Chapter 14 health 110

Social smoking

A practice of smoking regularly but not daily, primarily in social situations average less than one cigarette a day smoke less often and less intensley less dependent on tobacco

how nicotine works

If you inhale while smoking, 90 percent of the nicotine in the smoke is absorbed into your body. Even if you draw smoke only into your mouth and not into your lungs, you still absorb 25 to 30 percent of the nicotine. The FDA has concluded that nicotine is a dangerous, addictive drug that should be regulated. Yet in recent years tobacco companies have increased the levels of addictive nicotine. Faster than an injection, smoking speeds nicotine to the brain in seconds (Figure 14.1). Nicotine affects the brain in much the same way as cocaine, opiates, and amphetamines, triggering the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and addiction, as well as other messenger chemicals. Because nicotine acts on some of the same brain regions stimulated by interactions with loved ones, smokers subconsciously come to regard cigarettes as a friend that they turn to when they're stressed, sad, or mad.

Why people smoke

Limited Education People who have graduated from college are much less likely to smoke than those with fewer than 12 years of education. An individual with 8 years or less of education is 11 times more likely to smoke than someone with postgraduate training. Underestimation of Risks Most people are aware that an enormous health risk is associated with smoking, but many don't know exactly what that risk is or how it might affect them. Young people who think the health risks of smoking are fairly low are more likely than their peers to start smoking. Adolescent Experimentation and Rebellion For teenagers, smoking may be a coping mechanism for dealing with boredom and frustration; a marker of the transition into high school or college; a bid for adult status or a way of gaining admission to a peer group. Adolescents may smoke as a means of gaining social acceptance or to self-medicate when they feel helpless, lonely, or depressed. Stress In studies that have analyzed the impact of life stressors, depression, emotional support, marital status, and income, researchers have concluded that an individual with a high stress level is significantly more likely than a person with low stress to be a smoker. Parent Role Models Children who start smoking are 50 percent more likely than youngsters who don't smoke to have at least one smoker in their family. A mother who smokes seems to be a particularly strong influence in making smoking seem acceptable. The majority of youngsters who smoke say that their parents also smoke and are aware of their own tobacco use. Check-in Do your parents smoke? Did they smoke when you were growing up? Addiction Nicotine addiction is as strong as or stronger than addiction to drugs such as cocaine and heroin. The first symptoms of nicotine addiction can begin within a few days of starting to smoke and after just a few cigarettes, particularly in teenagers. (See Self Survey: "Are You Addicted to Nicotine?") Genetics Researchers speculate that genes may account for about 50 percent of smoking behavior, with environment playing an equally important role. Studies have shown that identical twins, who have the same genes, are more likely than fraternal twins to have matching smoking profiles. If one identical twin is a heavy smoker, the other is also likely to be; if one smokes only occasionally, so does the other. Weight Control Concern about weight is a significant risk factor for smoking among young women. Daily smokers are two to four times more likely to fast, use diet pills, and purge to control their weight than nonsmokers. Although black girls smoke at substantially lower rates than white girls, the common factor in predicting daily smoking among all girls, regardless of race, is concern with weight. Mental Disorders About 38 percent of those with a mental illness or substance abuse disorder smoke.People with mental illness account for nearly one-half of the tobacco market in the Unites States. Heavy smoking also is linked with an elevated risk of anxiety disorders in early adulthood.

Factors contributing to smoking

Limited education, underestimation of the risk, adolescent experimentation and rebellion, stress, parent role models, addiction, genetics, weight control, mental disorders

College Tobacco-Control Policies

The American College Health Association has recommended that all forms of tobacco be banned on college campuses, both indoors and outdoors. More than 1,300 schools have 100 percent smoke- or tobacco-free policies; others prohibit smoking everywhere but in designated areas.

Which region has the most smokers?

