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/cessation
- How does smoking affect your health? (2014, February 6). Retrieved from American Cancer Society, Inc website: http://www.cancer.org/healthy/stayawayfromtobacco/guidetoquittingsmoking/guide-to-quitting-smoking-how-smoking-affects-health
- Smoking. (2015). Retrieved from American Lung Association: http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/health-effects/smoking.html
