effects of tobacco essay writing

Essay on Smoking

500 words essay on  smoking.

One of the most common problems we are facing in today’s world which is killing people is smoking. A lot of people pick up this habit because of stress , personal issues and more. In fact, some even begin showing it off. When someone smokes a cigarette, they not only hurt themselves but everyone around them. It has many ill-effects on the human body which we will go through in the essay on smoking.

Ill-Effects of Smoking

Tobacco can have a disastrous impact on our health. Nonetheless, people consume it daily for a long period of time till it’s too late. Nearly one billion people in the whole world smoke. It is a shocking figure as that 1 billion puts millions of people at risk along with themselves.

Cigarettes have a major impact on the lungs. Around a third of all cancer cases happen due to smoking. For instance, it can affect breathing and causes shortness of breath and coughing. Further, it also increases the risk of respiratory tract infection which ultimately reduces the quality of life.

In addition to these serious health consequences, smoking impacts the well-being of a person as well. It alters the sense of smell and taste. Further, it also reduces the ability to perform physical exercises.

It also hampers your physical appearances like giving yellow teeth and aged skin. You also get a greater risk of depression or anxiety . Smoking also affects our relationship with our family, friends and colleagues.

Most importantly, it is also an expensive habit. In other words, it entails heavy financial costs. Even though some people don’t have money to get by, they waste it on cigarettes because of their addiction.

How to Quit Smoking?

There are many ways through which one can quit smoking. The first one is preparing for the day when you will quit. It is not easy to quit a habit abruptly, so set a date to give yourself time to prepare mentally.

Further, you can also use NRTs for your nicotine dependence. They can reduce your craving and withdrawal symptoms. NRTs like skin patches, chewing gums, lozenges, nasal spray and inhalers can help greatly.

Moreover, you can also consider non-nicotine medications. They require a prescription so it is essential to talk to your doctor to get access to it. Most importantly, seek behavioural support. To tackle your dependence on nicotine, it is essential to get counselling services, self-materials or more to get through this phase.

One can also try alternative therapies if they want to try them. There is no harm in trying as long as you are determined to quit smoking. For instance, filters, smoking deterrents, e-cigarettes, acupuncture, cold laser therapy, yoga and more can work for some people.

Always remember that you cannot quit smoking instantly as it will be bad for you as well. Try cutting down on it and then slowly and steadily give it up altogether.

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Conclusion of the Essay on Smoking

Thus, if anyone is a slave to cigarettes, it is essential for them to understand that it is never too late to stop smoking. With the help and a good action plan, anyone can quit it for good. Moreover, the benefits will be evident within a few days of quitting.

FAQ of Essay on Smoking

Question 1: What are the effects of smoking?

Answer 1: Smoking has major effects like cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and more. It also increases the risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems with the immune system .

Question 2: Why should we avoid smoking?

Answer 2: We must avoid smoking as it can lengthen your life expectancy. Moreover, by not smoking, you decrease your risk of disease which includes lung cancer, throat cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more.

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How To Write A Smoking Essay That Will Blow Your Classmates out of the Water

A smoking essay might not be your first choice, but it is a common enough topic, whether it is assigned by a professor or left to your choice. Today we’ll take you through the paces of creating a compelling piece, share fresh ideas for writing teen smoking essays, and tackle the specifics of the essential parts of any paper, including an introduction and a conclusion.

Why Choose a Smoking Essay?

If you are free to select any topic, why would you open this can of worms? There are several compelling arguments in favor, such as:

• A smoking essay can fit any type of writing assignment. You can craft an argumentative essay about smoking, a persuasive piece, or even a narration about someone’s struggle with quitting. It’s a rare case of a one-size-fits-all topic.
• There is an endless number of  environmental essay topics ideas . From the reasons and history of smoking to health and economic impact, as well as psychological and physiological factors that make quitting so challenging.
• A staggering number of reliable sources are available online. You won’t have to dig deep to find medical or economic research, there are thousands of papers published in peer-reviewed journals, ready and waiting for you to use them. 

Essential Considerations for Your Essay on Smoking

Whether you are writing a teenage smoking essay or a study of health-related issues, you need to stay objective and avoid including any judgment into your assignment. Even if you are firmly against smoking, do not let emotions direct your writing. You should also keep your language tolerant and free of offensive remarks or generalizations.

The rule of thumb is to keep your piece academic. It is an essay about smoking cigarettes you have to submit to your professor, not a blog post to share with friends.

How to Generate Endless Smoking Essay Topic Ideas

At first, it might seem that every theme has been covered by countless generations of your predecessors. However, there are ways to add a new spin to the dullest of topics. We’ll share a unique approach to generating new ideas and take the teenage smoking essay as an example. To make it fresh and exciting, you can:

• Add a historic twist to your topic. For instance, research the teenage smoking statistics through the years and theorize the factors that influence the numbers.
• Compare the data across the globe. You can select the best scale for your paper, comparing smoking rates in the neighboring cities, states, or countries.
• Look at the question from an unexpected perspective. For instance, research how the adoption of social media influenced smoking or whether music preferences can be related to this habit.

The latter approach on our list will generate endless ideas for writing teen smoking essays. Select the one that fits your interests or is the easiest to research, depending on the time and effort you are willing to put into essay writing .

How To Write An Essay About Smoking Cigarettes

A smoking essay follows the same rules as an academic paper on any other topic. You start with an introduction, fill the body paragraphs with individual points, and wrap up using a conclusion. The filling of your “essay sandwich” will depend on the topic, but we can tell for sure what your opening and closing paragraphs should be like.

Smoking Essay Introduction

Whether you are working on an argumentative essay about smoking or a persuasive paper, your introduction is nothing but a vessel for a thesis statement. It is the core of your essay, and its absence is the first strike against you. Properly constructed thesis sums up your point of view on the economic research topics and lists the critical points you are about to highlight. If you allude to the opposing views in your thesis statement, the professor is sure to add extra points to your grade.

The first sentence is crucial for your essay, as it sets the tone and makes the first impression. Make it surprising, exciting, powerful with facts, statistics, or vivid images, and it will become a hook to lure the reader in deeper. 

Round up the introduction with a transition to your first body passage and the point it will make. Otherwise, your essay might seem disjointed and patchy. Alternatively, you can use the first couple of sentences of the body paragraph as a transition.

Smoking Essay Conclusion

Any argumentative and persuasive essay on smoking must include a short conclusion. In the final passage, return to your thesis statement and repeat it in other words, highlighting the points you have made throughout the body paragraphs. You can also add final thoughts or even a personal opinion at the end to round up your assignment.

Think of the conclusion as a mirror reflection of your introduction. Start with a transition from the last body paragraph, follow it with a retelling of your thesis statement, and complete the passage with a powerful parting thought that will stay with the reader. After all, everyone remembers the first and last points most vividly, and your opening and closing sentences are likely to have a significant influence on the final grade.

Bonus Tips on How to Write a Persuasive Essay About Smoking

With the most challenging parts of the smoking essay out of the way, here are a couple of parting tips to ensure your paper gets the highest grade possible:

• Do not rely on samples you find online to guide your writing. You can never tell what grade a random essay about smoking cigarettes received. Unless you use winning submissions from essay competitions, you might copy faulty techniques and data into your paper and get a reduced grade.
• Do not forget to include references after the conclusion and cite the sources throughout the paper. Otherwise, you might get accused of academic dishonesty and ruin your academic record. Ask your professor about the appropriate citation style if you are not sure whether you should use APA, MLA, or Chicago.
• Do not submit your smoking essay without editing and proofreading first. The best thing you can do is leave the piece alone for a day or two and come back to it with fresh eyes and mind to check for redundancies, illogical argumentation, and irrelevant examples. Professional editing software, such as Grammarly, will help with most typos and glaring errors. Still, it is up to you to go through the paper a couple of times before submission to ensure it is as close to perfection as it can get.
• Do not be shy about getting help with writing smoking essays if you are out of time. Professional writers can take over any step of the writing process, from generating ideas to the final round of proofreading. Contact our agents or skip straight to the order form if you need our help to complete this assignment.

