Andrew Peterson

Bioethics Research Paper

Period 1
Smoking
Smoking has always been the most common form of drug use. One can smoke such
things as cigarettes, pipes, cigars and hookahs. Just under 100 years ago, smoking was thought
to be healthy and glamorous. But through more in depth research, it has been a major cause of
deaths all around the world since then (White, 1989). Smoking and second hand smoke can
cause problems like lung cancer, cancer in the mouth and even death (NCI, 2011). Smoking has
been around for thousands of years, but hit its peak in the 1920s when smoking was thought to
increase life expectancy (West, 2007). Then in 1964, Surgeon General came out with the
report the tobacco is a deadly killer and ever since then smoking has dramatically gone away,
but the deaths arent going away as easy (CDC, 2004).
There is so much technology that is changing smoking. Ever since a couple of years ago
smoking was always the same, but now companies have come out with an e-cigarette which
can do all the same things as a cigarette but there is no smoke. They are all vapor, which could
possibly be safer, but could also be just as addicting and just as big of a problem. To compare,
some positives of smoking is that the individual feels part of a group, momentarily you receive
gratification and the attractiveness that some may feel because of what the economy has
allowed. The negatives, however, are much heavier. A couple of negative effects are everything
smells bad, you cough all of time, headaches more often, racing heartbeat, yellow skin, teeth,
and fingernails, and more seriously, lung cancer and death (Brandt, 2011). The list could go on
and on, but people continue to smoke, fascinating.
A man by the name of Dan Shipley had been a smoker for around 20 years, until only a
couple years ago. He would smoke about half a pack of cigarettes a day. He never had any
serious problems like cancer or anything. One night though, he was sitting alone in his house
and all of the sudden his airways tightened up and he couldnt breathe for about 90 seconds.
Ever since that day, he hasnt touched a cigarette and he says it was a great decision. Also since
then, soda isnt very appealing because the cigarette smoke can completely change your
appetite.
The types of individuals who are most impacted by smoking is everybody. Everyone has
been either a smoker, had one in their family or been around one while they are smoking. For
obvious reasons, if you are a smoker you are highly impacted. But the idea of second hand
smoke comes into play. Second hand smoke is when you breathe in the air that a smoker blows
out; this kills almost 54,000 people every year (ANR, 2012). About 43.8 million adults in the
United States are considered smokers. That number has gone sufficiently down since 50 years
ago, but it is still the leading use of tobacco (ACS, 2013).
There are multiple individuals on either side of this discussion. Doctors and all of the
cancer societies are strongly against smoking, along with many other associations. These groups
obviously worried about the health of the people. But there is also the side of e-cigarette
companies that make almost all of their money from smokers, so if there are no more smokers,
Andrew Peterson
Bioethics Research Paper
Period 1
then those companies go out of business. So even though they shouldnt, those companies
probably hope that there still are millions of smokers in the world. I think that the severity of
this problem is about a 6 on a scale from 1-10. Its not something that can be just completely
fixed, but it is killing a lot of innocent people every year. It can be stopped and easily can save
millions of people. So it isnt crazily severe, but it definitely is a problem.
If the pro smokers got there way, then they may be a certain percent of relieved
people because then they would get all of that pressure of people telling them how bad
smoking is for them. The percentage of smokers would probably go up a small amount, but not
by much. Even if they did get there way, to be able to smoke freely wherever, whenever, there
would still be death and cancer and that awful smell of smoke. Nothing good would come out
of it except the buzz that the people continue to get from the tobacco.
If the con side got there way, that no one could ever smoke again, and then there
would be a lot of angry people. But then the e-cigarette companies would boom because those
smokers would need to turn to something. That would be a great start. Also the death count of
smokers, and second hand smokers, would go plummeting down and I think that would cause
our economy to boom. The only bad thing that would come from no more smoking would be
that it would probably be just like when they banned alcohol. People would go underground
and it might make this worse. So, in the long run, what would be the best alternative?














Andrew Peterson
Bioethics Research Paper
Period 1
References
American Cancer Society. (2013). How many people use tobacco? Retrieved January 12, 2014,
from
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/questionsaboutsmokingto
baccoandhealth/questions-about-smoking-tobacco-and-health-how-many-use
Americans for Nonsmokers Rights. (2012). Secondhand smoke. Retrieved January 12, 2014,
from http://www.no-smoke.org/getthefacts.php?id=13
Brandt, Carl J. (2011). Smoking health risks. Retrieved January 12, 2014, from
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/smokehealth.htm
CDC (Centers for Disease Control). (2004). the Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of
the Surgeon General.
NCI. (2011). Harms of Smoking and Health Benefits of Quitting. Retrieved from
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/cessation
West, Robert and Shiffman, Saul. (2007). Fast Facts: Smoking Cessation. Health Press Ltd. p. 28.
ISBN 978-1-903734-98-8.
White, Colin. (September 1989). "Research on Smoking and Lung Cancer: A Landmark in the
History of Chronic Disease Epidemiology". The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine.