Thesis: It has been uncertain for how long man has been using tobacco. Now one thing is certain. Man has become depended on tobacco. Tobacco smoking has been plaguing the Western World ever since the 15th century. A little too late man is constantly discovering it's detrimental effects on health, but he has become addicted. He is a smoker, attached to a habit that he may never get rid of, and he might even die because of his habit. A close analytical research study on what tobacco is, what it has done, what it is doing, and what man is doing about it. There is only one solution. "QUIT! Tomorrow may be too late!"

One would like to believe that the effects of tobacco smoking are known to be hazardous to a person's health. Some overlook that fact, by not considering smoking a threat, or are so depended on tobacco that they would rather look the other way and accept the fact that they are addicted. The easy way out is retreat to phrases like "Some day I' ll quit, I'm not ready to quit, I just don't have the willpower, it is too hard to get rid of, how will I face the withdrawal effects..." The sad truth is that no mater the reason for smoking, its effects are so detrimental that smokers should think twice, look around and quit now, while they are still alive. This is an informative analytical study of what tobacco is, what it does, and how it does what it does. Numbers speak for themselves and need no explanation. So read, learn, and enjoy life.

The Problem The destructive effects of tobacco smoking.

The subproblems Do we know enough?

The Delimitations There has been enough study done on the topic of tobacco dependence and the information needed was available from personal sources, library sources, personal research.

The Limitations Limitations of this study was that micro information was very hard to find and not enough. Low response rate to the questionnaire employed, and limited tine for completion.

The Definition of Terms There are some terms that may nee to be defined here, although they are clearly defined in the text.

Solanaceae. The family to which tobacco belongs.

Nicotiana. The genus to which tobacco belongs.

Belladonna. A drug deriving from the tobacco family.

Tobago. A tube the Arawak people used to smoke tobacco.

Nicotine Sulfate. A substance used in insecticides.

Nicotine Tartrate. A substance used in some medicines.

Nicotine. The primary substance in tobacco.

Alkaloid. A nitrogen-containing organic compound found in tobacco.

Malic acid. An organic acid found in nicotine.

Citric acid. An organic acid found in nicotine.

Nicotinic acid/Niacin. An antipellargic vitamin.

Cocaine/morphine/strychnine. Alkaloids related to nicotine.

Cigarrillos. Shredded tobacco rolled in scraps of paper by beggars in Seville, Spain.

Carcinogenic. Cancer causing.

Tar/carbon monoxide/ammonia/benzene. Harmful chemicals emitted from burning tobacco.

Hemoglobin. A protein with iron containing prosthetic groups found in the blood.

Carboxyhemoglobin. Hemoglobin combined with carbon monoxide.

Bronchioles. The thinnest airways in the lungs.

Pepsinogen. A protein secreted in the stomach.

Hydrochloric acid. A very low pH acid in the stomach.

Pepsin. A digestive enzyme.

Gastric lipase. A fat-splitting enzyme.

Amygdala. The part of the brain responsible for fear and anger.

Neocortex. The part of the brain responsible for learning and remembering.

The Need for the Study The need for this study was to make the reader aware of the hazards of tobacco smoking. To present facts and figures that are unknown to the average individual.

     The literature for this study was very hard to obtain, especially the micro. Careful selection was used in order not to bore the reader and to present facts and figures that are accurate, up to date, and statistics as recent as possible.

The methodology of this paper was done after the revision of the relevant literature and the revision of statistical analysis. For this study 8 macro sources were used, 13 micro sources, personal knowledge and experience and a quantitative survey with the use of the included questionnaire.

A. Definition of Tobacco

     Tobacco is a common name applied to two plants of the nightshade family that are cultivated for their leaves, which, when cured, are used for smoking and chewing and as snuff. The most widely cultivated species grows from 1 to 3m. (3to5ft.) high and produces 10 to 20 broad leaves that branch alternately from a central stem. Short hairs cover the green parts and give off a sticky secretion. Large, sweet-scented flowers appear in a cluster at the top of the stalk, ranging from deep pink to nearly white ( Trefz, 1990).

