Disadvantages of Smoking - Essay Example

Tobacco smoke has carbon monoxide which deprives tissues of oxygen. Smoking also has serious long-term effects. Smoking causes emphysema, lung cancer, and many other respiratory diseases. Ninety percent of all lung cancers are caused by smoking. Smoking can also lead to laryngeal and oral cancer. Smoking also contributes to heart diseases. The risk of a stroke in smoking men is increased by 40% in men and 60% in women. The drug nicotine that is present in tobacco is addictive, which makes it difficult to quit.

Smoking does not harm just the smoker it affects the people around the smoker as well, such as coworkers, family members, and friends. This is called passive smoking or second-hand smoking. Children who suffer from second-hand smoke are at the risk of acquiring pneumonia, bronchitis, coughing, middle ear problems, wheezing, and asthma. A teenager whose parents smoke is more likely to get into the habit of smoking than a teenager whose parents do not smoke. Babies of pregnant women who smoke are usually underweight, which can also result in death.

Smoking is very injurious not only to the smoker but also to the people around him. “Overall, the average smoker dies seven to eight years sooner than an average nonsmoker”