We hope our advice and ideas for writing teen smoking essays help you get out of the slump and produce a flawless piece of writing worthy of an A. For extra assistance with choosing the topic, outlining, writing, and editing, reach out to our support managers .

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Cause and Effects of Smoking Cigarettes, Essay Example

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Smoking cigarettes has historically been a leisurely and highly popular social activity that a litany of people turn to as a way to assuage daily stress, lose weight, and feel socially accepted in a constantly evolving social world. Tobacco, the main ingredient in cigarettes, has high levels of nicotine, which is a highly addictive ingredient that makes it hard for people to quit smoking if nicotine is ingested on a quotidian basis (Woolbright, 1994, p. 337). According to the CDC (2014), cigarette smoking causes over 480,000 deaths annually in the United States alone, which translates into one out of every five people extirpating due to the ingestion of tobacco. A preventable cause of death, cigarette smoking kills more persons than accidents caused due motor vehicle accidents, alcohol consumption, illegal drug use, deaths involving firearms, and the HIV/AIDS virus altogether (Center For Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Women who smoke tobacco disproportionately suffer from even more health problems as it directly harms not only their reproductive health but also their mortality and morbidity rates of their progeny or future children (American Lung Association, n.d.). People should not smoke because it not only spawns negative health effects but also because it is not economically useful. If people stopped smoking, many lives would be both indirectly and directly saved from premature and preventative deaths as a result.

Doctors and other medical experts pinpoint the various health hazards caused by smoking, especially to the statistics pertaining to the nexus between smoking cigarettes and premature death, in order to convince people to quit smoking. In the past five decades, the risk of premature death in both female and male smokers has profoundly increased (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). According to the CDC (2014), smoking cigarettes causes a handful of diseases because it adversely impacts almost all bodily organs and detracts from the general health of enthusiastic smokers. The risk of developing coronary heart disease (COPD), various cardiovascular maladies, and stroke–the leading cause of death in the United States alone–increases two to four times as much due to the damage it spawns to blood vessels because tobacco narrows and thickens them. These ramifications cause rapid heartbeat, which results in higher blood pressure levels which renders smokers vulnerable to blood clots. If blood clots prevent blood from reaching the heart, people put themselves  at risk for heart attack due to the fact that the heart does not get enough oxygen and thus kills the heart muscle. In addition, blood clots can also cause a stroke because they can hinder blood flow to the brain. Shockingly, quitting smoking even after just one year drastically enhances an individual’s risk of incurring poor cardiovascular health. Moreover, smoking is directly connected to various respiratory diseases due to the fact that it harms both airways and alveoli, or the minute air vacs, that are in the lungs. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), emphysema, and bronchitis are common forms of lung disease that chronic smokers often develop. In addition, medical experts correlate cigarette smoking with a litany of cancers, which have been pinpointed as the primary cause of lung cancer in individuals who smoke for a protracted period of time. Smoking cigarettes can also spawn various other types of cancer, including cancer in the stomach, liver, kidneys, bladders, pancreas, and oropharynx. Smoking not only puts smokers at risk for these often fatal types of cancer but also to those around smokes as a result of second-hand smoking. Second-hand smoke, according to the CDC (2014), causes an estimated 34,000 deaths per year in non-smokers because they too develop various cardiovascular diseases while an estimated 8,000 persons prematurely dying as a result of stroke (CDC, 2014). They also are put at risk for developing lung cancer by approximately thirty percent, and their risk for heart attack is also amplified. Physicians estimate that if nobody smoked cigarettes around the world, an estimated one out of every three deaths caused by cancer would not manifest (1).

More poignantly, smoking cigarettes negatively impacts women’s reproductive health, and children who are exposed to cigarette smoke suffer from often fatal effects. Many studies have analyzed and outlined the negative ramifications of maternal smoking on both the mother and the baby and/or infant ( Hofhuis, de Jongste, & Merkus, 2003 & Woolbright, 1994). Many states require documentation on birth certificates of maternal tobacco consumption (Woolbright, 1994). Despite the Surgeon General’s stern warning that maternal smoking has been linked to fetal injury, premature birth, and/or low birth rate, 15-37% of pregnant women still smoke cigarettes while pregnant (Hofhuis, de Jongste, & Merkus, 2003). Mothers who smoke also frequently participate in other high-risk behaviors that also negatively impacts the health of their progeny. Additionally, factors including marital and socio-economic status in addition education level affect the outcome of pregnancies due to increased vulnerability to cigarette smoking (Woolbright, 1994, p. 330). Low birth weight is the main impact of maternal smoking, although the existing literature pinpoints infant death and premature birth as major ramifications of it as well. Infant exposure to tobacco after they are born puts him or her at risk of premature death if they develop respiratory diseases in addition to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Woolbright, 1994). Hofhuis, de Jongste, and Merkus (2003) assessed how smoking cigarettes during pregnancy in addition to passive smoking thereafter affects both the mortality and morbidity rates in children. Statistics show that other obstetric complications directly linked to smoking, including spontaneous abortions, premature rupture of membranes, ectopic pregnancies, and complications related to the placenta. Smoking also stunts the lung growth that fetuses need in utero, which results in the child suffering from weakened lungs after birth while also exponentially increases the child’s chance of suffering from asthma and a vast array of other crippling  respiratory diseases. In addition, it stunts brain development and detracts from the child’s mental acuity.

Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking. (2014, February 6).  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Retrieved November 21, 2015 from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_ cig_smoking/

American Lung Association. (n.d.). Women and tobacco use.  American Lung Association . Retrieved November 21, 2015 from http://www.lung.org/stop- smoking/about-smoking/facts- figures/women-and-tobacco-use.html

Ault, R. W., Jr., R. E., Jackson, J. D., Saba, R. S., & Saurman, D. S. (1991). Smoking and Absenteeism. Applied Economics ,  23 , 743-754.

Hodgson TA. Cigarette Smoking and Lifetime Medical Expenditures.  Millbank Q  1992, 70, 81-125.

Hofhuis, W., de Jongste, J. C., & Merkus, P. J. (2003). Adverse Health Effects of Prenatal and Postnatal Tobacco Smoke Exposure on Children.  Arch Dis Child ,  88 , 1086-1090.

Woolbright, L. A. (1994). The effects of maternal smoking on infant health. Population Research and Policy Review ,  13 (3), 327-339.

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Essay Samples on Tobacco

Cause and effect of smoking on human health and well-being.

Smoking is a prevalent habit that has been around for centuries. Despite the known health risks associated with smoking, people continue to engage in the habit. This essay will examine the causes and effects of smoking. Smoking adversely affects the human body. As it results...

The Protection of Human Health with FDA

Federal health protection agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are designed to protect the health and prevent illness in the United States. The CDC, located in Atlanta, Georgia was founded in 1946, preventing...

Negative Impacts of the Tobacco Use Problem in the United States

Tobacco use is a major issue in the United States and is the leading cause of preventable death to date. According to the CDC “Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting...

• Tobacco Use

The Issue of Alcohol and Tobacco Use in the World and the Harm It Induces

Studies show that in the last year 46 million adults have used alcohol and tobacco products. That is about fifteen percent of the world. That is a lot of people. These two products have existed for thousands of years. Imagine how many adults have used...

The Reasoning Behind the Tobacco Being the Cause of Lung Cancer

When you hear the word tobacco many things will often come to mind. For me personally, I think about 2 things in general, the first being smoking and my aunt smoking. The reason this reminds of my aunt is because she had a stroke from...

• Lung Cancer

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Competitive Advantage Of Ttc's In The Global Market

During the last 50 years we have seen a trend in increase of tobacco manufacturing and consumption globally. Much of the international tobacco industry is predominantly owned by 6 TTC’s accounting for an 80% stake in the market. Being a multi-billion-dollar market these TTC’s substantially...

• Marketing Strategy

Tobacco Policies And Regulations In Cambodia

Tobacco use has a direct link with the significantly increased risk of getting Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) as well as other lung and heart diseases, affecting both smokers and non-smokers alike (REF). COPD, in particular, is currently the eighth leading cause of death amongst...

• Public Health

The Real Life Of Virginia Planter Patriarchs

The Virginia planter patriarchs seemed to be busy people making sure their properties were run correctly, slaves and indentured did their jobs, finances were done. Though it seems to be quite different between the rich and the poor. The rich were likely to sit back...

• Slavery in The World

Negative Effects Of Direct And Second Hand Smoke On Health

Tobacco or cigarette smoke contains thousands of harmful toxins, carcinogens and chemicals that enter the bloodstream and thereby travel to every other organ in the body. The inhaled smoke progresses down through the windpipe and eventually into the bronchial tubes. The toxic smoke then slowly...

Best topics on Tobacco

1. Cause and Effect of Smoking on Human Health and Well-Being

2. The Protection of Human Health with FDA

3. Negative Impacts of the Tobacco Use Problem in the United States

4. The Issue of Alcohol and Tobacco Use in the World and the Harm It Induces

5. The Reasoning Behind the Tobacco Being the Cause of Lung Cancer

6. Competitive Advantage Of Ttc’s In The Global Market

7. Tobacco Policies And Regulations In Cambodia

8. The Real Life Of Virginia Planter Patriarchs

9. Negative Effects Of Direct And Second Hand Smoke On Health

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Tobacco smoking: Health impact, prevalence, correlates and interventions

Robert west.

a Department of Behavioural Science and Health , University College London , London, UK

Background and objectives : Despite reductions in prevalence in recent years, tobacco smoking remains one of the main preventable causes of ill-health and premature death worldwide. This paper reviews the extent and nature of harms caused by smoking, the benefits of stopping, patterns of smoking, psychological, pharmacological and social factors that contribute to uptake and maintenance of smoking, the effectiveness of population and individual level interventions aimed at combatting tobacco smoking, and the effectiveness of methods used to reduce the harm caused by continued use of tobacco or nicotine in some form.

Results and conclusions : Smoking behaviour is maintained primarily by the positive and negative reinforcing properties of nicotine delivered rapidly in a way that is affordable and palatable, with the negative health consequences mostly being sufficiently uncertain and distant in time not to create sufficient immediate concern to deter the behaviour. Raising immediate concerns about smoking by tax increases, social marketing and brief advice from health professionals can increase the rate at which smokers try to stop. Providing behavioural and pharmacological support can improve the rate at which those quit attempts succeed. Implementing national programmes containing these components are effective in reducing tobacco smoking prevalence and reducing smoking-related death and disease.

Introduction

The continued popularity of tobacco smoking appears to defy rational explanation. Smokers mostly acknowledge the harm they are doing to themselves and many report that they do not enjoy it – yet they continue to smoke (Fidler & West, 2011 ; Ussher, Brown, Rajamanoharan, & West, 2014 ). The reason is that nicotine from cigarettes generates strong urges to smoke that undermine and overwhelm concerns about the negative consequences of smoking, and the resolve not to smoke in those trying to stop (West & Shiffman, 2016 ). Progress is being made in many countries in reducing smoking prevalence but it remains one of the main causes of ill health and premature death worldwide (Gowing et al., 2015 ).

This paper provides a broad overview of smoking in terms of: the health effects, benefits of stopping, prevalence and patterns of use, psychological, pharmacological and social factors leading to uptake and maintenance of the behaviour, effectiveness of population level and individual level interventions to combat it, and methods used to reduce the harm despite continued use of tobacco or nicotine.

Definitions of smoking and smoking cessation

Tobacco smoking consists of drawing into the mouth, and usually the lungs, smoke from burning tobacco (West & Shiffman, 2016 ). The type of product smoked is most commonly cigarettes, but can also include cigarillos, cigars, pipes or water pipes. ‘Smokeless’ tobacco is also popular in some parts of the world. This typically involves using tobacco preparations for chewing, sniffing into the nose or placing as a wad in the mouth between the cheeks and gums (Critchley & Unal, 2003 ). Smokeless tobacco use has features that are similar to smoking and can carry significant health risks (Critchley & Unal, 2003 ); however, this article focuses on smoked tobacco only as this has been the subject of by far the largest volume of research and is the most harmful form of tobacco use.

Stopping smoking usually involves an intention not to smoke any more cigarettes from a given point in time (a ‘quit attempt’), followed by self-conscious resistance of urges to smoke resulting in a period of abstinence. If someone making a quit attempt smokes one or more cigarettes on an occasion but then resumes abstinence, this is usually termed a ‘lapse’. If this person resumes smoking on a regular basis s/he is said to have ‘relapsed’. ‘Short-term abstinence’ is commonly defined in terms of achieving up to 4 weeks of abstinence. ‘Long-term abstinence’ often refers to abstinence for at least 6 months but more typically involves abstinence for at least 12 months. There is no agreed criterion for deciding when someone has ‘stopped smoking’ so it is essential when using the term to be clear about how long the abstinence period has been.

Health impact of smoking and the benefits of stopping

Tobacco smoking increases the risk of contracting a wide range of diseases, many of which are fatal. Stopping smoking at any age is beneficial compared with continuing to smoke. For some diseases, the risk can be reversed while for others the risk is approximately frozen at the point when smoking stopped.

Health impact of smoking

Table ​ Table1 1 lists the main causes of death from smoking. Tobacco smoking is estimated to lead to the premature death of approximately 6 million people worldwide and 96,000 in the UK each year (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016b ; World Health Organization, 2013 ). A ‘premature death from smoking’ is defined as a death from a smoking-related disease in an individual who would otherwise have died later from another cause. On average, these premature deaths involve 10 years of life years lost (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ). Many of these deaths occur in people who have stopped smoking but whose health has already been harmed by smoking. It also happens to be the case that smokers who do not stop smoking lose an average of 10 years of life expectancy compared with never-smokers and they start to suffer diseases of old age around 10 years earlier than non-smokers (Jha & Peto, 2014 ).

Most smoking-related deaths arise from cancers (mainly lung cancer), respiratory disease (mainly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – COPD), and cardiovascular disease (mainly coronary heart disease) (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016b ). Smoking is an important risk factor for stroke, blindness, deafness, back pain, osteoporosis, and peripheral vascular disease (leading to amputation) (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ). After the age of 40, smokers on average have higher levels of pain and disability than non-smokers (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

Smoking in both women and men reduces fertility (Action on Smoking and Health, 2013 ). Smoking in pregnancy causes underdevelopment of the foetus and increases the risk of miscarriage, neonatal death, respiratory disease in the offspring, and is probably a cause of mental health problems in the offspring (Action on Smoking and Health, 2013 ).