B. Classification of Tobacco

     Tobacco belongs to the nightshade family Solanaceae, therefore related to the tomato and potato, as well as to the deadly nightshade, from which the drug belladonna is derived. Tobacco belongs to the genus Nicotiana, which is named for Jean Nicot, the French ambassador to Portugal from 1559 to 1561. It was he who first sent it to the king of France, from where it spread to the rest of Europe (Macon, 1994).

A. How Did Tobacco Become Known

     Tobacco is native to the western hemisphere (North America, South America, Mexico, West Indies) and was probably first used by the ancient Maya peoples. They introduced it to Native North Americans, who believed it had medicinal properties and used it in ceremonies. The Arawak people of the Caribbean, observed by Christopher Columbus in 1492, smoked tobacco through a tube they called tobago, from which the name originated (Macon, 1994). Brought to Spain from Santo Domingo in 1556, tobacco was introduced to France. In 1585 the English navigator Sir Francis Drake took it to England, and the practice of pipe smoking was introduced among the Elizabethan countries by the English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh. Tobacco use quickly spread throughout Europe and Russia, and by the 17th century it reached China, Japan, and the west coast of Africa (Trefz, 1990).

B. The Introduction of Tobacco to The Rest of The World

     In colonial America the use of tobacco began in the settlement of Jamestown, where, as early as 1615, gardens, fields, and even streets were planted with tobacco, which became the staple crop and principal currency of the colony. By the 16th century Spaniards had established tobacco plantations in the West Indies. After 1776 tobacco culture expanded to North Carolina and west as far as Missouri. In about 1864 an Ohio farmer happened upon a chlorophyll-deficient strain called white burley, which became a main ingredient of American blended tobaccos, especially after the invention of the cigarette-making machine in 1881 (Trefz, 1990).

C. Tobacco Acceptance

     By the early 20th century, smokers were consuming more than 1,000 cigarettes per capita each year. The general attitude of society was that smoking relieved tension and produced no ill effects. During World War II physicians endorsed sending soldiers cigarettes, which were also included in ration kits (Stewart, 1989).      As tobacco production expanded throughout the world, many varieties developed. Some of the best known are Turkish, Burley, Cuban, Maryland, Orinoco, Pryor, Perique, and Latakia. Some varieties are widely grown, but a few, such as Perique, are grown only in a small number of specific places. In the late 1980s the United States was the second largest tobacco producer after China and accounted for about 9 percent of world production. The United States exported more than one-third of its crop (Trefz, 1990).

A. Where Is Tobacco Found

     Although tobacco is cultivated in about 120 climatically diverse countries and as far north as latitude 50, the finer, marketable tobacco products come from only a few select regions and require much care and intensive labor in growing. The largest growers are China, (with nearly one fourth of the world's production) the United States, India, Brazil, Turkey, and several European countries including Greece. Because China is also the largest consumer of tobacco, very little of its crop is sold on world markets. It has been estimated that worldwide production reaches 8 billion pounds of tobacco annually (Stewart, 1989).

B. How is Tobacco Grown

     The plant is grown successfully under a wide range of climatic and soil conditions. However, commercial value of the product depends upon the environment. The soil should be well drained, like in Maryland, where there is sandy, or sandy-clay subsoil. In Mediterranean climate, and in periods of little or no rainfall, the best oriental tobacco is grown. Seedlings of special strains, such as those producing Maryland or burley for cigarettes, or filler, binder, and wrapper for cigars, are transplanted from cold frames to fields, each calling for special fertilizer and moisture requirements. To produce the large, thin leaves for cigar wrappers, great canopies of cheesecloth are erected over fields. To concentrate growth into the leaves of large-leafed strains, the plant crowns are topped before flowering. Leaves are frequently hand-harvested in stages as they mature on the plant stem. The leaves are hung in barns and cured by air, fire, or heat so that each tobacco type wilts, colors, and dries to impart a desired flavor. Air curing, used for many American cigarette and cigar tobaccos, takes 6 to 8 weeks. In fire curing, smoke from a fire on the barn floor is allowed to permeate the leaves; in flue curing, heat (which at one time was conducted by fires through flues) is carefully applied so that the leaves ferment and dry correctly. After curing, the leaves are grated, often according to position on the plant, color, size, and other qualities before being baled and taken to tobacco warehouses for auctioning (Stewart, 1989).

