One out of three people who use tobacco will die from it. Nearly 3,000
young Americans each day become regular smokers. Of these, 1,000 will die early
from tobacco-related diseases. More Americans die due to complications from
smoking than from any other major killer such as AIDS, car accidents, drug abuse
and homicide. Why do so many people continue to smoke when they know the
possible risks involved? Many have become addicted to cigarettes because of the
addictive substance, nicotine, which cigarettes contain. How much did tobacco
companies know about this addictive substance, and what is their defense for
making addicts of their customers? Also, do people realize how much money they
are actually spending on cigarettes? These reasons and many more are the reason
tobacco is so addictive (www.tc.bmjjournals) Nicotine, the chemical substance
found in tobacco leaves, is recognized as a highly addictive drug. Tobacco
originated from the Western Hemisphere and eventually spread to Europe by
explorers such as Columbus.
I took this photograph.
Nicotine
Dunhill Early Morning Pipe Tobacco, 1990's MurrayIn the early 1600's the colonists introduced tobacco
to America, and eventually it became one of the major crop and trading
commodities of the Jamestown colony. Unfortunately people were not aware of the
adverse affects of tobacco until the 1960's. Since the public has been informed
about the possible health risks of smoking, over 38 million people have quit
smoking. Matherne 2 However, 50 million Americans, regardless of the medical
research, continue to put their health at risk. (www.historian.org) The
cigarette manufacturers used a series of unscientific techniques to make people
be skeptic about the addictivness of nicotine. The manufacturers invented a
definition of addictiveness, which said, addiction is "intoxication,
tolerance and a physical dependency that was manifested by
withdrawal"(www.tc.bmjjournals). Because smokers are not intoxicated, the
industry argued that it was ridiculous to concur that...