ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

Argumentative Essay

Smoking

Introduction

Cigarette smoking has many horrifying effects to human beings. Smoking cigarette is dangerous not just to those who smoke, but to nonsmokers and even to the unborn children. When you look on the physical and social side of it, cigarette is again very much harming. Cigarette smoke usually has large particles called tar that usually collect in the branching points of the smoker's lungs. These particles contain carcinogenic compounds which are responsible for increasing the risk of lung cancer. There are small particles in the cigarette smoke that also include carcinogens, corrosive chemicals, irritants that collect in the small air sacs of the lungs called cilia damaging them in the process. It is in these air sacs that blood absorbs oxygen from the air that one breathes. When one smokes, the small particles in the smoke are absorbed into the blood stream and taken to other parts of the body, carrying with them various diseases (Cnossen, 2005).

Discussion

Smoking cigarette is said to be one of the world's major killers. The major side effect that is brought about by smoking is cancer, which is simply a group of many related diseases. Cancer usually involves the out of control growth and spread of abnormal cells. Estimates from the American Cancer Society show that cigarettes claim about 419,000 deaths every year in America alone (Eysenck, 2005). Research has shown that male smokers have a 22 times higher risk of dying from lung cancer whereas the females have a risk of 12 times higher when compared to the nonsmokers (Dube et al., 2009). Smokers also have an added risk of having cancer of the oral cavity, larynx, bladder, esophagus, pancreas, and the kidney. Studies also show that there is a five time increase in the risk of one dying from emphysema and chronic bronchitis if he or she is a smoker including a two times increase in deaths resulting from heart and coronary artery diseases (Bialous, 2009). It is also on record that smoking also increases risks of stroke by a 60% risk in women. Research in this area has also proven that women who smoke while pregnant or before getting pregnant have a tendency of giving birth to babies having birth defects, premature or underweight. Smoking during pregnancy also increases the chances of sudden infant death syndrome (Cnossen, 2005). The teeth of the unborn are also affected by cigarette smoking. Regular exposure of children to second hand smoke increases their chances of developing cavities. Cigarette smoking has adverse effects on women. Facts show that cigarette smoking affects the ability of women to make new bone. This places them at high risks of bone loss and osteoporosis. Women in the menopause stages and are smokers have greater risk of suffering hip fractures, something that is magnified with age (Kropp & Halpern-Felsher, 2004).

On the other hand men who smoke 18 or more cigarettes in a day for two years experience decreased ability to father children. In effect, cigarette smoking lowers sex drive in men making ...