     Cigarette consumption, which accounts for most tobacco use in the United States, dropped significantly in 1964, when a special report to the U. S. surgeon general linked cigarette smoking with lung cancer, coronary artery disease, and other ailments. Since early 1970, (Stewart, 1989) the number of cigarettes smoked per capita by American adults has remained virtually unchanged at about 3,900 per year. Whereas tobacco consumption in developed countries is leveling off, in developing countries it is rapidly rising. In Africa, per capita consumption during the past decade has increased 33 percent. Developing countries, where the international tobacco industries are now concentration their efforts, are projected to increase tobacco consumption by 2.8 percent annually.

     From 1974 to 1987 U.S. exports in tobacco products and leaf rose in average value from $650 million to $3.4 billion. The tobacco industry is aided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Commodity Credit Corporation and the price-support system (Stewart, 1989).

A. Major Uses

     The most common uses of tobacco are for cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff. The plant is also used to obtain nicotine sulfate for use in insecticides and nicotine tartrate, which is used in some medicines (Macon, 1994).

A. Taxonomy

     As mentioned, tobacco plants belong to the family Solanaceae. They are classified as Nicotiana Tabacum (the most widely cultivated and source for most of today's commercial varieties) Nicotiana Rustica, Nicotiana Attenuata, Nicotiana Trigonophylla and Nicotiana Grandifiora (Macon, 1994).

B. Primary Content

     Tobacco contains nicotine and other alkaloids. Alkaloids are nitrogen-containing organic compounds that are generally recognized as habit forming and narcotic. To a great extent, this accounts for the worldwide appeal and use of tobacco products (Macon, 1994).

C. Composition

     Nicotine, the compound that definitely characterizes tobacco, occurs in various proportions combined with organic acids, like malic acid and citric acid. Related alkaloids have been found in certain types associated with nicotine. Also, nicotine can be used as a raw material in the preparation of the antipellargic vitamin nicotinic acid, or niacin (Dell, 1991).

D. Chemistry

     Nicotine, a volatile liquid, is the principal alkaloid in tobacco, which occurs to the extent of about 5 percent, along with minute amounts of closely related alkaloids. (Other well-known alkaloids are cocaine, morphine, and strychnine.) It is filtered through aqueous extracts of tobacco with the addition of lime, or caustic soda, recovering the alkaloid by extraction with a suitable solvent. Pure nicotine, (C₁₀H₁₄N₂) is a highly poisonous, colorless liquid with an unpleasant odor (Dell, 1991).

Factors governing the nicotine content of tobacco are:

• The species, variety and strain.
• The environment in which the plant is grown, primarily the condition of the climate and soil.
• Cultural, curing and handling methods employed.

The nicotine content of commercial tobacco types varies considerably, while the ash content is high and ranges from 15 to 25 percent of the leaf on a water-free basis.

     The majority of the approximately 7 million tons of tobacco grown in a typical year in the 1980s went into the manufacture of more than 3.5 trillion cigarettes that were sold in each of those years (Stewart, 1989).

A. The Cigarette Discovery.

     Although some American Indians smoked tubes that were stuffed with tobacco, it was the cigar that Spanish conquerors brought back to Europe as a luxury for the wealthy. The first cigarettes were made by beggars in Seville, Spain. They picked up discarded cigar butts, shredded the tobacco, and rolled it in scraps of paper. These were known as cigarrillos, or "little cigars." Late in the 18th century French and British troops became familiar with the term during the Napoleonic wars, and the French gave them the name cigarettes (Macon, 1994).

B. The Making of Cigarettes

     At first cigarettes were made by hand. In 1880 James A. Bonsack patented in the United States a machine in which cigarette parer was filled with tobacco, formed, pasted, closed, and cut to proper lengths by a rotary knife. The machine was soon being used in other countries. Improvement in cultivation and processing that lowered the acid content of cigarette tobacco and that made the smoke easier to inhale, led to a major expansion of cigarette smoking early in the 20^th century (Macon, 1994).