People used to think that smoking was protective against Alzheimer’s disease but we now know that the opposite is the case: it is a major risk factor for both Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia (Ferri et al., 2011 ; US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

There is a positive association between average daily cigarette consumption and risk of smoking-related disease, but in the case of cardiovascular disease the association is non-linear, so that low levels of cigarette consumption carry a higher risk than would be expected from a simple linear relationship (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

Tobacco smoke contains biologically significant concentrations of known carcinogens as well as many other toxic chemicals. Some of these, including a number of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (particularly NNK and NNN) are constituents of tobacco, largely as a result of the way it is processed, while others such as benzopyrine result from combustion of tobacco (Action on Smoking and Health, 2014b ). These chemicals form part of the particulate matter in smoke. Tobacco smoke also contains the gas, carbon monoxide (CO). CO is a potent toxin, displacing oxygen from haemoglobin molecules. However, acutely the amount of CO in tobacco smoke is too small to lead to hypoxia and the body produces increased numbers of red blood cells to compensate.

The nicotine in tobacco smoke may cause a small part of the increase in cardiovascular disease but none or almost none of the increase in risk of respiratory disease or cancer (Benowitz, 1997 , 1998 ). It is the other components of cigarette smoke that do almost all the damage. It has been proposed on the basis of studies with other species that nicotine damages the adolescent brain but there is no evidence for clinically significant deficits in cognition or emotion in adults who smoked during adolescence and then stopped (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

Exposure to second-hand smoke carries a significant risk for both children and adults. Thus, non-smokers who are exposed to a smoky environment have an increased risk of cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease (Action on Smoking and Health, 2014a ).

Benefits of stopping smoking

Table ​ Table1 1 lists the main benefits of stopping smoking. Smokers who stop before their mid-30s have approximately the same life expectancy as never smokers (Doll, Peto, Boreham, & Sutherland, 2004 ; Pirie, Peto, Reeves, Green, & Beral, 2013 ). After the age of 35 years or so, stopping smoking recovers 2–3 months of healthy life expectancy for every year of smoking avoided, or 4–6 h for every day (Jha & Peto, 2014 ).

Stopping smoking has different effects on different smoking-related diseases. Excess risk of heart attack caused by smoking reduces by 50% within 12 months of stopping smoking. Stopping smoking returns the rate of decline in lung function to the normal age-related decline, but does not reverse this; it reduces the frequency of ‘exacerbations’ (acute attacks of breathing difficulty resulting in death or hospitalisation) in COPD patients (US Surgeon General, 1990 ). Stopping smoking ‘freezes’ the risk of smoking-related cancers at the level experienced when stopping occurs but does not decrease it in absolute terms (US Surgeon General, 1990 ).

Smokers who stop show reduced levels of stress and mood disorder than those who continue (Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2013 ). They also report higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction than those who continue (Shahab & West, 2009 , 2012 ). This suggests that smoking may harm mental health, though other explanations cannot be ruled out on the current evidence.

Prevalence and patterns of smoking

Smoking prevalence.

There are estimated to be approximately 1 billion tobacco smokers worldwide (Eriksen, Mackay, & Ross, 2013 ), amounting to approximately 30% of men and 7% of women (Gowing et al., 2015 ).

Cigarette smoking prevalence in Great Britain was estimated to be 16.9% in 2015, the most recent year for which figures are available at the time of writing: slightly lower in women than men (Office of National Satistics, 2016 ). Smoking in Great Britain has declined by 0.7 percentage points per year since 2001 (from 26.9% of adults in 2001). In Australia, daily cigarette smoking has declined by 0.6 percentage points per year over a similar time period (from 22.4% of adults aged 18 + years in 2001 to 14.5% in 2015) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015 ). However, international comparisons are confused by different countries using a different definition of what counts as being a smoker, and different methods for assessing prevalence. Australia only counts daily smokers in their headline figures. The situation in the US is even more misleading. The headline prevalence figure for the US is below 16%, but this does not include occasional smokers and people who smoke cigarillos which are essentially cigarettes in all but name and which have become increasingly popular in recent years. So the figure for prevalence that is most comparable to the figure for Great Britain is 20% (Jamal, 2016 ).

With the above caveats in mind, the figures in Table ​ Table2 2 for smoking prevalence in world regions in men and women provide very broad estimates (Gowing et al., 2015 ). Most noteworthy is that smoking prevalence in men is more than four times that in women globally but that the difference is much less in most parts of Europe, and that Eastern Europe as a whole has the highest smoking prevalence of any region in the world.

Note: Current smoking of any tobacco product, adults aged 15 years and older, age-standardised rate, by gender. ‘Tobacco smoking’ includes cigarettes, cigars, pipes or any other smoked tobacco products. ‘Current smoking’ includes both daily and non-daily or occasional smoking. From Gowing et al. ( 2015 ).

Smoking patterns

The most common age of first trying a cigarette in countries that have been studied is 10–15 years (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015b ; Talip, Murang, Kifli, & Naing, 2016 ); take up of regular smoking usually continues up to early 20s (Dierker et al., 2008 ).

Average daily cigarette consumption among smokers in the US and UK has declined steadily since the 1970s. In the UK, it is currently 11 cigarettes per day, and non-daily smoking is very rare (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ; Jarvis, Giovino, O’Connor, Kozlowski, & Bernert, 2014 ). Smokers take in an average of 1–1.5 mg of nicotine per cigarette (US Department of Health Human Services, 2014 ). The US figures on patterns of smoking are distorted by not counting ‘cigarillos’ and other smoked tobacco products which are used very much like cigarettes, whose prevalence has increased in recent years (Jamal et al., 2015 ). The reduction in daily cigarette consumption has not been accompanied by a reduction in daily nicotine intake (Jarvis et al., 2014 ). This could be due to the use of other smoked tobacco products (in the case of the US) or smokers smoking their cigarettes more intensively (taking more, deeper or longer puffs).

Smokers in England spend an average of £23 per week on cigarettes and this figure is slowly rising (West & Brown, 2015 ). In the UK, hand-rolled cigarettes have become increasingly popular with 34% of smokers currently reporting use of these products (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ). Men and people in more deprived socio-economic groups are more likely to smoke hand-rolled cigarettes (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ).

In most countries, there are strong negative associations between smoking prevalence and educational level, affluence and mental health; and positive associations with alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016a , 2016c ; Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2013 ; Talati, Keyes, & Hasin, 2016 ). In the UK, average daily cigarette consumption is higher for men than women, and higher in smokers in more deprived socio-economic groups and those with mental health problems (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ).

Psychological, pharmacological and social factors involved in smoking and smoking cessation

The natural history of smoking can be modelled as states and factors that influence the transition between these. Figure ​ Figure1 1 shows transitions that have been researched – the variables identified in the diagram are listed descriptively without attempting to explain how they may be connected.

Factors associated with transitions in the natural history of smoking (parentheses indicate negative associations).

Smoking initiation

Important factors predicting initiation in western societies are: having friends who smoke, having parents who smoke, low social grade, tendency to mental health problems and impulsivity (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015b ). Transition to daily smoking follows a highly variable pattern sometimes being very rapid and sometimes taking several years (Schepis & Rao, 2005 ). Important factors predicting transition to regular smoking are: having friends who smoke, weak academic orientation, low parental support, pro-smoking attitudes, drinking alcohol and low socio-economic status (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015b ).

Smoking initiation has a ‘heritability’ (the proportion of variance in a characteristic that is attributable to genetic rather than environmental variance) of approximately 30–50% in western societies (Vink, Willemsen, & Boomsma, 2005 ). This means that differences in genetic make-up account for almost half of the difference in likelihood of starting smoking between individuals. This does not mean that environmental factors do not also play a crucial role as is evident from the very large decline in smoking initiation since the 1970s in many western countries.

