Smoking

It is not a surprising thing to know that most people, either men or women, enjoy smoking.

However, do you know anything about smoking? Do you know the history, the cause, the fact, the type, and why smoking is bad for your health?

It is very important for you to know things about smoking whether you are a smoker or not. It will make you become aware of what you are inhaling and you can also share the knowledge with the people around you who are smoking.

Definition of Smoking

The first question that pops up in your head must be what is smoking? Smoking is the inhalation of the smoke of burning tobacco which encased inside of cigarettes, pipes, and cigars.

There are two types of smokers in this world. The first one is the casual smoker and the second one is the habitual smoker.

The casual smoker is a kind of people who are smoking but only occasionally. Usually, they are only smoking when they are in a social situation or when they need to relieve their stress.

Meanwhile, the habitual smoker is a kind of people where they are making smoking become their habit. In other words, they have an addiction to tobacco products. For this case, there are many health experts who considered habitual smoking as a psychological addiction.

A Brief History of Smoking

Now, after you know the definition of smoking, it is time for you to know the smoking history. Tobacco has been growing wild in the USA for nearly 8000 years.

Around 2000 years ago, tobacco began to be smoked during cultural or religious ceremonies and events.

The one who discovered tobacco for the first time is a European man named Christopher Columbus.

In 1531, tobacco was cultivated in Europe or at Santo Domingo. In 1600, the use of tobacco had spread across Europe and England and was being used as a monetary standard.

In the 1700s, smoking had become more popular and in the 1800s, cigarette making machines were developed. The first machine produced about 200 cigarettes per minute.

Kinds of Smoking

Now, it is time for you to know the type of smoking. There are four kinds of smoking.

The first one is cigarettes, the second one is cigars or pipes, the third one is shishas or hookahs, and the fourth one is storing or chewing tobacco in the mouth.

Cigarettes are the most common way of consuming tobacco among young people. There are filtered cigarettes with low levels of nicotine, there are also rolled cigarettes either in white paper or brown paper or tobacco paper.

As for cigars or pipes, one cigar or pipe on average has more nicotine and tar than a pack of cigarettes and one large size cigar has 40 times the nicotine and tar found in one cigarette.

Meanwhile, for shishas, one shisha is equivalent to 50 to 60 cigarettes and two or three-hour session of smoking shisha is equivalent to smoking 25 cigarettes.

Lastly, for the last type, the tobacco is consumed through the mouth which will make you smoking without the smoke. Usually, the person will chew the tobacco along with other ingredients until the juice from the tobacco is absorbed to their bloodstream.

Reason Why People are Smoking

Some of you must be asking why people smoking. To answer that question, smoking is one of the most difficult addictions to break. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance which makes people feel energized and alert.

Smoking can also produce psychological dependency. Many people smoke because it can help them relax and deal with stressful situations and it will also give them confidence.

Some people also considered smoking as a social activity. They smoke to start conversations and interact at parties or in crowded places.

The Ingredients of Cigarettes

Do you know that there are at least 600 ingredients contains of smoking and when they are burned, they create more than 7000 chemicals which 69 of those chemicals can cause cancer?

There are Acetone, Acetic acid, Ammonia, Arsenic, Benzene, Butane, Cadmium, Carbon Monoxide, Hexamine, Lead, Naphthalene, Methanol, Nicotine, Tar, Toluene.

What Smoking Can Cause

Do you know the causes of smoking? Smoking can cause you Lung Cancer, COPD or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Heart Disease, Stroke, Asthma, Reproductive Effects in Women, Premature and Low Birth-Weight Babies, Diabetes, Blindness, Cataracts, Age-Related Macular Degeneration, and 10 other types of cancer.

Reasons Why You Cannot Smoke

There are actually many reasons why smoking is bad for your health. Here is the thing, smoking can cause damage to nearly every organ in your body and responsible for many diseases.

Smoking can shorten the life of a man by about 12 years and the life of a woman by around 11 years. There are two poisons in tobacco which can affect your health.

The first one is the carbon monoxide which is found in car exhaust fumes. It can replace the oxygen in your blood and starves organs of oxygen and stops them to function properly.

The second one is tar which is a sticky brown substance which can coat your lungs and affect your breathing.

Facts About Smoking

There also some smoking facts which you need to know so that you will be more aware. For example, smoking is the cause of 1 in 5 deaths in the USA annually, around 1.69 billion pounds of butts end up as toxic trash each year.

Secondhand smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals which include 70 cancer-causing chemicals, there are approximately 46,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are current non-smokers every year, and smoking can increase the risk of getting lung diseases like pneumonia, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Why Smoking Can Kill You

Do you know why smoking kills? The answer will be because smoking is the prime factor in heart disease, stroke, and chronic lung disease.

Smoking can also cause yellow teeth, bad breath, wrinkles, bad gums, excessive perspiration, severe cramps, nervousness, fatigue, tremors, headaches, and insomnia.

Smoking can also cause heart attacks and stroke by slowing your blood flow, cutting off oxygen to your feet and hands.

How to Quit

Now, after you know what smoking can cause to your body and you want to know how to quit smoking, do not worry, we got you.

First, you need to motivate yourself to stop smoking. Then, you need to make a plan to start. After that, you can decide whether you want to quit cold turkey or reducing your use.

Then, you need to be prepared for cravings by exercising.

Lastly, you need to be committed to yourself and say no when your friends offer you to smoke.