The midwest

Smoking rates are the highest among

The poor, mentally ill, drug and alcohol abusers, disabled, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons

carcinogenic

causing cancer

Effects of smoking

lung cancer; COPD - bronchitis, asthma, emphysema; increased risk for other cancers Tobacco continues to kill more people than AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, car crashes, murders, suicides, and fires combined. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 480,000 Americans die each year from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke, while 16 million suffer from smoking-related illnesses.

social smokers

those who smoke when they are with people rather than when they are alone

Tobacco use disorder symptoms

1 Use of tobacco and large amounts over a longer period of time then was intended, persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control tobacco use, a great deal of time spent in activities necessary to obtain or use tobacco, craving or a strong desire or urge to use tobacco, interference with obligations at work school home because of tobacco use, persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems such as arguments about smoking caused or exacerbated by tobacco. 2Giving up or cutting back on important social, occupational or recreational activities, recurrent use and physically hazardous situation such as smoking in bed. 3Continues despite a persistent or recurrent physical psychological problem caused or exacerbated by tobacco 4Tolerance, as indicated by need for markedly increased amounts of tobacco to achieve the desired effect or markedly diminished affect with continue use of same amount of tobacco. 5With drawl as indicated by symptoms of irritability, frustration, anger, anxiety difficulty concentrating, increased appetite, restlessness, depressed mood and insomnia or the use of tobacco or closely related substances to avoid such symptoms.

Tobacco use on campus

1. About 12 percent of students report smoking in the previous 30 days. More than 7 in 10 have never smoked. (See Snapshot: On Campus Now.) Here is what we know about student smokers: 2 Eight in 10 college smokers started smoking before age 18. They report smoking on twice as many days and smoke nearly four times as many cigarettes as those who began smoking at an older age. 3 White students have the highest smoking rates, followed by Hispanic, Asian, and African American students. Although black students are least likely to smoke, more are doing so than in the past. Smoking rates remain lower at predominantly black colleges and universities, however. 4 About equal percentages of college men and women smoke, although women are somewhat more likely than men to report smoking daily. Many college students say they smoke as a way of managing depression or stress. Studies consistently link smoking with depression and low life satisfaction. Smokers are significantly more likely to have higher levels of perceived stress than nonsmokers. The more depressed students, particularly women, are, the more likely they are to use nicotine as a form of self-medication. Male students who smoke are more likely than other men to say that smoking makes them feel more masculine and less anxious. More than half of female smokers feel that smoking helps them control their weight, although only 3 percent say it is their primary reason for smoking. Overweight female students are more likely to smoke to lose weight and to see weight gain as a barrier to quitting. Students can and do change their smoking behavior. As psychologists have noted, often those who quit smoking between ages 18 and 26 become less impulsive and negative over time, so they may "mature out" of this unhealthy behavior.

according to the CDC, smoker

42 million men and women currently smoke. American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest smoking rates, while Asians and Hispanics have the lowest. Individuals with undergraduate and graduate degrees are least likely to smoke. Smoking rates vary in different regions. The West has the fewest smokers (about 14 percent); the Midwest, the most (21 percent). Smoking rates are highest among the poor; the mentally ill; drug and alcohol abusers; the disabled; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons.

Smoking, Gender, and Race

Almost 1 billion men in the world smoke—about 35 percent of men in developed countries and 50 percent of men in developing countries. Male smoking rates are slowly declining, but tobacco still kills about 5 million men every year. Men also face specific risks because smoking: Increases the risk of aggressive prostate cancer May affect male hormones, including testosterone Can reduce blood flow to the penis, impairing a man's sexual performance and increasing the likelihood of erectile dysfunction About 20 million women and girls in the United States smoke. Women are as likely as men to die from smoking-related diseases. Their relative risk of dying from coronary heart disease is now higher than it is for men. Here are some other risks women face: More than 170,000 American women die of diseases caused by smoking every year.Footnote Lung cancer now claims more women's lives than breast cancer. As discussed later in this chapter, both active and passive smoking increase a woman's risk of breast cancer. If she smokes, a woman's annual risk of dying more than doubles after age 45 compared with a woman who has never smoked. Teenage girls who smoke may be at increased risk of osteoporosis because girls who smoke build up less bone during this critical growth period in their lives.Footnote Women who smoke are less fertile and experience menopause one or two years earlier than women who don't smoke. Smoking also greatly increases the possible risks associated with taking oral contraceptives. Women who smoke during pregnancy increase their risk of miscarriage and pregnancy complications, including bleeding, premature delivery, and birth defects such as cleft lip or palate. Smoking narrows the blood vessels and reduces blood flow to the fetus, resulting in lower birth weight, shorter length, smaller head circumference, and possibly lower IQ. Smoking may double or even triple the risk of stillbirth.Footnote Youngsters whose mothers smoked during pregnancy tend to have problems with hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. Some of these behavior problems persist through the teenage years into adulthood. Cigarette smoking is a major cause of disease and death in racial and ethnic minority groups. Among adults, Native Americans and Alaska Natives have the highest rates of tobacco use. African American and Southeast Asian men also have a high smoking rate. Asian American and Hispanic women have the lowest rates of smoking. Tobacco use is significantly higher among white college students than among Hispanic, African American, and Asian American students.

