According to the American Lung Association, there are

an estimated 50 million people who smoke. For some reason

people just do not fully understand the risks they take by

smoking. Cigarette smoking is a frequent cause for many

health problems with smokers.

To begin with, there are many hazardous ingredients in

cigarette tobacco. Some of the ingredients are poisonous or

addictive. Cigarette smoke produces thousands of chemicals

that are hazardous to a smoker s health. There are over

4000 chemicals produced by a burning cigarette. At least

200 chemicals are known to be poisonous to a persons health.

Though filters help block some of the chemicals, they will

not stop them completely.

Nicotine is an addictive drug and also one of the most

dangerous ingredients in cigarette tobacco. Cigarette

smokers are addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes just like

a junkie is addicted to heroin or cocaine. When a person

smokes a cigarette the body reacts immediately to the

chemical nicotine. Nicotine begins to effect a smoker s

blood pressure, the flow of blood from their heart, the

heart beat and breathing rate.

Cigarette smoke also contains carbon monoxide, the same

poisonous gases released from a car exhaust pipe. Carbon

monoxide is a colorless and odorless, highly toxic gas that

reduces the amount of oxygen that the blood can carry.

Combined with the effects produced by the nicotine, it

creates an imbalance in the demand for oxygen by the cells

and the amount of oxygen the blood is able to supply.

Tar is another chemical produced from cigarette smoke.

Tar contains at least 30 cancer causing irritants. Tar is a

mixture of several substances that condense into a sticky

substance on the lung. Tobacco manufactures have produced a

cigarette that is low tar and low nicotine to reduce the

chance of cancer, but these cigarettes are still hazardous.

There are many deadly diseases related to smoking

cigarettes. The respiratory diseases that have been linked

to cigarette smoking are lung cancer, cancer of the larynx,

chronic bronchitis, emphysema and coronary heart disease.

The hazards of these diseases increase with the quantity of

cigarettes smoked and the length of time the habit is

continued.

Smoking related diseases cause the death of more than

400,000 Americans in 1994. Almost everyone knows that

smoking is hazardous to their health and can cause lung

cancer, along with many other diseases. Smoking is

responsible for 30 percent of all cancer deaths annually in

the United States, which totals out at more than 155,000

each year.

In closing, it has been medically proven that

cigarettes have many dangerous effects on a smoker s life.

Even though I knew the effects of smoking, I was unable to

quit smoking until I was about seven years into the habit.

It is a very dangerous substance which may lead to many

hazardous side effects.