Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Peer pressure

Powerful Essays
2063 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Peer pressure
Peer pressure
Peer pressure is influence that a peer group, observers or individual exerts that encourages others to change their attitudes, or behaviors to stratify to group standard. It also might encourage others to have bad attitude and behaviors for example, smoking, alcohols, drugs, etc. Like most people, you already know that smoking is bad for your health. But do you really understand just how dangerous smoking really is? Tobacco contains nicotine, it’s too high addictive drug that makes it difficult for smokers to kick that habit, and it’s going to need a great volition to kick it. Tobacco products also contain many poisonous and harmful substances that cause disease and premature death. Most people don't know the odds of getting sick as a result of smoking are really that bad, but when you do the numbers, that is how they come out. For many people, truly understanding the very real dangers related to smoking becomes the motivating factor that helps them to quit. Although it can be a very difficult habit to break, it is your responsibility to choose whether or not you will continue to smoke. The risks associated with smoking. Smoking can be considered one of the most dangerous habits that any one individual can have. Smoking kills an average of 450,000 people each year. That is more than car accidents, drunk driving, and illegal substances. So why is it that people still continue to smoke? What causes people to even want to smoke knowing the deadly effects?
There is no one real reason that causes people to smoke. There are actually several reasons that scientists believe is the cause for smoking. Some people may start smoking because they saw someone that they liked smoking and thought it was a good thing to do. Experimenting with friends is another reason one some people may smoke. In the 1930’s and 1940’s the people were told that smoking was good for you and that cigarettes wouldn’t harm you. After many generations of smoking because of that false claims leads to more and more people smoking. If a person grows up in an environment where those all around them smoke, they are more likely to smoke as well. There are many reasons that may cause an individual to smoke but only the smoker can explain why he or she started to smoke. Teens that see their friends smoking and enjoying the experience may be tempted to try it themselves. In addition, not participating in an activity that others are participating in leaves impressionable teens feeling "left out" and more likely to pick up the habit simply to fit in with the group. Dr. Jane Mitchell Rees of the University of Washington notes that “adolescence is a time when children first begin to develop a body image and are concerned with their appearance and how others perceive them”. Because of this, weight control is a significant issue with teenagers. Smoking speeds up the metabolism and can contribute to weight loss. Because of this, some teenagers pick up smoking as a weight loss aid during their teen years and become addicted. More teen girls than boys turn to cigarettes as a form of weight control, also No-smoking.org reports that having parents and other close family members who smoke makes adolescents more likely to try cigarettes and subsequently become addicted. By constant exposure to cigarettes and smoking, children come to see smoking as perfectly normal adult behavior. In addition, having family members who smoke increases the availability of cigarettes. Teenagers can simply take cigarettes from unattended packs around the house rather than putting effort into getting them another way.

Smoking has many bad effects countless effects on the body that actually destroys every cell in the body and it destroys our most important organ in the body which is the heart. What exactly are the effects of smoking besides addiction and ultimately death? Smoking causes more diseases that have ever been investigated in biomedical research. Smoking can cause lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, emphysema, heart murmurs, insomnia, asthma, and a wide variety of other diseases.
Lung cancer is still the number one killer in smokers. Lung cancer alone causes 27% of the deaths in smokers. Lung cancer may not appear immediately after an individual starts smoking. It may take years for lung cancer, or any other cancer to appear in one’s body after smoking. Moreover, heart disease causes about 24% of the deaths from smoking and emphysema causes about 23% of deaths in smokers. The effects of smoking on human health are serious and in many cases, deadly. There are approximately 4000 chemicals in cigarettes, hundreds of which are toxic. That affects everything from the internal functioning of organs to the efficiency of the body's immune system. The effects of cigarette smoking are destructive and widespread. There are several likely ways that cigarette smoke does its damage. Smoking decreases your tolerance for physical activity and increases the tendency for blood to clot. It decreases HDL (good) cholesterol. Your risks increase greatly if you smoke and have a family history of heart disease. Smoking also creates a higher risk for peripheral artery disease and aortic aneurysm. Each year about 38,000 people die from heart and blood vessel disease caused by other people's smoke. Nonsmokers, who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25–30percent. "What good will it does me to quit smoking now?" But don't be discouraged. Your lungs can begin to heal themselves as soon as you stop harming them with more smoke. Heart disease can be prevented and controlled, but you must follow your treatment plan — and quitting smoking is a big part. This will motivate non-smoker to start a new page and begin a healthy life. In order to quit smoking individuals should prepare themselves for the move. One should learn new skills and behaviors in order to give up smoking for good. One should obtain medication and utilize it properly. A person should be ready to face tough situations or a relapse. With a view to quit smoking one should fix a quit date. An individual should also make an attempt to alter one’s surroundings by removing the entire stock of cigarettes along with ashtrays in the home. A person must also prohibit others from smoking in one’s home. It is advisable to assess past efforts in giving up smoking and take into consideration what worked and what did not.