According to the Center for disease control, which group has the highest smoking rate in the United States?

American Indians and Alaska natives

smoking statistics

Among high school seniors in a recent nationwide survey, 7 percent reported smoking cigarettes—a substantial drop from five years ago—while 16 percent said they had used e-cigarettes.Among college students, 12 percent smoked cigarettes within the last 30 days, while about 9 percent used a hookah.

health effects of cigarette smoking

As many as 98 percent of tobacco-related deaths, including many due to secondhand smoke, are attributable to "combustible," or smokable, products.

tar and carbon monoxide

As you inhale tobacco smoke, tar and other particles settle in the forks of the branchlike bronchial tubes in your lungs, where precancerous changes are apt to occur. In addition, tar and smoke damage the mucus and the cilia in the bronchial tubes, which normally remove irritating foreign materials from your lungs.

negative effects of smoking

Here are some examples: Smoking less than a pack of cigarettes a week has been shown to damage the lining of blood vessels and to increase the risk of heart disease as well as of cancer. In women taking birth control pills, even a few cigarettes a week can increase the likelihood of heart disease, blood clots, stroke, liver cancer, and gallbladder disease. Pregnant women who smoke only occasionally still run an increased risk of giving birth to unhealthy babies. Social smokers are less motivated than smokers with tobacco use disorder to quit and make fewer attempts to do so. Many end up smoking more cigarettes for many more years than they intended.

Smoking in America

More than ten times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than in all the wars fought in the history of the United States. The tide against smoking turned in 1964, with publication of the landmark surgeon general's report on smoking and health. Since then, smoking rates have fallen from 42 to 18 percent of adults over age 18, but tobacco has killed more than 20 million Americans, including 2.5 million nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke) and 100,000 babies who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or complications, such as prematurity, linked to parental smoking

effects of nicotine on the body

Nicotine may enhance smokers' performance on some tasks but leaves other mental skills unchanged. Nicotine also acts as a sedative. How often you smoke and how you smoke determine nicotine's effect on you. If you're a regular smoker, nicotine will generally stimulate you at first and then tranquilize you. Shallow puffs tend to increase alertness because low doses of nicotine facilitate the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which makes the smoker feel alert. Deep drags, on the other hand, relax the smoker because high doses of nicotine block the flow of acetylcholine. Nicotine stimulates the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline, a hormone that increases blood pressure, speeds up the heart rate by 15 to 20 beats a minute, and constricts blood vessels (especially in the skin). Nicotine also inhibits the formation of urine, dampens hunger, irritates the membranes in the mouth and throat, and dulls the taste buds so foods don't taste as good as they would otherwise. Nicotine withdrawal usually begins within hours. Symptoms include craving, irritability, anxiety, restlessness, and increased appetite

Which region has the fewest smokers?

West

carbon monoxide

a colorless, odorless, and poisonous gas *levels 400 times those considered safe in industry. Carbon monoxide interferes with the ability of the hemoglobin in the blood to carry oxygen, impairs normal functioning of the nervous system, and is at least partly responsible for the increased risk of heart attacks and strokes in smokers.

Tobacco Use Disorder

a problematic pattern of tobacco use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress

Nicotine

a stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco

what's in tobacco smoke?

tobacco smoke contains some 7,000 other compounds and chemicals, including gases, liquids, particles, tar, carbon monoxide, cadmium, pyridine, nitrogen dioxide, ammonia, benzene, phenol, acrolein, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, and hydrogen sulfide.