How does Smoking affect your Stomach?

[Course]

[Semester]How does Smoking affect your Stomach?

Introduction

The paper aims to discuss possible affect of smoking on human health, specifically stomach. In the light of research articles and scholarly journals, the paper highlights negative effects of smoking on stomach backed with empirical and statistical evidences. Furthermore, based on the collected information and research statistics, the paper interprets and analyzes the information. Finally, the paper draws a conclusion on hazardous effects of smoking on the stomach and human health in the shape of various chronic diseases.

Description

Human stomach can be defined as a muscular sac between the small intestine and the esophagus (Healthy Living, 2009). Walls of the stomach are surrounded with three powerful muscular layers, which are responsible to pulverize food and blend it with gastric juices, in order to dissolve it before it is passed to the small intestine (Healthy Living, 2009). Smoking habit can be hazardous for the entire human body, and research shows that cigarette smoking and tobacco usage are the cause of chronic health diseases, such as emphysema, lung cancer, heart disease, and colon cancer (National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, 2012).

According to a research, approximately one-third of all adults in the US are smokers and one in every five American deaths is caused by smoking (figure 1) (National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, 2012). In 2003, approximately 22,400 new stomach cancer cases were reported in the US and 12,100 death cases due to stomach cancer were reported (Healthy Living, 2009).

Figure 1: Rates of Morality by Age at Death in the US 1988-1992 (National Cancer Institute, n.d., p. 115)

Since the late 1970s and early 80s, stomach cancer has been the most common form of cancer across the globe (National Cancer Institute, n.d.). Internationally, the rate of stomach cancer has shown substantial variation with highest rates in the Eastern Asia and Japan. However, the rate of stomach cancer incidence was higher in Latin America and Eastern Europe whereas; the US and Western Europe reported relatively lower rates of incidence (figure 2) (National Cancer Institute, n.d.).

Figure 2: Rates of Incidence by Age at Diagnosis 1988-1992 (National Cancer Institute, n.d., p. 114)

Statistics show a declining trend in the rate of morality and stomach cancer incidences in many regions of the world as illustrated by figure 3 & 4 (National Cancer Institute, n.d.).

Figure 3: Incidence Rates during 1988-1992 (National Cancer Institute, n.d., p. 113)

Figure 4: Rates of Morality in the US during 1988-1992 (National Cancer Institute, n.d., p. 113)

According to Gibbons (2008), stomach cancer incidences are increasingly associated with smoking habits. The identified relationship is dose dependent, which means that the severity of stomach cancer will depend on both the duration of smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked by a person (Gibbons, 2008). According to findings of a meta-analysis of 40 research studies, risk of stomach cancer was found higher in men with an estimated increase of 1.5-1.6 fold (Gibbons, 2008).

Smoking has severed affect on the stomach in the form of cancer Crohn's and peptic ulcer diseases (Quit Victoria, ...