The heritability of cigarette addiction (as distinct from smoking) is approximately 70–80% in western societies (Vink et al., 2005 ). Cigarette addiction here refers to the extent to which someone experiences a strong need to smoke. It is usually indexed by a combination of number of cigarettes per day and time from waking to smoking the first cigarette of the day (Kozlowski, Porter, Orleans, Pope, & Heatherton, 1994 ). It can also be indexed by the self-reported strength of urges to smoke (Fidler, Shahab, & West, 2011 ). Heritability of cigarette addiction, as indexed by failure of attempts to stop, is higher than the heritability for smoking and for initiation of smoking. This suggests that differences in genetic inheritance play a larger role in being able to stop smoking than in starting to smoke.

Cigarette addiction

Cigarette addiction stems from the fact that smoking provides highly controllable doses of the drug, nicotine, rapidly to the brain in a form that is accessible, affordable and palatable (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ). Nicotine provided more slowly, for example by the nicotine transdermal patch, is much less addictive. It is possible that one or more mono-amine oxidase inhibitors in cigarette smoke add to, or synergise, the addictive properties of nicotine (Hogg, 2016 ).

The psychopharmacology of cigarette addiction is complex and far from fully understood. The following paragraphs summarise the current narrative.

Nicotine resembles the naturally occurring neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, sufficiently to attach itself to a subset of neuronal receptors for this neurotransmitter in the brain. These are called ‘nicotinic acetylcholine receptors’. When it does this with receptors in the ventral tegmental area in the midbrain, it causes an increased rate of firing of the nerves projecting forward from that area to another part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. This causes release of another neurotransmitter called dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.

Dopamine release and uptake by neurones in the nucleus accumbens is believed to be central to all addictive behaviours. It acts as a neural ‘teaching signal’ which causes the brain to form an association between the current situation as perceived and the impulse to engage in whatever action immediately preceded this release. In the case of smoking, this creates an urge to smoke in situations in which smoking frequently occurs. These are often referred to as ‘cue-driven smoking urges’ or ‘situational cravings’ (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ). This explains why even non-daily smokers often find it difficult to stop smoking altogether.

Repeated ingestion of nicotine from cigarettes causes changes to the functioning of the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens such that when brain concentrations of nicotine are lower than usual, there is an abnormally low level of neural activity in these regions. This leads to feelings of need for behaviours that have in the past restored normal functioning, typically smoking. This feeling of need can be thought of as a kind of ‘nicotine hunger’, also called ‘background craving’ (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ). This is probably why time between waking and first cigarette of the day is a useful predictor of difficulty stopping smoking (Vangeli, Stapleton, Smit, Borland, & West, 2011 ). So ‘cue-driven smoking urges’ and ‘nicotine hunger’ are important factors contributing to smoking behaviour and thought to be the primary mechanisms underpinning cigarette addiction (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

When smokers abstain from cigarettes, within a few hours many of them start to experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms from a drug are temporary symptoms that arise when the drug dose is reduced or use is terminated. They arise from neural adaptation to the presence of the drug in the central nervous system. For smoking, the most common early onset symptoms are: irritability, restlessness and difficult concentrating. Depression and anxiety have also been observed in some smokers. These symptoms typically last 1 to 4 weeks (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

After a day or two of stopping smoking, many smokers experience other symptoms: increased appetite, constipation, mouth ulcers, cough, and weight gain. Increased appetite tends to last for at least 3 months; weight gain (averaging around 6 kg) tends to be permanent; other symptoms tend to last a few weeks. The increased appetite, weight gain and constipation arise from termination of nicotine intake but the others are probably related to other effects of stopping smoking (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

Any of the above effects of abstinence may in individual cases promote resumption of smoking following a quit attempt but statistically the association is inconsistent and weak; the main factors driving relapse appear to be cue-driven smoking urges and nicotine hunger (Fidler & West, 2011 ; West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

Many smokers report that smoking helps them cope with stress and increases their ability to concentrate. However, this appears to be because when they go for a period without smoking they experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms that are relieved by smoking. Long-term smokers who stop report lower levels of stress than when they were smoking and no reduction in ability to concentrate (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

It is commonly thought that smokers with mental health problems are using cigarettes to ‘self-medicate’ or treat their psychological symptoms. However, the evidence indicates that neither nicotine nor smoking improves psychological symptoms, and people with serious mental health disorders who stop smoking do not experience a worsening of mental health. In fact some studies have found an improvement (Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2013 ).

Smoking cessation

For most smokers, cessation requires a determined attempt to stop and then sufficient resolve in the following weeks and months to overcome what are often powerful urges to smoke. Factors that predict quit attempts differ from those that predict the success of those attempts (Vangeli et al., 2011 ). Approximately 5% of unaided quit attempts succeed for at least 6 months (Hughes, Keely, & Naud, 2004 ). Relapse after this point is estimated to be around 50% over subsequent years (Stapleton & West, 2012 ).

The most common self-reported reasons for smoking are stress relief and enjoyment, with around half of smokers reporting these smoking motives. Weight control, aiding concentration and socialising are also quite commonly cited (Fidler & West, 2009 ). Smoking for supposed stress relief, improved concentration, weight control or other functions has not been found to be related to attempts to stop or success of attempts to stop (Fidler & West, 2009 ). Smokers who report enjoying smoking are less likely to try to stop but not less likely to succeed if they do try (Fidler & West, 2011 ). In addition, having a positive smoker identity (liking being a smoker) predicts not trying to quit, over and above enjoyment of smoking (Fidler & West, 2009 ).

No clear association has been found between the number of times smokers have tried to stop in the past and their chances of success the next time they try (Vangeli et al., 2011 ). However, having tried to stop in the past few months is predictive of failure of the next quit attempt (Zhou et al., 2009 ). Belief in the harm caused by smoking is predictive of smokers making quit attempts but not the success of those attempts (Vangeli et al., 2011 ).

Some clinical studies have found that women were less likely to succeed in quit attempts than men but large population studies have found no difference in success rates between the genders (Vangeli et al., 2011 ) so it may be the case that women who seek help with stopping have greater difficulty than men who seek help with stopping.

Number of cigarettes smoked per day, time between waking and the first cigarette of the day and rated strength of urges to smoke prior to a quit attempt have been found to predict success of quit attempts (Vangeli et al., 2011 ).

Quit attempts that involve gradual reduction are less likely to succeed than those that involve quitting abruptly, even after controlling statistically for measures of cigarette addiction, confidence in quitting, other methods used to quit (e.g. nicotine replacement therapy) and sociodemographic factors (Lindson-Hawley et al., 2016 ).

Interventions to combat smoking

There is extensive evidence on interventions that can reduce smoking prevalence, either by reducing initiation or promoting cessation. Table ​ Table3 3 lists those that have the strongest evidence.

Population-level interventions

Increasing the financial cost of smoking through tax increases and control of illicit supply on average reduces overall consumption with a typical price elasticity globally of 0.4 (meaning that for every 10% increase in the real cost there is a 4% decrease in the number of cigarettes purchased). Most of the effect is in getting smokers to reduce their daily cigarette consumption so the effect on smoking prevalence has been found to be an average of a 1–2 percentage point prevalence reduction for every 10% increase in the real cost (Levy, Huang, Havumaki, & Meza, 2016 ). It has been claimed that increasing taxes on tobacco increases the amount of smuggling of cheap tobacco, but the evidence does not support this (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015a ; Joossens & Raw, 2003 ).

Social marketing campaigns (e.g. TV advertising) can prevent smoking uptake, increase the rate at which smokers try to quit and improve the chances of success. This can lead to a reduction in smoking prevalence. Their effectiveness varies considerably with intensity, type of campaign and context (Bala, Strzeszynski, Topor-Madry, & Cahill, 2013 ; Hoffman & Tan, 2015 ).