A. Tobacco Costs

     Tobacco has long been a source of money for the governments in many countries. In the United States this income comes from taxes on the stored leaf as well as on the manufactured products. Excise taxes also come from tobacco that arrives from other countries. In many countries the income comes from tobacco monopolies operated by the government. Such monopolies exist in European countries and in Japan. In the United States, federal, state, and local taxes are placed on tobacco products. It is not uncommon for the price of tobacco to consist largely of taxes (Stewart, 1989).

A. Is Tobacco Harmful?

     The suspicion that smoking can be a health hazard dates back at least to 1604, when King James I of England issued a condemnation of tobacco. The modern concern over the health of smokers emerged after World War II. Then medical evidence began to accumulate that eventually established that cigar and pipe smoking cause cancer of the mouth and that cigarette smoking is directly linked to lung cancer. Today, (Stewart, 1989) it is also known that smoking increases the risks of other diseases of the heart and lungs, while chewing tobacco and snuff increase the risk of cancer of the mouth and gums.

B. Cigarettes Today

     Since January 1^st, 1966, all cigarette packages sold in the United States and a few other nations have carried health warnings. Cigarette advertising on television was banned beginning January 1^st, 1971, and some health agencies have mounted television campaigns against smoking. In 1985, the American Medical Association called for a ban on all cigarette advertizing. In many Western, industrialized countries, growing concern over the risks associated with nonsmokers breathing the tobacco smoke of smoker led to widespread restrictions on smoking in workplaces and public buildings. In some cases, smoking in certain public areas, including all airline flights, was banned entirely (Macon, 1994).

A. Definition of Smoking

     Smoking is the inhalation and exhalation of the fumes of burning tobacco. The dried leaves of the plant are smoked in a pipe or in cigar form, but mostly in cigarettes. About 50 million people in the U.S. currently smoke a total of 570 billion cigarettes each year (Stewart, 1989). As recently as the 1940s smoking was considered harmless, but laboratory and clinical research has since proved that smoking greatly increases a smokers risk of dying from several diseases, chief of which is lung cancer.

B. Cigarette Smoking

     Epidemiologists soon noticed, however, that lung cancer, rare before the 20^th century, had increased dramatically beginning about 1930. The American Cancer Society and other organizations initiated studies comparing deaths among smokers and non smokers over a period of several years. All such studies (Macon, 1994) found increased mortality among smokers, both from cancer and other causes. In addition, experimental studies in animals showed that many of the chemicals contained in cigarette smoke are carcinogenic, (cancer causing). In 1662, the U.S. government appointed a panel of scientists to study the available evidence. Their conclusions were included in the 1964 surgeon general's report, which stated that "cigarette smoking is a health hazzard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action" (Macon, 1994).

C. Warnings

     The first action taken was the inclusion of a warning on cigarette packages in 1964 by the Federal Trade Commission. This warning was strengthened in 1969 to read as follows:

"Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health." From then on, several different warnings can be found on all cigarette packs.

"SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide." "...Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health." "...Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, And Low Birth Weight."
"...Cigarette Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy." (Macon, 1994) By the late 1970s, several countries followed, the first being The United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and in 1992 Greece.

A. Why People Smoke

     People who smoke may find the habit invigorating at some times and relaxing at others. These apparently opposite effects are produced by nicotine. It acts as a stimulant when inhaled in short puffs, but it acts as a tranquilizer when inhaled in deep drags. Because it suppresses the appetite, many people use smoking as an aid in weight control.

     Why tobacco should have such a firm hold over so many people is not at all clear. Explanations from various perspectives are similar to those advanced for alcoholism (Bootzin, 1988). Psychodynamic theorists generally regard smoking as another instance of oral fixation. Behavioral theorists see it as a learned habit maintained by a number of reinforcers, the stimulant effects of nicotine, the pleasure associated with inhaling and exhaling smoke, the experience of tension reduction in social situations , the enhanced image of oneself as "sophisticated," or perhaps all of these, the primary reinforcer varying from smoker to smoker
(O' Leary & Wilson, 1975). Yet these reinforcers seem rather weak to maintain such a dangerous habit.

