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  • Essay / From cure to poison: the negative effects of tobacco

    Tobacco is a plant containing nicotine, cellulose, ammonia and proteins whose leaves are dried and fermented to make it suitable for consumption human. Tobacco products come in many forms such as cigarettes, chewing tobacco, snuff, pipe tobacco, dissolvable tobacco, and water pipes (hookah). Tobacco contains many chemicals (also created by burning it) that are very harmful. Smoking cigarettes can also make the condition worse for people with Crohn's disease. Middle- and low-income countries have the highest number of tobacco-related deaths. Around 880,000,000 of the world's 1.1 billion smokers come from these regions. In Yemen, more than 14,400 people die each year from diseases caused by tobacco. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayNicotine is an addictive substance and that is why people buy tobacco products and that is why they have difficulty quitting smoking or other similar methods of getting nicotine into their system. Nicotine is a relaxant and also helps increase alertness. Nicotine increases heart rate and therefore blood pressure, and can directly affect the formation of excess blood clots (thrombosis) and atheroma (fatty deposits and buildup of scar tissue on artery walls) in smokers. Tobacco product users may die at a relatively younger age and deprive their families of income, increase health care costs and delay economic development. According to an online article from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking tobacco products causes about nine out of 10 cases of lung cancer. In addition, it causes other cancers besides lung cancer, such as liver, bronchi and trachea, bladder, colon and rectum, kidney, mouth and throat, esophagus, cervix of the uterus and blood (acute myeloid leukemia), pancreas, kidneys and renal pelvis. the larynx and stomach. The WHO considers tobacco “the leading cause of preventable death worldwide”. Cigarette smoke contains more than four thousand chemicals and at least seventy of them are carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) in every breath. These chemicals move into the bloodstream where they can easily travel throughout the body and access every organ in the body. There is a risk that some of these chemicals could damage DNA, an important component of the human body that codes and controls the production of different substances and new cells. Damaged DNA can lead to faulty codes and therefore proliferation of tumor-forming cells. A tumor is initially benign (in one place), but over time, due to excessive growth, it becomes malignant (breaks away and can spread throughout the body). Smokeless tobacco products can also cause cancer. Products like chewing tobacco cause cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus and pancreas. In e-cigarettes, a liquid containing nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals is heated, resulting in an aerosol. People who use e-cigarettes inhale this aerosol into their lungs. Even if there is no second-hand smoke, people nearby can also inhale the aerosol when the user exhales. So, they can also absorb harmful chemicals and be just as affected as consumers. As indicated by the WHOin a recent fact sheet published in 2018, “tobacco kills up to half of its users” and more than seven billion people die from it. of which more than six billion people died due to direct tobacco use, and the rest, approximately nine hundred thousand people (non-smokers) died due to exposure to second-hand smoke. Major tobacco producers like China, India, and Brazil may find that children from low-income families are often employed in tobacco farming to earn money. In India, according to the Child Labor Act, 1986 (then amended in 2016 - CLPR Act) prohibits the employment of a child. It is considered a “cognizable criminal offence” to employ a child in any type of work. More importantly, these children, in addition to being employed illegally, are in dangerous jobs. These children are at risk of contracting green tobacco disease (GTS) due to handling wet tobacco leaves. The nicotine in these leaves is absorbed through the skin, leading to nicotine poisoning. Children and adolescents are more sensitive to chemicals and will face more serious health risks than adults. Prolonged nicotine intake can harm brain development. The prefrontal cortex is one of the last parts to mature and is sensitive to stimulants. This can cause mood disorders, memory problems, problems with attention and impulse control. Tobacco products and their use can certainly reduce people's quality of life. Treatments for illnesses are expensive, the person's health is obviously not in good condition and they will not be able to live “normally” and will be doomed to suffer. They will also hurt people around them. Children in poor health and people aged 18 to 60 (the average age group representative of the working population) will certainly affect the working population. They cannot work efficiently, are more likely to make decisions that can have a negative impact on them and their business and can harm the development of the country's economy. There are also other problems apart from these health risks. For example, the illicit trade in tobacco products can cause economic and security concerns around the world. Again, according to the WHO online fact sheet, an estimated one in ten cigarettes or tobacco products consumed globally are illegal, and this illicit market is supported by small-scale dealers for the benefit of organized criminal networks. Tax evasion and evasion undermine the power of tobacco control policies. Examples of such activities could be legal actions such as purchasing tobacco products from areas where the tax imposed on such products is lower (lower tax jurisdiction) or even illegal activities such as manufacturing and smuggling. There have been arguments that high taxes on tobacco products lead to tax evasion. For example, ITC, the largest cigarette manufacturer in India, mentioned in an article that the Treasury loses more than 1,000 rupees. 13,000 crores (USD 1,866,930,000) in annual revenue due to cigarette tax evasion. This value does not take into account the loss of revenue on other tobacco products, which would increase the amount of revenue lost. Total productivity losses caused by smoking in the United States each year have been estimated at US$151 billion. Such events can affect the reputation of companies and countries, which could prevent or influence trade and possible relationships withother companies or countries. The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of a country is bound to decline, which has a negative impact on the economy. Poor development of the economy can lead to inflation (increase in the cost of goods but decrease in the purchasing value of money) increasing the cost of living for people. Large-scale inflation can lead to unemployment, prevent businesses from making major investment decisions, and encourage hoarding (for fear of higher prices), which will only cause prices to rise further and could cause an imbalance in international trade as prices fluctuate. This may also impact exchange rates. For this reason, it may also encourage people to attempt to emigrate. However, despite all these complications, tobacco was not banned. There are reasons why tobacco products are also considered beneficial for health or economic reasons. It has been found that patients suffering from ulcerative colitis find smoking helpful as it alleviates the disease. Some studies also indicate that smokers are less likely to develop Parkinson's disease. Even though it is unhealthy, smoking has also been linked to weight loss because it reduces appetite and can be helpful to obese people, which can be considered beneficial for them. Although this reason does not seem humane, it has been said that smoking reduces the cost of paying pensions in the event of premature deaths of smokers. Historically, tobacco has been used to ease headaches and persistent colds, to combat diarrhea, to relieve pain, and to heal burns. There have also been cases where it has been used for therapeutic purposes against fever, to aid digestion. It has been used as an antiseptic against ringworm, superficial ulcers, pruritus and athlete's foot. An article in the British Medical Journal in 1889 stated that smokers are less likely to contract typhus and diphtheria and can generally resist infections. In another Lancet article from 1913, experiments were mentioned which showed that tobacco smoke could eradicate the cholera bacteria (comma bacillus). According to a 2013 study, there is no correlation between second-hand smoke and cancer. This is shown in their comment: "A large prospective cohort study of more than 76,000 women confirmed a strong association between smoking and lung cancer, but found no link between the disease and smoke secondary." Similarly, a 2014 study in Colorado indicates that "the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (due to smoking) declined dramatically, unrelated to anti-smoking prescriptions." Additionally, tobacco sales add to the country's revenue. In the United States, sales of e-cigarettes have increased over the years, but between 2014 and 2015 alone, unit sales of e-cigarettes increased by 14.4%! Additionally, sales of e-cigarette liquid refills and pre-filled e-cigarette cartridges have also increased. Mainly in high-income countries, sales of tobacco products generate enormous tax revenues and create employment in the tobacco industry. In China, the tobacco industry is responsible for up to 7.4% of government revenue collected. In 2013, the amount generated by tobacco taxes in the United States was approximately $43.9 billion. In 2018, Philip Morris International (an American multinational) was the largest tobacco company in the world, generating revenue of approximately US$29.6 billion, demonstrating how.