Abstract

A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves

wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The
cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder;
its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in
or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder
may be used as well. Most modern manufactured
cigarettes are filtered and include reconstituted tobacco
and other additives.

The term cigarette, commonly used, refers to a tobacco

cigarette but can apply to similar devices containing
other herbs, such as cloves or cannabis. A cigarette is
distinguished from a cigar by its smaller size, use of
processed leaf, and paper wrapping, which is normally
white, though other colors are occasionally available.
Cigars are typically composed entirely of whole-leaf
tobacco.

Rates of cigarette smoking vary widely, and have

changed considerably over the course of history - since
cigarettes were first widely used in the mid-20th
century. While rates of smoking have over time leveled
off or declined in the developed world, they continue to
rise in developing nations.

Cigarettes like other tobacco products do carry serious

health effects with them. Nicotine, the primary
psychoactive chemical in tobacco and therefore
cigarettes, is addictive. About half of cigarette smokers
die of tobacco-related disease and lose on average 14
years of life. Cigarette use by pregnant women has also
been shown to cause birth defects, including mental
and physical disabilities

Smoking
In the early times, people could buy cigarettes and
smoke pretty much anywhere — even in hospitals! Ads
for cigarettes were all over the place. Today we're more
aware about how bad smoking is for our health.
Smoking is restricted or banned in almost all public
places and cigarette companies are no longer allowed
to advertise on TV, radio, and in many magazines.

Almost everyone knows that smoking causes cancer,

emphysema, and heart disease; that it can shorten
your life by 10 years or more; and that the habit can
cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year. So how come
people are still lighting up? The answer, in a word, is
addiction.
Once You Start, It's Hard to Stop.

Smoking is a hard habit to break because tobacco

contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Like heroin
or other addictive drugs, the body and mind quickly
become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a
person needs to have it just to feel normal.
People start smoking for a variety of different reasons.
Some think it looks cool. Others start because their
family members or friends smoke. Statistics show that
about 9 out of 10 tobacco user’s start before they're 18
years old. Most adults who started smoking in their
teens never expected to become addicted. That's why
people say it's just so much easier to not start smoking
at all.

How smoking affects

your health?
There are no physical reasons to start smoking. The
body doesn't need tobacco the way it needs food,
water, sleep, and exercise. And many of the chemicals
in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are actually
poisons that can kill in high enough doses.
The body is smart. It goes on the defense when it's
being poisoned. First-time smokers often feel pain or
burning in the throat and lungs, and some people feel
sick or even throw up the first few times they try
tobacco.
The consequences of this poisoning happen gradually.
Over the long term, smoking leads people to develop
health problems like heart disease, stroke, emphysema,
and many types of cancer -including lung, throat,
stomach, and bladder cancer. People who smoke also
have an increased risk of infections like bronchitis and
pneumonia.
These diseases limit a person's ability to be normally
active, and they can be fatal.
Smokers not only develop wrinkles and yellow teeth,
they also lose bone density, which increases their risk
of osteoporosis, a condition that causes older people to
become bent over and their bones to break more easily.
Smokers also tend to be less active than nonsmokers
because smoking affects lung power.
Smoking can also cause fertility problems and can
impact sexual health in both men and women. Girls
who are on the pill or other hormone-based methods of
birth control increase their risk of serious health
problems, such as heart attacks, if they smoke.
The consequences of smoking may seem very far off,
but long-term health problems aren't the only hazard of
smoking. Nicotine and the other toxins in cigarettes,
cigars, and pipes can affect a person's body quickly,
which means that teen smokers experience many of
these problems:
• Bad skin.
Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it can prevent
oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin - which is
why smokers often appear pale and unhealthy. Studies
have also linked smoking to an increased risk of getting
a type of skin rash called psoriasis.
• Bad breath.
Cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called
halitosis, or persistent bad breath.
• Bad-smelling clothes and hair.
The smell of stale smoke tends to linger - not just on
people's clothing, but on their hair, furniture, and cars.
And it's often hard to get the smell of smoke out.
• Reduced athletic performance.
People who smoke usually can't compete with
nonsmoking peers because the physical effects of
smoking impair sports performance.
• Greater risk of injury and slower healing time.
Smoking affects the body's ability to produce collagen,
so common sports injuries, such as damage to tendons
and ligaments will heal more slowly in smokers than
nonsmokers.
• Increased risk of illness.
Studies show that smokers get more colds, flu,
bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. And
people with certain health conditions, like asthma,
become sicker if they smoke because teens who smoke
as a way to manage weight often light up instead of
eating, their bodies also lack the nutrients they need to
grow, develop, and fight off illness properly.
• Immune Cells.
Smoking weakens the immune system by depressing
antibodies and cells that are in the body to protect
against foreign invaders. There is an association
between smoking and the increased incidence of
certain malignant diseases and respiratory infections,
according to the National Center for Biotechnology
Information (NCBI). There is also a significant decrease
in immune cells that normally help the body. But this
process can be reversed if a smoker gives up
cigarettes. Smokers who stop show increased levels of
natural killer cell (NK) activity that targets cancerous
cells in the body.
• Infections.
Many cancer-causing chemicals from cigarette smoke
travel throughout a smoker's bloodstream to reach the
organs of the body and damage the immune response.
Carbon monoxide is carried through the body by
smoke, interfering with oxygen levels. Less oxygen
reaches the brain, heart, muscles and other organs.
Lung function is reduced because of the narrowing of
the lung airways and excess mucus in the lungs. Lung
irritation and damage result from invading substances,
leading to lung infection. Blood pressure and heart rate
are affected negatively by smoking chemicals carried
through the blood. The immune system does not work
as well and smokers become more prone to infections,
such as pneumonia and influenza. It takes smokers
longer than nonsmokers to get over illnesses.
• Lung Tissue.
Smoking can cause the body's immune system to
attack lung tissue and result in severe respiratory
disorders, according to research at the University of
Cincinnati, Ohio. Health scientists examined mice to
study the link between cigarette exposure, the immune
system and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder
(COPD), a serious lung disease characterized by
emphysema and severe inflammation of the lung
tissue. After lung cells were damaged from cigarette
smoke in the lab research, the cells signaled the
immune system when the damaged cells needed to be
destroyed. The research shows that smoking actually
activates certain parts of the immune system, which
works against the lungs and attacks the tissue; it was
reported in the March 2009 issue of the "Journal of
Clinical Investigation." The researchers found a strong
correlation between cellular stress signals, activation of
the immune system and development of diseases
similar to COPD.