     Is smoking, then, just a physiological addiction? In the past some researchers have argued that this was the case. Yet the research findings in favor of the addiction hypothesis were ambiguous. Furthermore, there was no evidence of tolerance; many people go on smoking a pack a day for years. And the withdrawal symptoms experienced by those who stopped smoking, irritability, anxiety, restlessness, difficulty in concentrating, decreased heart rate, shortness of breath, overeating, craving for tobacco, (Hughes, 1986) seemed mild compare with those of addictions such as alcohol.

     In 1978, however, Schachter presented impressive evidence in support of the addiction hypothesis. In a number of studies, Schachter and his colleagues found that smoking does not calm smokers or elevate their mood, nor does it improve their performance over that of nonsmokers. On the other hand , not smoking, or an insufficient level of nicotine in the bloodstream, cause smokers to perform considerably worse than nonsmokers. Schachter concluded that smokers get nothing out of smoking other than avoidance of the disruptive effect of withdrawal, and that is for this reason, avoidance of withdrawal, that they smoke. In support to this conclusion, Schachter and his co-workers have good evidence that smokers regulate their nicotine levels in order to ensure that withdrawal symptoms do not occur. In one experiment, smokers increased their cigarette consumption when low-nicotine cigarettes were substituted for their regular, high-nicotine brands. In another experiment, a group of smokers were given vitamin C, which has the effect of lowering the nicotine level in the bloodstream. (Vitamin C acidifies the urine and so increases the rate at which nicotine is excreted.) Once again the subjects compensated by smoking more. Schachter suggests that this mechanism may explain why people smoke more when they are under stress. Stress, like vitamin C, acidifies the urine. Thus smokers under stress would have to increase their nicotine intake in order to maintain their usual nicotine level, and thereby fend-off withdrawal symptoms (Schachter, 1988).

     Treatment programs for smokers tend to report the same results that Freud showed repeatedly with his cigar habit: successful abstention followed by relapse. Mark Twain summed it up neatly. He could stop smoking, he said, with great ease; indeed, he had done so hundreds of times. Many people, of course, do break the habit for good, and more often than not, they succeed without the help of a formal treatment program (Schachter, 1982).

B. Physical Effects

     1. Cardiovascular system. When tobacco is burned nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, ammonia, benzene, and other harmful chemicals are released into the air. Particulates accumulate on the mucus linings of the airways and lungs and impair their functioning. Continued exposure to particulates damages the lungs and increases the smoker's chances of developing such conditions as chronic bronchitis. Of more than 4,000 substances found in tobacco smoke, about 60 are associated with cancer or tumor formation. Two of the most dangerous components of tobacco smoke are carbon monoxide, (CO), a gas and particulate substances (including nicotine), which are collectively known as tar (Dell, 1991, Patterson, 1992).

     In the blood, carbon monoxide interferes with the supply of oxygen to all tissues and organs, including the brain and heart. The released carbon monoxide entering the blood-stream combines with the hemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin (Patterson, 1992). Hemoglobin is a protein with iron containing prosthetic groups. It is the red oxygen-carrying pigment in the erythrocytes of the blood (Dell, 1991). The amount of free hemoglobin to bind and transfer oxygen to the body becomes less, thus resulting to oxygen deficiency for many vital tissues. Statistical reports, in reference to the rate of heart attacks and arteriosclerosis, indicate multiplied numbers of incidences among smokers (Patterson, 1992).

     No mater its effects, nicotine is classified as stimulant. It raises the smoker's blood pressure, increases heart rate and dulls appetite. The aftereffects are depression of the bodily functions. On the other hand, tar is a residue formed when gasses and particles of tobacco smoke condense. Tar is the principal cause of smoking-related cancers. It is unclear whether nicotine alone has any long-term health effects. It is known to constrict the blood vessels and raise blood pressure, and those actions could put a strain on the heart. The heart of an adult at rest pumps about 5 pounds of blood in the body taking several minutes for it to return to the heart from distant parts of the body. The cardiac output raises when the heart rate is elevated. This sequence is torturous for the heart of a smoker with undesirable results for the entire cardiovascular system. Smokers who are still relatively young can reverse some lung damage by quitting, but in middle-aged and older smokers some damage seems to be irreversible (Patterson, 1992).

