Module 3

Introduction
This module tackles the following topics:
A brief history and

background of tobacco smoking The reasons that drive people to start smoking The short and long term effects brought about by smoking

Brief History
Smoking substances is dated to go back as far as 5,000 BC. Smoking the Tobacco plant in particular is said to have started in the Americas at around 1 AD

Brief History
Tobacco was introduced to Europeans in 1492 when Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. The methods of smoking the Tobacco leaves are varied, from pipes, cigars to the more common cigarette.

What is Tobacco Smoking?

Involves burning of the Tobacco plant, genus Nicotania. Tobacco contains nicotine, which can be addictive and habit forming.

Unlike drinking or eating, there is no physical need for tobacco. Tobacco, nicotine and the smoke produced by smoking are all potentially poisonous and their ill-effects on the body are welldocumented. The following are reasons included.

Smoking supposedly calms nerves and is almost essential when dealing with strenuous jobs. Medical studies however show that the calm that they feel is more likely the result of the time it takes to slow down ones routine, take out and smoke a cigarette. Worse still, studies show that chronic smokers become dependent on nicotine just to feel normal.

Advertising tactics include playing on viewers desires. Commercials usually include attractive women drawn to financially successful smokers or portrayals of masculinity and ruggedness. Slim cigarettes are advertised with slim and fashionable models, portraying the ideal woman as slim and fashionable.

During the teenage years, the youth are particularly vulnerable to peer pressure because they are looking to fit in or be cool. Teenagers also tend to have a false sense of invulnerability and feel that they cannot get hooked on smoking or suffer its ill side-effects.

Smoking is associated with independence and prestige because of the media and popular culture.

Smoking is sometimes tried as a way for teenagers to lose weight. Young girls are more vulnerable to this, as they try smoking as an alternative to eating.

Young people have a natural tendency to want to try new things and almost everyone at some point becomes inquisitive about smoking. This can lead to underage smoking if a child or teenager does not get the proper information about smoking

It has been well-known for some time now that smoking severely harms one health and has damaging effects in the short as well as the long term.

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Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin which is why smokers often appear pale and unhealthy. An Italian study also linked smoking to an increased risk of getting a type of skin rash called psoriasis.

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Cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath.

The smell of stale smoke tends to linger not just on peoples clothing, but on their hair, furniture, and cars. Oftentimes, it is very difficult to get the smell of smoke out.

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People who smoke usually cant compete with non-smoking peers because the physical effects of smoking (like rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath) impair sports performance.

Smoking affects the bodys ability to produce collagen, so common sports injuries, such as damage to tendons and ligaments will heal more slowly in smokers than non-smokers.

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Studies show that smokers get more colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. Teens who smoke as a way to manage weight often light up instead of eating, their bodies lack the nutrients they need to grow, develop, and fight off illness properly.

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Smoking weakens the immune system, leaving the body more vulnerable to hair loss.
Smoking is believed to cause or worsen several eye conditions. Smokers have a 40 percent higher rate of cataracts, a clouding of the eyes lens that blocks light and may lead to blindness.

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Smoking prematurely ages skin by wearing away proteins that give it elasticity, depleting it of vitamin A and restricting its blood flow. Because smoking creates plaque on blood vessel walls, decreasing blood flow to the inner ear, smokers can lose their hearing earlier that non-smokers and are more susceptible to hearing loss caused by ear infections or loud noises.

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Smokers are some 20 times more likely to develop lung cancer and are vulnerable to several other types of cancer.
Smoking interferes with the mouths chemistry, creating excess plaque, yellowing teeth and contributing to tooth decay. Smokers are 1 times more likely to lose their teeth.

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Smoking causes emphysema, a swelling and rupturing of the lungs air sacs that reduces the lungs capacity to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.
Carbon monoxide, the main poisonous gas in exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke, binds to blood much more readily than oxygen, cutting the oxygen-carrying power of heavy smokers blood by as much as 15 percent

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Heart attacks and strokes. Smoking related cardiovascular diseases kill an estimated 1.6 million people each year.
Smoking reduces resistance to bacteria that cause stomach ulcers.

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The tar in cigarette smoke collects on the fingers and fingernails, staining them a yellowish-brown.
Miscarriage is 2 to 3 times more common in smokers, as are stillbirths due to fetal oxygen deprivation. (Fetal/ Neonatal effects: Low birth Weight, Pneumonia, Delayed Development.

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Smoking and deform sperm and damage its DNA. It also reduces sperm count and blood flow to the penis, which can cause impotence. Infertility is also more common among smokers
Smokers are two to three time more likely to develop psoriasis, a non-contagious inflammatory skin condition that leaves itchy, oozing red patches all over the body.

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Buergers disease is an inflammation of the arteries, veins and nerves in the legs leading to restricted blood flow. Left untreated, this could lead to gangrene and amputation of the affected areas.