Researchers compared the results with tissue samples

from humans who included nonsmokers, smokers with
COPD and smokers who did not have COPD. They found
that patients who had never smoked had no trace of
the lung cells that triggered the immune system to
attack lung tissue. Current and former smokers who
developed the disease had evidence of those lung
signals.

Physical Addiction
Being physically addicted means a person's body
actually becomes dependent on a particular substance
(even smoking is physically addictive). It also means
building tolerance to that substance, so that a person
needs a larger dose than ever before to get the same
effects.
Someone who is physically addicted and stops using a
substance like drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes may
experience withdrawal symptoms. Common symptoms
of withdrawal are diarrhea, shaking, and generally
feeling awful.

Psychological Addiction
Psychological addiction happens when the cravings for a drug are
psychological or emotional. People who are
psychologically addicted feel overcome by the desire to
have a drug. They may lie or steal to get it.

A person crosses the line between abuse and addiction

when he or she is no longer trying the drug to have fun
or get high, but has come to depend on it. His or her
whole life centers on the need for the drug. An addicted
person - whether it's a physical or psychological
addiction or both - no longer feels like there is a choice
in taking a substance.

Signs of Addiction
The most obvious sign of an addiction is the need to
have a particular drug or substance. However, many
other signs can suggest a possible addiction, such as
changes in mood or weight loss or gain. (These also are
signs of other conditions too, though, such as
depression or eating disorders.
Signs that you or someone you know may have a
cigarette addiction include:
Psychological signals:
• Use of drugs or alcohol as a way to forget problems or
to relax.
• Withdrawal or keeping secrets from family and
friends.
• Loss of interest in activities that used to be important.
• Problems with schoolwork, such as slipping grades or
absences.
• Changes in friendships, such as hanging out only with
friends who use drugs.
• Spending a lot of time figuring out how to get
cigarette.
• Stealing or selling belongings to be able to afford
cigarette.
• Failed attempts to stop taking cigarette or drinking.
• Anxiety, anger, or depression.
• Mood swings.

Physical signals:
• Changes in sleeping habits.
• Feeling shaky or sick when trying to stop.
• Needing to take more of the substance to get the
same effect.
• Changes in eating habits, including weight loss or
gain
Side effects of smoking
Dangers of Smoking with Nicotine:
One of the main dangers of smoking is due to Nicotine.
Nicotine is found naturally in tobacco. It has no odor
and no color. It is, however, both physically and
psychologically addictive, and it causes those who use
it to want to smoke one cigarette after another.
Nicotine enters the body as tiny droplets resting on
particles of tar in cigarette smoke. Inhaled into the
lungs, the drug passes quickly into the bloodstream,
reaching the brain within about 10 seconds. In another
5 to 10 seconds the nicotine has spread to all parts of
the body.
The nicotine raises both the heart rate and blood
pressure. The smoker quickly feels more alert and
relaxed. In less than 30 minutes, however, about half of
the nicotine has left the bloodstream, and the smoker
starts feeling less alert, more edgy.