     2. Respiratory system. The first symptom is the characteristic "smoker's cough" due to the irritation of the air passages, turning to inflamation of their surface. Such air passages include the nostrils, nasal cavity, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi and bronchioles. Much of the surface of the respiratory passages contains large numbers of coblet and ciliated cells that respectively secrete dust-trapping mucus and sweep it toward the throat (Wallace, 1981). When the mucus membranes thicken, and the coblet cell secretion increases, the damaged cilia cannot function properly expelling with force the foreign substances. The swelling that follows reduces the diameter of the air passages resulting in diminished airflow and constriction of the passages' walls. Consequently, smokers experience shortness of breath. As the bronchioles, the thinnest airways in the lungs, get inflamed and scarred, chronic bronchitis will follow, and quite often emphysema (Wallace, 1981).

     3. Digestive system. Nicotine has been blamed for the increase of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, being one of the main reasons for peptic ulcers. The stomach lining contains many long tubular glands that secrete the gastric juices. These glands are made-up by chief cells, which secrete the protein pepsinogen, and parietal cells, which secrete hydrochloric acid, (HCl). The acid activates the pepsinogen, forming the digestive enzyme pepsin. Other glands secrete water, mucus, and small quantities of gastric lipase, a fat-splitting enzyme. The presence of HCl produces a very low pH level of 1.6 to 2.4 in the stomach fluids. Increase of HCl creates a much lower, more acidic pH, which can damage the insoluble mucoprotein mucin that forms a coating over the stomach lining, protecting it from digesting itself. Disorders of the digestive track all along are twice as frequent in smokers as in nonsmokers. Peptic ulcers become more common, even in the young smoker population (King, 1989).

     4. Further bodily effects. One of the greatest dangers of smoking is the increased risk of cancer, particularly lung cancer, but also cancer of the bladder, mouth, and esophagus. Additionally, smokers have a fivefold increased risk of cancer of the larynx and oral cavity; about one third of all cancers of the kidneys and pancreas are attribute to smoking as well. In general, a person's risk of developing tobacco related cancer depends on how long that person has been smoking, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, the tar content of the cigarette, and how deeply the person inhales the smoke. The risk of dying from lung cancer is 20 to 30 times greater for a heavy smoker that for a nonsmoker (Macon, 1994, Patterson, 1992).      When people give up smoking, the risk of developing tobacco-related diseases declines. The speed and degree of this decline depends on how long and how heavily the person has smoked. Among those who have smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day for more than 20 years, a minimum of three years must elapse after quitting before a decreased risk for cancer is evident. More than ten years of abstinence is necessary before the degree of risk approaches that for those who have never smoked (Macon, 1994).

     According to further research conducted by Hughs (1986) medical studies have established that overall mortality is twice as high among middle-aged men who smoke as among those who do not. The death rate is higher for those persons who smoke more cigarettes per day and for those who have smoked longer. The American Cancer Society estimated that cigarettes are responsible for 30 percent of all U.S. cancer mortality, or 148,000 deaths in 1985.

     As mentioned before, chief among cancers caused by smoking is lung cancer, which accounts for 28 percent of all U.S. cancer deaths. The American Cancer Society estimated that in 1985 smoking would account for 83 percent of the 139,000 deaths from lung cancer, which is seven times as likely to strike a smoker as a nonsmoker (Hughs, 1986).

