Smoking Effects On Health-Physiology And Psychology

SMOKING - We are very anti-smoking here at the ABC. We saw what happened to poor old 'Ciggy Stardust' - David Bowie and more recently Lemmy of Motorhead fame. The latter was diagnosed with six months to live, and he died two days later. Personally, our only friends that have died early were roll-your-own smokers. 

Smoking is defined as a process of inhaling and exhaling tobacco or drug in the form of smoke. Tobacco trees were growing 8000 years ago. People used to chew and smoke it occasionally. Cigarette making machines were developed in the 1800’s.

Smoking became very popular in the past few years. People of every age are doing smoking which includes men, women, and even kids. It has negative health effects. Some of them on health-physiology and psychology are discussed below:

Stress And Anxiety

A branch of science that deals with the cells and functions of the human body along with the behaviour are called “physiology”. The study of mind and behaviour is called “psychology”. Smoking damages both. People use smoking as a drug which can ease their mind and nerves. It causes different problems like stress and anxiety. A person's behaviour changes if he doesn’t get his drug. He reacts irritated. He creates a state of tension in his mind. To get rid of this situation, one contacts his doctor. Doctors recommend them ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) Medicine. As a person is suffering from a neurological disorder, therefore ADD Medicine is important for him to take. ADD Medicine regulates the behaviour and reduces the stress and anxiety of a person, therefore they are considered as the best medicine.

Schizophrenia

A serious mental disorder in which a person interprets things which are not, in reality, is called “schizophrenia”. A person faces hallucinations and delusions. A schizophrenia patient smokes more than three times as compared to a normal smoker. He does that to reduce the symptoms. He does smoking more heavily which can cause illness. Therefore, smoking for a schizophrenia’ patient is very harmful.

Stomach disorders 

Smoking can cause serious stomach disorders. Smoking can cause cancer to smoker’s stomach and ulcers. It affects your gullet because smoking weakens your muscles that have control over the lower end of your gullets. In this case, it will be difficult for the stomach to control the flow of acid and it will flow in the wrong direction. Smoking can cause severe kidney cancer and in worst case scenario it can risk your life.

Throat and mouth 

Smoking has very unattractive effects on your mouth it can cause gum problems and it can damage your teeth badly. A smoker faces a bad breath problem. It can damage the sense of taste. The most dangerous and serious risk of smoking is that it can increase lip, throat, tongue, voice box, and gullet’s cancer. But the good thing is that if you quit smoking even after years it can reduce the symptoms and it can lower the risks of cancer. Especially of the neck and head cancer.

Skin damage 

Smoking can damage your skin badly it reduces the amount of oxygen in your body. And if you smoke continuously it can damage your skin it can turn your skin into a grey and dull tone. And you will look aged. It can cause cellulite. Smoking can make you look aged 20 years more than your age and can give you wrinkles particularly around your eyes and mouth. It can give you a hollow eye, yellow-grey, and pale complexion and you will look like an old person.

Lungs 

The riskiest and dangerous cause of smoking is the damage to your lungs. Smoking can affect your lungs badly. Starting symptoms are cold, wheezing, asthma, and cough. It can cause fatal diseases like pneumonia, and lung cancer. Smoking causes 83% of deaths from COPD and 84% death from lung cancer. COPD is a disease in which people feel difficulty in breathing due to the narrowing of their airways. It Can destroy your lung tissues. Some of the symptoms of COPD are breathlessness cough with phlegm and chest infection. And with time it can risk the life of a smoker. The only thing a smoker can do to reduce this disease is by reducing smoking.

Heart Damage

A worst and negative effect of smoking is that it can damage your heart. It damages the blood circulation which can cause serious problems. It can cause heart stroke, heart attack, damage of blood vessels, and damage to arteries. It can affect the supply of blood which goes to your brain. When you inhale the smoke, carbon monoxide and nicotine settle into your heart and your heart beats faster. It can increase the risk of blood clots. There is no such chance that a smoker can save his life. He can only be saved if he quits smoking. By doing this, the symptoms can be reduced, not suddenly but by the passing years.

Health is the most important part of human life. A healthy mind, a healthy soul, and a healthy body make a man healthy. Therefore, we must avoid these bad habits, so we could live a happy and healthy life without any stress, anxiety, or medical problems.

ABC Note: Edward Bernays was a brilliant communications strategist who was employed in the business of propaganda in WW1. Products were produced at that time to satisfy NEEDS not WANTS. After WW1 when the industry had been organised by the government(s) (a war economy) to mass-produce war munitions, manufacturers started to worry what would happen after the war when everyone had bought a product like a sewing machine, what would they do...there might be no market left? Bernays, a nephew of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, had the idea of using proper gander techniques to sell products. He realized that people bought products to satisfy emotions [wants] not needs. Bernays was asked by a cigarette manufacturer Lucky Strike after WW1, how could they get women to smoke? Bernays had a brilliant idea, on Labor Day, Bernays persuaded debutantes to 'light up' and with press photographers present, he informed newspapers thought the country that women were lighting up 'Torches of Freedom'. Having consulted his uncle Freud, Bernays had been told that women needed to feel powerful and Freud had suggested giving them 'little penises'. Freud believed that human beings were driven by subliminal drives - the sex drive being the greatest of these. Bernays campaign was a brilliant success, soon women were following the trend and starting to smoke in public to feel empowered. Later Bernays was to use product placement in movies to promote smoking. Years later, when a socialist government came to power in Guatemala, a country run behind the scenes by the US, United Fruit Company, Bernays used his powers to play on the fears of the public that wealthy North America would soon be invaded by tiny Guatemala and other South American countries. The US public, in essence, backed a coup or stood passively by and saw the socialist government overthrown and replaced by a right-wing junta. The socialist leader had wanted to use their cash crop of fruit to help uplift the poor was alas, executed a year later. Bernays had a massive impact on the last century. He was the father of Public Relations, a new industry at that time and he is responsible for what we know as 'consumerism'. Manufacturing consent and turning people into happiness machines, satisfying their inner needs with consumer products

'But, he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me.' from the song 'I Can't Get No...Satisfaction' by The Rolling Stones.

Lyrics:

I can't get no satisfaction, I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no
When I'm drivin' in my car, and the man come on the radio
He's tellin' me more and more about some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can't get no, oh, no, no, no, hey, hey, hey
That's what I say
I can't get no satisfaction, I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no
When I'm watchin' my TV and a man comes on and tells me
How white my shirts can be
But, he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke
The same cigarettes as me
I can't get no, oh, no, no, no, hey, hey, hey
That's what I say
I can't get no satisfaction, I can't get no girl reaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no
When I'm ridin' 'round the world
And I'm doin' this and I'm signin' that
And I'm tryin' to make some girl, who tells me
Baby, better come back maybe next week
Can't you see I'm on a losing streak?
I can't get no, oh, no, no, no, hey, hey, hey
That's what I say, I can't get no, I can't get no
I can't get no satisfaction, no satisfaction
No satisfaction, no satisfaction
I can't get no

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