Smoke is No Joke
By: Jaqlynn Cassady
What is tobacco?
Tobacco is a plant whose leaves are often dried, and smoked.
Have you ever passed someone and noticed that they do not smell very well? Have you ever not hung out with a person for this reason? Well, they smell this way because of smoking. Smoking is highly dangerous and causes a lot of short and long-term effects.
What are some short- term effects of smoking?
- Addiction to nicotine ( nicotine is HIGHLY addictive and is found in ALL tobacco products)
- Damage to the respiratory system
- Decreased lung capacity
- Chronic cough
- Bronchitis, asthma
- Bad breath; bad taste in mouth
- Smelly hair and clothes
- Yellow or brown stains on teeth
- Increased likelihood of drug use and risky behavior
- Death from fire (number one cause of death from fire is smoking)
What are long-term effects of smoking?
- Heart problems (lead to heart attack; can cause strokes)
- Cancer (Lung, Upper Respiratory Tract, Cervical, Larynx, Mouth, Throat, Pancreas, Kidney, & Bladder)
- Lung disease (Chronic bronchitis and leading cause of emphysema~lung condition marked by abnormal increase in the size of the air sacs, resulting in labored breathing and increases susceptibility to infection)
- Other health problems
Cigarettes
Cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemicals known to be harmful to one's health.
Pipe Tobacco
Tobacco is placed in the bowl of the pipe and is then smoked. Pipe smoking has been the cause of gum disease and tooth loss and various types of cancers.
Cigars
Cigars are made up of dried tobacco. They contain higher level of nicotine than cigarettes.