Legislating to ban smoking in all indoor public areas may have a one-off effect on reducing smoking prevalence but findings are inconsistent across different countries (Bala et al., 2013 ). For example, in countries such as France it was not possible to detect an effect while in England, there did appear to be a decline in prevalence following the ban.

Although it is hard to show conclusively, circumstantial evidence suggests that banning tobacco advertising and putting large graphic health warnings on cigarette packets may have reduced smoking prevalence in some countries (Hoffman & Tan, 2015 ; Noar et al., 2016 ).

Individual-level interventions to promote smoking cessation

Brief advice.

Brief advice to stop smoking from a physician and offer of support to all smokers, regardless of motivation to quit, has been found in randomised trials to increase rate of quitting by an average of 2 percentage points of all those receiving it, whether or not they were initially interested in quitting (Stead et al., 2013 ). The offer of support appears to be more effective in getting smokers to try to quit than just advising smokers to stop (Aveyard, Begh, Parsons, & West, 2012 ).

Pharmacotherapy

Using a form of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT: transdermal patch, chewing gum, nasal spray, mouth spray, lozenge, inhalator, dissolvable strip) for at least 6 weeks from the start of a quit attempt increases the chances of long-term success of that quit attempt by about 3–7 percentage points if the user is under the care of a health professional or provided as part of a structured support programme (Stead et al., 2012 ). Some studies have found that NRT when bought from a shop and used without any additional structured support does not improve the chances of success at stopping (Kotz, Brown, & West, 2014a , 2014b ). A small proportion of people who use NRT to stop smoking continue to use it for months or even years after stopping smoking, but NRT appears to carry minimal risk to long-term users (Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ; Stead et al., 2012 ).

Data are sparse but at present, using an electronic cigarette in a quit attempt appears to increase the chances of success at stopping on average by an amount broadly similar to that from NRT; the variety of products available and the greater similarity to smoking appear to make them more attractive to many smokers as a means of stopping than NRT (McNeill et al., 2015 ; Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ). Electronic cigarettes deliver nicotine to users by heating a liquid containing nicotine, propylene glycol or glycerol and usually flavourings to create a vapour that is inhaled. They appear to carry minimal acute risk to users. If they are used long-term, their risk is almost certainly much less than that of smoking (based on concentrations of chemicals in the vapour) (McNeill et al., 2015 ; Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ).

‘Dual-form NRT’ (combining a transdermal NRT patch and one of the other forms) increases the chances of success at stopping more than ‘single-form NRT’ (just using one of the products) (Stead et al., 2012 ). Starting to use a nicotine transdermal patch several weeks before the target quit date may improve the chances of success at quitting compared with starting on the quit date (Stead et al., 2012 ).

Taking the prescription anti-depressant, bupropion (brand name Zyban), improves the chances of success of quit attempts by a similar amount to single-form NRT (Hughes, Stead, Hartmann-Boyce, Cahill, & Lancaster, 2014 ). Bupropion often leads to sleep disturbance and carries a very small risk of seizure. Bupropion probably works by reducing urges to smoke rather than any effect on depressed mood, but how it does this is not known. It is contra-indicated in pregnant smokers and people with an elevated seizure risk or history of eating disorder (Hughes et al, 2014 ). Taking the tricyclic anti-depressant, nortriptyline also improves the chances of success of quit attempts, probably by about the same amount as bupropion and NRT (Hughes et al., 2014 ). Its mechanism of action is not known. Nortriptyline often leads to dry mouth and sleep disorder and can be fatal in overdose (Hughes et al., 2014 ).

Taking the nicotinic-acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, varenicline (brand name Chantix in the US and Champix elsewhere), improves the chances of success by about 50% more than bupropion or single-form NRT (Cahill, Lindson-Hawley, Thomas, Fanshawe, & Lancaster, 2016 ). This is true for smokers with or without a psychiatric disorder (Anthenelli et al., 2016 ). Varenicline appears to work both by reducing urges to smoke and the rewarding effect of nicotine should a lapse occur (West, Baker, Cappelleri, & Bushmakin, 2008 ). Varenicline often leads to sleep disturbance and nausea. Serious neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular adverse reactions have been reported, but in comparative studies these have not been found to be more common than placebo or NRT (Anthenelli et al., 2016 ; Cahill et al., 2016 ; Sterling, Windle, Filion, Touma, & Eisenberg, 2016 ).

Taking the nicotinic-acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, cytisine, appears to improve the chances of success at least as much as single-form NRT and probably more (Cahill et al., 2016 ). Cytisine often causes nausea. No serious adverse reactions have been reported to date (Cahill et al., 2016 ). Where it is licensed for sale, cytisine is less than 1/10th the cost of other smoking cessation medications (Cahill et al., 2016 ).

Behavioural support

There is good evidence that behavioural interventions of many kinds, delivered though several modalities can help smokers to stop. Thus, behavioural support (encouragement, advice and discussion) from a trained stop-smoking specialist, provided at least weekly until at least 4 weeks following the target quit date can increase the chances of long-term success of a quit attempt by about 3–7 percentage points, whether it is given by phone or face-to-face (Lancaster & Stead, 2005 ). Group behavioural support (specialist-led groups of smokers stopping together and engaging in a structured discussion about their experiences), involving at least weekly sessions lasting until at least 4 weeks after the target quit date can increase the chances of success of a quit attempt by a similar amount or possibly more than individual support (Stead & Lancaster, 2005 ). Scheduled, multi-session telephone support can improve rates of success at stopping smoking by a broadly similar amount (Stead, Hartmann-Boyce, Perera, & Lancaster, 2013 ) but some large studies have failed to detect an effect so contextual factors and/or the precise type of support could be crucial to success. The effects of behavioural support and medication/NRT on success at stopping smoking appear to combine roughly additively (Stead, Koilpillai, & Lancaster, 2015 ). Smoking cessation support appears to be effective in primary care, secondary care and worksite settings (Cahill & Lancaster, 2014 ; West et al., 2015 ). Financial incentives, in the form of vouchers, have been found to increase smoking cessation rates for as long as they are in place (Cahill, Hartmann-Boyce, & Perera, 2015 ; Higgins & Solomon, 2016 ). Printed self-help materials can improve the chances of success at stopping long term by around 1–2 percentage points (Hartmann-Boyce, Lancaster, & Stead, 2014 ).

There is still relatively limited evidence on the effectiveness of digital support interventions for smoking cessation. Thus, while there is evidence that tailored, interactive websites can improve the chances of success at stopping smoking compared with no support, brief written materials or static information websites, many of those tested have not been found to be effective and it is not clear what differentiates those that are effective from those that are not (Graham et al., 2016 ). Text messaging programmes have been found to increase the chances of success of quit attempts by about 2–7 percentage points (Whittaker, McRobbie, Bullen, Rodgers, & Gu, 2016 ). There is currently insufficient evidence to know whether smartphone applications can improve success rates of quit attempts, although preliminary data suggest that they might (Whittaker et al., 2016 ). Evidence on alternative and complementary therapies is not sufficient to make confident statements about their effectiveness as aids to smoking cessation (Barnes et al., 2010 ; White, Rampes, Liu, Stead, & Campbell, 2014 ).

Overall, the highest smoking cessation rates appear to be achieved using specialist face-to-face behavioural support together with either varenicline or dual form NRT. With this support, continuous abstinence rates up to 52 weeks, verified by expired-air carbon monoxide tests, of more than 40% have been achieved (Kralikova et al., 2013 ). More commonly, 52-week continuous abstinence rates with this treatment are between 15 and 25% (West et al., 2015 ).