So he or she reaches for another cigarette to get a new

“hit” of nicotine. Over time, the smoker starts needing
more cigarettes throughout the day to satisfy the
craving.
There are other dangers of smoking as well. The tar
from tobacco smoke starts to accumulate on the
bronchial tubes leading to the lungs. The hot smoke
burns the tiny hair like projections (called cilia) that trap
harmful particles before they enter the lungs.
Carbon Monoxide:
One more of the dangers of smoking are Carbon
monoxide. Smoking also increases the level of carbon
monoxide in the lungs. This poisonous gas is quickly
absorbed into the blood, reducing its capacity to carry
oxygen.
As a result, the smoker has to exert more physical
effort to attain a given task than does a nonsmoker. The
heart in particular must work harder, particularly during
rigorous exercise. Increased levels of carbon monoxide
in the blood can impair vision, perception of time, and
coordination.
Oxides of nitrogen:
Animal experiments showed that nitrogen oxides lungs.
It is believed that nitrogen oxides are some specific
chemicals in tobacco that causes lung disease and
efizem.
Hydrogen cyanide:
The lungs have some hairs (cilia) that help to “clean”
lungs by removing the foreign substances. Hydrogen
cyanide prevents the development process of clearing.
The substances of cigarette smoke remains in the
lungs.
Ammonia:
Ammonia is a powerful chemical found in household
products, it is used to preserve human bodies in the
morgue, which is also harmful to the lungs.
How to quit smoking?
There are many different methods that have
successfully helped people to quit smoking, including:
• Quitting smoking cold turkey.
• Systematically decreasing the number of cigarettes
you smoke.
• Reducing your intake of nicotine gradually over time.
• Using nicotine replacement therapy or non-nicotine
medications to reduce withdrawal symptoms.
• Utilizing nicotine support groups.
• Trying hypnosis, acupuncture, or counseling using
cognitive behavioral techniques.
You may be successful with the first method you try.
More likely, you’ll have to try a number of different
methods or a combination of treatments to find the
ones that work best for you.
Medication therapy
Smoking cessation medications can ease withdrawal
symptoms and reduce cravings, and are most effective
when used as part of a comprehensive stop smoking
program monitored by your physician. Talk to your
doctor about your options and whether an anti-smoking
medication is right for you. U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approved options are:
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
Nicotine replacement therapy involves "replacing"
cigarettes with other nicotine substitutes, such as
nicotine gum or a nicotine patch. It works by delivering
small and steady doses of nicotine into the body to
relieve some of the withdrawal symptoms without the
tars and poisonous gases found in cigarettes. This type
of treatment helps smokers focus on breaking their
psychological addiction and makes it easier to
concentrate on learning new behaviors and coping
skills.
Non-Nicotine Medication
These medications help you stop smoking by reducing
cravings and withdrawal symptoms without the use of
nicotine. Medications such as Bupropion (Zyban or
Wellbutrin) and Varenicline (Chantix) are intended for
short-term use only.
Bupropion (Zyban or Wellbutrin) is a prescription anti-
depressant in an extended-release form that reduces
symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. It does not contain
nicotine. This drug acts on chemicals in the brain that
are related to nicotine craving. Bupropion works best if
it is started a week or 2 weeks before you quit smoking.
The usual dosage is one or two 150 mg tablets per day.
Varenicline (Chantix) is a newer prescription medicine
developed to help people stop smoking. It works by
interfering with nicotine receptors in the brain. This
means it has 2 effects: it lessens the pleasurable
effects a person gets from smoking, and it reduces the
symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Varenicline should be
started a week before your Quit Day.
Non-medication
therapies
There are several things you can do to stop smoking
that don’t involve nicotine replacement therapy or
prescription medications:
Hypnosis
A popular option that has produced good results. Forget
anything you may have seen from stage hypnotists,
hypnosis works by getting you into a deeply relaxed
state where you are open to suggestions that
strengthen your resolve to quit smoking and increase
your negative feelings toward cigarettes. Ask your
doctor to recommend a qualified smoking cessation
hypnotherapist in your area or refer to the American
Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) for guidelines on
selecting a qualified professional.
Acupuncture
One of the oldest known medical techniques,
acupuncture is believed to work by triggering the
release of endorphins (natural pain relievers) that allow
the body to relax. As a smoking cessation aid,
acupuncture can be helpful in managing smoking
withdrawal symptoms. Ask your doctor for a referral or
search for a local practitioner at the American
Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
(AAAOM).
Behavioral Therapy
Nicotine addiction is related to the habitual behaviors
(the “rituals”) involved in smoking. Behavior therapy
focuses on learning new coping skills and breaking
those habits. The American Lung Association offers
afree online smoking cessation program that focuses on
behavioral change. To find a local behavioral therapist,
check with your doctor or search at the Association for
Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT).
Motivational Therapies
Self-help books and websites can provide a number of
ways to motivate you to quit smoking. One well known
example is calculating the monetary savings. Some
people have been able to find the motivation to quit
just by calculating how much money they will save
after they quit. It may be enough to pay for a summer
vacation.
Filters
Filters that reduce tar and nicotine in cigarettes do not
work. In fact, studies have shown that smokers who use
filters tend to smoke more.
Smoking deterrents
Other methods have been used to help stop smoking,
such as over-the-counter products that change the
taste of tobacco, stop-smoking diets that curb nicotine
cravings, and combinations of vitamins. At this time
there is little scientific evidence that any of these work.

Reference
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3) www.causesofsmoking.net
4)
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