     A 1988 report based on a 26-year study of 4255 residents of a suburb of Boston, MA indicated that smoking increases the risk of stroke by 50 percent, 40 percent among men, and 60 percent among women. Other research has proved that mothers who smoke more frequently give birth to premature or underweight babies, probably because of a decrease in blood flow to the placenta. These studies by Jonston (1993) suggested that nonsmoking wives of smoking husbands experience an increased risk of lung cancer, and other studies have found increased illness in nonsmoking children of smoking parents. Such charges of the effects of smoking on nonsmokers in the immediate environment were further advanced by the surgeon general's report in 1984 and by the Environmental Protection Agency (Jonston, 1993).

A. Young Smokers

An estimated 50 million persons currently smoke in the U.S., an number that increased since 1994. Among them, 6 million are teens and children. Smoking among the young starts between the ages of 12, 13, and 14 and increases throughout the teen years. One third of all boys and one fourth of all girls become regular smokers by the ages of 17 to 18. In addition, the female teen smoker population increased by an additional 3.5 percent the past two years (Young, 1995). The attraction of cigarette advertisements, or the parents' example were not the reason. Nevertheless, the influence of the "grown-up" friend, and peer pressure, were and still are factors with strong effects.

     A recent (1996) study was conducted at tow local high schools in New Jersey's South Orange Village. A random population of students ranging from 9^th grade up to 12^th were asked to complete a questionnaire, provided they were smokers. (See Appendix pg. 27) Although very few were receptive, or willing to cooperate, a rough idea can be drawn about the way today's youngsters are being warned about the hazards of tobacco smoking. Statistics collected showed. 95 percent of the smoking population lived in a household of a least one smoker, excluding self. 80 percent of the population stated that they could quit whenever that wanted. 27 percent never thought about quitting , and over 70 percent stated that they wanted to quit but could not. A great number of the ones asked, about 75 percent said that if they were to quit, they would not be considered "Fine, or Cool" by their friends, which showed that peer pressure is still an issue. When the population was asked about what is taught in "Health Education" class, they responded that "A lot is said about drugs, and not much about cigarettes." Seniors (12^th graders) seemed to be slightly better informed, and about 90 percent of them stated that the smoking hazards were stressed by their teacher and their text book, being different than their underclassmen's.

     Conclusions of this preliminary study show that our youngsters of today are not well aware of the smoking hazzards. It is not clearly stressed to them that smoking is as dangerous as many drugs, because one of the teachers that was willing to respond stated that "Drugs is what we don't want them doing. Smoking won't kill them." The unfortunate truth is that even today, after so much has been done about making people understand the serious effects of cigarette smoking, there are still so called "health teachers" out there that believe that "Smoking WON'T kill them." (Kalellis, 1996)

B. Other Smokers

     A good percentage among smokers comprises the housewife, both the socialite of the high class, as well as the frustrated non working mother of a low income family (Jonston, 1993).

     Another group of high smoking rate is the African Americans. In other parts of the world, heavy smokers continue being the Asian populations, people of the Mediterranean countries and Eastern Europe, with the exception of Portugal. In the U.S. the percentage of smokers leveled off since 1994 and has been established at 26 percent (Calabres, 1994). In France more than one third of all Frenchmen over the age of 12 smoke, despite laws that severely restrict the number of public places where smoking is allowed. In India, oral cancer is in the highest degree among the rest of the world.

A. The Emotional Aspects

     Smokers inhabit, so to say, two parallel realities. There is reality created by the media spinning the cultural circuses and gladiatorial spectacles of exemplary pseudosafe filter smoking, and then, there is the reality of reality, thus very confusing heading for no good outcome. Virtual reality is a dream. The other reality is a bitter, true outcome to be faced. A smoker, whose day starts badly at home, may be grouchy all day at work without knowing why. The chances of handling it appropriately, avoiding the need of a puff are good, if he can emotionally react by pulling back, recognizing the difficulty in the emotional control needed. "A bird that cannot fly ought to be acutely depressed, but the ostrich goes by without benefit of analysis or drugs. When the going gets tough, it doesn't get going; it inserts its head into the ground." (Usher, 1995)

     The emotional life grows out of an area of the brain called the limbic system, the amygdala, whence come delight, disgust, fear and anger (Wallace, 1989). The neocortex is the area of the brain that enables the human to plan, learn and remember. While lust grows from the limbic system, love grows from the neocortex. Emotions drive action before the intellect gets a chance to intervene (Le Doux, 1985).