Smoking cessation support for pregnant smokers

In pregnant smokers, there is some evidence that NRT can help promote smoking cessation but evidence for an effect sustained to end of pregnancy is not conclusive (Sterling et al., 2016 ). There is also evidence that written self-help materials and face-to-face behavioural support can aid smoking cessation (Jones, Lewis, Parrott, Wormall, & Coleman, 2016 ), and financial incentives have also been found to improve quitting rates among pregnant smokers (Tappin et al., 2015 ). Almost half of women who stop smoking during pregnancy as a result of a clinical intervention relapse to smoking within 6 months of the birth (Jones et al., 2016 ).

Effectiveness of programmes to reduce smoking uptake

School-based programmes that involve both social competence training and peer-led social influence have been found to reduce smoking uptake (Georgie, Sean, Deborah, Matthew, & Rona, 2016 ) but educational programmes have not (Thomas, McLellan, & Perera, 2013 ). Mass media campaigns and increasing the financial cost of smoking reduce smoking uptake (Brinn, Carson, Esterman, Chang, & Smith, 2012 ; van Hasselt et al., 2015 ).

Reducing the harm from tobacco and nicotine use

Smokers who report that they are reducing their cigarette consumption smoke only 1–2 fewer cigarettes per day on average than when they say they are not (Beard et al., 2013 ). Clinical trials have found that use of NRT while smoking can substantially reduce cigarette consumption compared with placebo (Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ) but national surveys show very little reduction in cigarette consumption when smokers take up use of NRT in real-world settings (Beard et al., 2013 ). The benefit from using NRT while continuing to smoke appears to be in promoting subsequent smoking cessation. Using NRT (or varenicline) to reduce cigarette smoking with no immediate plans to quit leads to increased rates of quitting subsequently (Wu, Sun, He, & Zeng, 2015 ).

‘Snus’, a form of tobacco that is placed between the gums and the cheek and which is prepared in a way that is very low in carcinogens, gives high doses of nicotine but without evidence of an increase in risk of major tobacco-related cancers and either no, or a small, increase in risk of heart disease. It does appear to increase risk of periodontal disease, however. Snus is very popular in Sweden. Sweden has very low rates of smoking and tobacco-related disease indicating that a form of nicotine intake other than smoking can become popular and suggesting that this can contribute to a substantial reduction in tobacco-related harm (Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ).

The introduction of complete bans on smoking in indoor public areas can also be considered as a harm reduction measure. In this case, the main issue is harm to non-tobacco users. The evidence shows that such bans have been rapidly followed in the UK and several other jurisdictions by a reduction in heart attacks in non-smokers (Action on Smoking and Health, 2014a ).

Conclusions

Tobacco smoking causes death and disability on a huge scale and only about half of smokers report enjoying it. Despite this, approximately 1 billion adults engage in this behaviour worldwide and only around 5% of unaided quit attempts succeed for 6 months or more. The main reason appears to be that cigarettes deliver nicotine rapidly to the brain in a form that is convenient, and palatable. Nicotine acts on the brain to create urges to smoke in situations where smoking would normally occur and when brain nicotine levels become depleted. Concern about the harm from, and financial cost of, smoking are mostly not sufficient to counter this.

Governments can reduce smoking prevalence by raising the cost of smoking through taxation, mounting sustained social marketing campaigns, ensuring that health professionals routinely advise smokers to stop and offer support for quitting, and make available pharmacological and behavioural support for stopping.

Statement of competing interests

RW has, within the past 3 years, undertaken research and consultancy for companies that develop and manufacture smoking cessation medications (Pfizer, GSK, and J&J). He is an unpaid advisor to the UK’s National Centre for Smoking cessation and Training. His salary is funded by Cancer Research UK.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

This work was supported by Cancer Research UK [grant number C1417/A22962].

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Essay on Smoking Cigarettes

Students are often asked to write an essay on Smoking Cigarettes in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Smoking Cigarettes

Harmful habit.

Smoking cigarettes is a dangerous habit that can lead to many health issues. The chemicals in cigarettes damage the lungs and heart, and they can also cause cancer.

Effects on the Lungs

Smoking cigarettes paralyzes the tiny hairs in the lungs that help to keep them clean. This makes it easier for tar and other harmful substances to build up in the lungs, which can lead to lung disease and cancer.

Effects on the Heart

Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. The chemicals in cigarettes damage the blood vessels and make them more likely to form clots. Smoking also raises blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which are both risk factors for heart disease.

Effects on Cancer

Smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of preventable cancer deaths. The chemicals in cigarettes can damage DNA and cause cells to grow out of control. Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of cancer of the lungs, mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidney, and bladder.

250 Words Essay on Smoking Cigarettes

Smoking cigarettes: a harmful habit.

Smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of preventable cancer deaths. Cigarettes contain chemicals that can damage the DNA in your cells, which can lead to cancer. The chemicals in cigarettes can also cause inflammation, which is a risk factor for cancer.

Heart Disease

Smoking cigarettes increases your risk of heart disease. The chemicals in cigarettes can damage the blood vessels in your heart, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Smoking cigarettes can also raise your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which are also risk factors for heart disease.

Other Health Problems

Smoking cigarettes can cause a variety of other health problems, including:

Quitting Smoking

If you smoke cigarettes, quitting is the best thing you can do for your health. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, and other health problems. It can also improve your appearance, energy levels, and overall quality of life.

Smoking cigarettes is a harmful habit that can have serious consequences for your health. If you smoke, quitting is the best thing you can do for your health. There are many resources available to help you quit smoking.

500 Words Essay on Smoking Cigarettes

What are cigarettes.

Cigarettes are small, cylindrical objects made of tobacco leaves that are rolled in paper. They are lit at one end and smoked, with the smoke being inhaled into the lungs.

Why Do People Smoke?

There are many reasons why people start smoking cigarettes. Some people think it looks cool, while others believe it helps them to relax or concentrate. Still others may smoke because they are addicted to nicotine, a chemical found in tobacco that can make people feel good.

The Dangers of Smoking

Smoking cigarettes is a very dangerous habit. It can cause a number of health problems, including lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Smoking can also increase the risk of developing other diseases, such as COPD, emphysema, and bronchitis.

The Effects of Smoking on the Body

When you smoke a cigarette, the nicotine in the tobacco quickly enters your bloodstream. This can cause your heart rate and blood pressure to increase, and it can also make you feel lightheaded or dizzy. Smoking can also damage your lungs and other organs, and it can lead to a number of health problems.

Smoking cigarettes is a harmful habit that can lead to a number of health problems. If you smoke, the best thing you can do for your health is to quit. There are many resources available to help you quit, so there is no reason to continue smoking.

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Addictions — Smoking

Essays About Smoking

Smoking essay, types of essay about smoking.

• Cause and Effect Essay: This type of essay focuses on the causes and effects of smoking. It discusses why people start smoking and the consequences of smoking on both the smoker and those around them.
• Argumentative Essay: This essay type aims to persuade the reader about the negative effects of smoking. It presents an argument and provides supporting evidence to convince the reader that smoking is harmful and should be avoided.
• Persuasive Essay: Similar to an argumentative essay, this type of essay aims to persuade the reader to quit smoking. It presents facts, statistics, and other relevant information to convince the reader to stop smoking.

