Tobacco Smoke Essay Research Paper Did you — страница 2

non-smokers will end up with reduced lung functioning and or upper or lower respiratory problems. According to Ameron, secondhand smoke is even more dangerous than mainstream smoke. He also states that breathing tobacco smoke can aggravate the condition of people with allergies or with lung, heart, or respiratory problems. Sufferers with chronic bronchitis and emphysema, for instance, are made extremely uncomfortable by severe air pollution. Yet the levels of carbon monoxide and other pollutants in smoke-filled rooms may be as high or higher than those that occur during air pollution emergencies (Berger 81-87). According to a Health Advocate Magazine, research from different physicians show that Environmental Tobacco Smoke can cause severe heart conditions, and assorted

respiratory problems by being exposed to the smoke for a period of time. Even perfectly healthy people are affected by second-hand smoke. Their heart rate, blood pressure, and the level of carbon monoxide in the blood increase when they breathe in air full of tobacco smoke. Also, even after nonsmokers leave a smoky room, it takes hours for the carbon monoxide to leave their bodies. Unlike oxygen, which is breathed in and then out again in minutes, carbon monoxide remains in the blood for long periods of time (Smith 27-29). Passive smoking, involuntary smoking, secondary smoking, second-hand smoking-all are terms that refer to nonsmokers who are forced to breathe in smoke from smokers in the same room. The Surgeon General’s reports stressed the health effects of second-hand

smoke, which can be as serious, or even more serious than the effects of direct smoking (Cain 189-195) The amount of smoke taken in by non-smokers should be considered. Major research projects conducted in the United States, Japan, and Greece found that nonsmoking wives of smoking husbands each day inhaled cigarette smoke equivalent to smoking six tobacco products by themselves. Another researcher placed twenty-one smokers and twenty-eight nonsmokers in a room. The smokers lit a cigarette every fifteen minutes for an hour and a half. The figures showed that, if extended to eight hours, the nonsmokers would have had as much smoke in their lungs as from smoking five cigarettes (Hammond 212-215). The American Cancer Society in 1996 developed a scientific research that shows the

cause and number of deaths to nonsmokers in one year for twenty-five different states. The calculations yield an estimated United States annual total of 3,000 lung cancer deaths, 11,000 deaths from other cancers, and 32,000 deaths from heart disease, giving a combined total of 46,000 deaths. Other research from the American Cancer Society estimate that a total of sixty-one percent of male nonsmokers and seventy-six of female nonsmokers were exposed to Environmental Tobacco smoke. Among these percentages the overall exposure fractions were adjusted to give higher fractions at younger ages and lower fractions at older ages. This indicates that younger individuals are more exposed to Environmental Tobacco Smoke than older adults (Bender 58-76). During a research that I created, I

asked fifty nonsmoking adults (males, females) a series of questions. The questions I asked were: When you are around second hand smoke do you notice any discomforting problems? Do you find that the problems you have due to secondhand smoke are worse in an indoor or outdoor environment? Do you try to avoid associating yourself with smokers? Why? The majority answered that second hand smoke causes their eyes to burn and they notice some discomfort in their breathing to the first question. On the second question the majority answered that second hand smoke effects them more when they are in a secluded building. On the third question they all answered that they do try to avoid smokers, but it is hard especially when the majority of people they deal with at work, or in public places

smoke. In the last question the individuals I interviewed said that they do not want to die because of someone else’s dirty habits. I learned that people in some degree do understand the cautions involved with second hand smoke. Nonsmokers find it to be disturbing when a smoker feels comfortable to "light up" their cigarette without being respectful to those that do not smoke. Study’s show that Environmental tobacco smoke can cause sever damage to adults, but the results to children are far more serious. Research from the American Cancer Society show’s the damages to an unborn baby exposed to involuntary tobacco smoke. During pregnancy the number of heartbeats per minute in the mother increases from approximately seventy to around ninety. The rise in the number of