To sum it up, the consequences of this poisoning happen gradually. Over the long term, smoking leads people to develop health problems like heart disease, stroke, emphysema (breakdown of lung tissue), and many types of cancer - including lung, throat, stomach, and bladder cancer. People who smoke also have an increased risk of infections like bronchitis and pneumonia.

1. Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, Gerberding JL. Actual causes of death in the United States, 2000. JAMA. 2004;291:1238–1245. [PubMed]
2. Kruger J, Ham SA, Prohaska TR. Behavioral risk factors associated with overweight and obesity among older adults: the 2005 National Health Interview Survey. Prev. Chronic Dis. 2009;6:A14. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
3. Meyers AW, Klesges RC, Winders SE, Ward KD, Peterson BA, Eck LH. Are weight concerns predictive of smoking cessation? A prospective analysis. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 1997;65:448–452. [PubMed]
4. Yeh HC, Duncan BB, Schmidt MI, Wang NY, Brancati FL. Smoking, smoking cessation, and risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cohort study. Ann. Intern. Med. 2010;152:10–17. [PubMed]
5. Janzon E, Hedblad B, Berglund G, Engström G. Changes in blood pressure and body weight following smoking cessation in women. J. Intern. Med. 2004;255:266–272. [PubMed]
6. Chinn S, et al. Smoking cessation, lung function, and weight gain: a follow-up study. Lancet. 2005;365:1629–1635. [PubMed]
7. CDC Cigarette smoking among adults and trends in smoking cessation -United States 2008. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly Rep. 2009;58:1227–1232. [PubMed]
8. Fulkerson JA, French SA. Cigarette smoking for weight loss or control among adolescents: gender and racial/ethnic differences. J. Adolesc. Health. 2003;32:306–313. [PubMed]
9. Austin SB, Gortmaker SL. Dieting and smoking initiation in early adolescent girls and boys: a prospective study. Am. J. Public Health. 2001;91:446–450. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
10. Wee CC, Rigotti NA, Davis RB, Phillips RS. Relationship between smoking and weight control efforts among adults in the United States. Arch. Intern. Med. 2001;161:546–550. [PubMed]
11. Williamson DF, Madans J, Anda RF, Kleinman JC, Giovino GA, Byers T. Smoking cessation and severity of weight gain in a national cohort. N. Engl. J. Med. 1991;324:739–745. [PubMed]
12. Lycett D, Munafò M, Johnstone E, Murphy M, Aveyard P. Associations between weight change over 8 years and baseline body mass index in a cohort of continuing and quitting smokers. Addiction. 2011;106:188–196. [PubMed]
13. O'Hara P, Connett JE, Lee WW, Nides M, Murray R, Wise R. Early and late weight gain following smoking cessation in the Lung Health Study. Am. J. Epidemiol. 1998;148:821–830. [PubMed]
14. Klesges RC, et al. How much weight gain occurs following smoking cessation? A comparison of weight gain using both continuous and point prevalence abstinence. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 1997;65:286–291. [PubMed]
15. Benowitz NL. Nicotine addiction. N. Engl. J. Med. 2010;362:2295–2303. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
16. Andersson K, Arner P. Systemic nicotine stimulates human adipose tissue lipolysis through local cholinergic and catecholaminergic receptors. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 2001;25:1225–1232. [PubMed]
17. Hellerstein MK, et al. Effects of cigarette smoking and its cessation on lipid metabolism and energy expenditure in heavy smokers. J. Clin. Invest. 1994;93:265–272. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
18. Hofstetter A, Schutz Y, Jéquier E, Wahren J. Increased 24-hour energy expenditure in cigarette smokers. N. Engl. J. Med. 1986;314:79–82. [PubMed]
19. Perkins KA. Metabolic effects of cigarette smoking. J. Appl. Physiol. 1992;72:401–409. [PubMed]