Smoking Essay Example: Cause and Effect

• Identify the causes of smoking: Start by examining why people start smoking in the first place. Is it peer pressure, addiction, stress, or curiosity? Understanding the reasons why people smoke is crucial in creating an effective cause and effect essay.
• Discuss the effects of smoking: Highlight the impact smoking has on an individual's health and the environment. Discuss the risks associated with smoking, such as lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory problems, and explain how smoking affects non-smokers through secondhand smoke.
• Use reliable sources: To make your essay more convincing, ensure that you use credible sources to back up your claims. Use scientific studies, government reports, and medical journals to support your arguments.
• Provide statistical evidence: Incorporate statistical data to make your essay more impactful. Use figures to show the number of people who smoke, the effects of smoking on the environment, and the costs associated with smoking.
• Offer solutions: Conclude your essay by suggesting solutions to the problem of smoking. Encourage smokers to quit by outlining the benefits of quitting smoking and offering resources for those who want to quit.

Smoking: Argumentative Essay

• Choose a clear position: The writer should choose a side on the issue of smoking, either for or against it, and be clear in presenting their stance.
• Gather evidence: Research and collect facts and statistics to support the writer's argument. They can find data from reliable sources like scientific journals, government reports, and reputable news organizations.
• Address counterarguments: A good argumentative essay will acknowledge opposing viewpoints and then provide a counterargument to refute them.
• Use persuasive language: The writer should use persuasive language to convince the reader of their position. This includes using rhetorical devices, such as ethos, pathos, and logos, to appeal to the reader's emotions and logic.
• Provide a clear conclusion: The writer should summarize the key points of their argument and reiterate their stance in the conclusion.

Persuasive Essay on Smoking

• Identify your audience and their beliefs about smoking.
• Present compelling evidence to support your argument, such as statistics, research studies, and personal anecdotes.
• Use emotional appeals, such as stories or images that show the negative impact of smoking.
• Address potential counterarguments and refute them effectively.
• Use strong and clear language to persuade the reader to take action.
• When choosing a topic for a smoking persuasive essay, consider a specific aspect of smoking that you would like to persuade the audience to act upon.

Hook Examples for Smoking Essays

Anecdotal hook.

Imagine a teenager taking their first puff of a cigarette, unaware of the lifelong addiction they're about to face. This scenario illustrates the pervasive issue of smoking among young people.

Question Hook

Is the pleasure derived from smoking worth the serious health risks it poses? Dive into the contentious debate over tobacco use and its consequences.

Quotation Hook

"Smoking is a habit that drains your money and kills you slowly, one puff after another." — Unknown. Explore the financial and health impacts of smoking in today's society.

Statistical or Factual Hook

Did you know that smoking is responsible for nearly 8 million deaths worldwide each year? Examine the alarming statistics and data associated with tobacco-related illnesses.

Definition Hook

What exactly is smoking, and what are the various forms it takes? Delve into the definitions of smoking, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and emerging alternatives like e-cigarettes.

Rhetorical Question Hook

Can we truly call ourselves a smoke-free generation when new nicotine delivery devices are enticing young people? Investigate the impact of vaping and e-cigarettes on the youth.

Historical Hook

Trace the history of smoking, from its ancient roots to its prevalence in different cultures and societies. Explore how perceptions of smoking have evolved over time.

Contrast Hook

Contrast the images of the suave, cigarette-smoking characters from classic films with the grim reality of tobacco-related diseases and addiction in the modern world.

Narrative Hook

Walk in the shoes of a lifelong smoker as they recount their journey from that first cigarette to a battle with addiction and the quest to quit. Their story reflects the struggles of many.

Shocking Statement Hook

Prepare to uncover the disturbing truth about smoking—how it not only harms the smoker but also affects non-smokers through secondhand smoke exposure. It's an issue that goes beyond personal choice.

Smoking Should Be Banned: a Call for Public Health and Safety

1000 words on smoking: public health crisis, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

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Cause and Effect of Smoking

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The History of Tobacco Use and Its Dangers

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How Smoking Can Ruin Your Health

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Smoking and Its Effects on Human Body Essay

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Introduction

Works cited.

Smoking is one of the oldest traditions followed by millions of people in the world. Despite pleasure and positive feelings, smoking is dangerous as it harms the human body and tissues. Smoking is dangerous as it leads to health-related problems including cardiovascular disease.

According to Carr (22), one-third of all deaths in America are caused by coronary heart disease, and at least 30 percent of these deaths are related to smoking. Smoking affects the lungs and respiratory organs causing such terrible diseases as cancer.

Among the most wider spread diseases are peptic ulcers, cancer of the larynx, kidney, pancreas, and other major organs. The resins from the smoke enter the blood and ruin cells. This process is inevitable if a person smokes for years. Also, smoking harms the fetus, increasing the risk of spontaneous abortion and low birth weight.

The investigators explain the effects of smoking on the breath as follows: the rapid pulse rate of smokers decreases the stroke volume during rest since the venous return is not affected and the ventricles lose the habit and ability to make large strokes.

Similar conditions arise during strenuous exercise, that is, with the rapid heart rate, the diastolic filling is incomplete and the stroke output remains small. This results in a relatively small unit circulation and oxygen supply to the tissues with the result that an oxygen debt must be incurred. This ends in breathlessness and dyspnœa. Just giving the facts is not enough. Attitudes and behaviors need to be addressed (Rabin and Sugarman, p. 43).

Students want behavioral tips on how to maintain peer acceptability while avoiding the pressure to show how cool they are b smoking. While cigarette ads on television and radio are forbidden, “gifts” of cigarettes to minors (particularly in minority communities) are not discouraged as an advertisement ploy.

Moreover, the interlacing of beer ads with sports events and wine cooler ads with upscale women’s television programming sends strong messages to young people about how society views substance use. Role-plays, debates, “raps,” and antismoking jingles allow students an active exploration of their motivation for wanting or not wanting to smoke. These techniques encourage youngsters to think for themselves, to develop their judgments and attitudes (Carr, p. 87).

Recently, studies by Rabin and Sugarman (2003) have demonstrated an increased cancer risk in adulthood among children who were exposed to parental smoking in their early years. An overview of the health effects of passive smoking on children and adults is the same as on active smokers. Smoking has direct physiological effects on the body, and the cumulative wear and tear on the system caused by recurring stress can eventually cause damage to the system. Indeed, there is abundant evidence that stress can cause several physiological and biochemical changes (Cnossen, p. 31).

In sum, smoking harms the human body ruining healthy cells and tissues. Smoking is dangerous as it leads to inevitable changes in blood and tissues of the heart and lungs. Smoking can cause neural and endocrine change that alters the normal functioning of the organism (e.g., change in cardiovascular activity or immune system functioning). This physiological stress response is accompanied by behavioral responses as well. Smoking and the subsequent behavioral response to it can affect health and facilitate, if not cause, some illnesses.

Carr, A. The Easy Way to Stop Smoking: Join the Millions Who Have Become Non-Smokers Using Allen Carr’s Easyway Method. Sterling; 1 edition, 2005.

Cnossen, S. Theory and Practice of Excise Taxation: Smoking, Drinking, Gambling, Polluting, and Driving. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Rabin, R. L., Sugarman, S.D. Regulating Tobacco. Oxford University Press, 2001.

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IvyPanda. (2021, October 19). Smoking and Its Effects on Human Body. https://ivypanda.com/essays/smoking-and-its-effects-on-human-body/

"Smoking and Its Effects on Human Body." IvyPanda , 19 Oct. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/smoking-and-its-effects-on-human-body/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Smoking and Its Effects on Human Body'. 19 October.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Smoking and Its Effects on Human Body." October 19, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/smoking-and-its-effects-on-human-body/.

1. IvyPanda . "Smoking and Its Effects on Human Body." October 19, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/smoking-and-its-effects-on-human-body/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Smoking and Its Effects on Human Body." October 19, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/smoking-and-its-effects-on-human-body/.

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