     Studies of ex-smokers show that the risk of dying from smoking-related disease decreases with each year of abstinence. Encouraged by such evidence, more than 30 million people in the U.S. quit smoking in the year following the 1964 surgeon general's report. The proportion of males who smoke decreased from more than 50 percent to about 25 percent; however, the percentage of women who smoke cigarettes increased. Smoking also became more prevalent among teenagers, with about 29 percent of seniors admitting to smoking in 1977; but by 1987 this proportion decreased to 18.7 percent (Stewart, 1989).

     Many programs exist to help smokers quit. Some involve group support, whereas others use aversive techniques in which participants smoke many cigarettes rapidly to the point of becoming sick of them. Nonetheless, more than 30 million persons in the U.S. say that they would like to quit smoking but cannot. One hypothesis to explain this problem is that the smoker craves the effect of nicotine in the smoke. In a 1988 report, declared nicotine to be an addictive drug comparable to other addictive substances in its ability to induce dependence. The report also called the monetary and human costs far greater than those attributable to cocaine, alcohol, or heroin (Trefz, 1990).

     Attempts are under way to help persons quit smoking through counseling, participation in support groups and for those with strong physical dependence on nicotine, substitution of chewing gum, or self-adhesive patch containing nicotine in order to lessen withdrawal symptoms.

     Impunity to the smoking situation and its consequences prevails worldwide. Seductive profits, entrenched habits and widespread illiteracy militate against public education. Governments that relay on income generated by the cigarette industry are particularly disinclined to follow moderate measures proposed by the antismoke campaign. Nevertheless, "Smoking War" is likely to continue for decades around the world. Mainstream smoking as well as sidestream smoking effects have left no uncertainties of the hazzards on human health and the environment.

     In the U.S. measures of prohibiting smoking in all public areas, from schools, transportation means, have been recently extended to restaurants and bars. A House of Representatives committee is about to vote on the Smoke-Free Environment Act, that buildings entered by ten or more people each day, will have to become smoke-free zones, or face fines up to $5,000 a day. Besides, U.S. Department of Defense restrictions went into effect that ban smoking in all military work places (Farley, 1996).

     Smoking can be taken as an emotional reflex rarely conscious, but often very powerful. The vast number of serious outcomes to one's health do not have a chance to come to mind that instant, nonverbal anxiety (Le Doux, 1995). The eyes rest with a mote of hope in the haze of sorrow, of a problem to be faced, of reality. Smoking feels as a great help to push the rock up the hill. It masks the severity of the present situation. Very often overworrying about failure in finding solutions, or face reality, receives resignation instead of perseverance toward a workable outcome, in the support of the much yearned for, needed puff.

     Quitting smoking is a circular game; quitting follows smoking follows quitting. The implications have been identified, as studies after studies prove up to carcinogenic results due to smoking. But psychological dependency teaches a good lesson, as smoker who want to smoke have to step outside, near the delivery-truck entrance to light-up, to indulge their habit.

     A great impact on smokers who accept the detrimental results of the habit to their personal help and to the environment, has the decision of the Food and Drug Administration to classify nicotine as a drug, not to be found and purchased over-the-counter, or in vending machines. It must be recognized as a "highly addictive agent!"

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GRADE ______           Circle SCHOOL Our Lady of Sorrows
SEX _____                                                Columbia

How much do you smoke per day? (circle one)
1 Less that half a pack      3 More than one pack
2 About one pack               4 More than two packs

How many people smoke at home except you? (circle one)
0      1      2      3      4      4+

Do your best friends smoke? (circle one)
1 Yes      2 No      3 Some

Do your parents or guardians know you smoke? (circle one)
1 Yes      2 No      3 Not sure

If NOT, would you ever tell them? (circle one)
1 Yes      2 No      3 Maybe

Have you ever thought about quitting? (circle one)
1 Yes      2 No      3 Sometimes

Do you want to quit? (circle one)
1 Yes      2 No      3 Not sure

Copyright © by Mickey J. Kalellis

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