20. Jo YH, Talmage DA, Role LW. Nicotinic receptor-mediated effects on appetite and food intake. J. Neurobiol. 2002;53:618–632. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
21. Valassi E, Scacchi M, Cavagnini F. Neuroendocrine control of food intake. Nutr. Metab. Cardiovasc. Dis. 2008;18:158–168. [PubMed]
22. Ioannides-Demos LL, Piccenna L, McNeil JJ. Pharmacotherapies for obesity: past, current, and future therapies. J. Obes. 2011;2011:179674. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
23. Benowitz NL. Cigarette smoking and cardiovascular disease: pathophysiology and implications for treatment. Prog. Cardiovasc. Dis. 2003;46:91–111. [PubMed]
24. Miyazaki T, Shimada K, Mokuno H, Daida H. Adipocyte derived plasma protein, adiponectin, is associated with smoking status in patients with coronary artery disease. Heart. 2003;89:663. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
25. Chiolero A, Faeh D, Paccaud F, Cornuz J. Consequences of smoking for body weight, body fat distribution, and insulin resistance. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2008;87:801–809. [PubMed]
26. Filozof C, Fernández Pinilla MC, Fernández-Cruz A. Smoking cessation and weight gain. Obes. Rev. 2004;5:95–103. [PubMed]
27. Swan GE, Carmelli D. Characteristics associated with excessive weight gain after smoking cessation in men. Am. J. Public Health. 1995;85:73–77. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
28. Stamford BA, Matter S, Fell RD, Papanek P. Effects of smoking cessation on weight gain, metabolic rate, caloric consumption, and blood lipids. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1986;43:486–494. [PubMed]
29. Spring B, Pagoto S, McChargue D, Hedeker D, Werth J. Altered reward value of carbohydrate snacks for female smokers withdrawn from nicotine. Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. 2003;76:351–360. [PubMed]
30. White MA, Peters EN, Toll BA. Effect of binge eating on treatment outcomes for smoking cessation. Nicotine Tob. Res. 2010;12:1172–1175. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
31. Lerman C, et al. Changes in food reward following smoking cessation: a pharmacogenetic investigation. Psychopharmacology (Berl.) 2004;174:571–577. [PubMed]
32. Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Fowler JS, Telang F. Overlapping neuronal circuits in addiction and obesity: evidence of systems pathology. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 2008;363:3191–3200. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
33. Kenny PJ, Markou A. Nicotine self-administration acutely activates brain reward systems and induces a long-lasting increase in reward sensitivity. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2006;31:1203–1211. [PubMed]
34. Cryan JF, Bruijnzeel AW, Skjei KL, Markou A. Bupropion enhances brain reward function and reverses the affective and somatic aspects of nicotine withdrawal in the rat. Psychopharmacology (Berl.) 2003;168:347–358. [PubMed]
35. Parsons AC, Shraim M, Inglis J, Aveyard P, Hajek P. Interventions for preventing weight gain after smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. 2009:CD006219. [PubMed]
36. Spring B, et al. Behavioral intervention to promote smoking cessation and prevent weight gain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Addiction. 2009;104:1472–1486. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
37. Perkins KA, et al. Cognitive-behavioral therapy to reduce weight concerns improves smoking cessation outcome in weight-concerned women. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 2001;69:604–613. [PubMed]
38. Levine MD, et al. Bupropion and cognitive behavioral therapy for weight-concerned women smokers. Arch. Intern. Med. 2010;170:543–550. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
39. Blendy JA, et al. Reduced nicotine reward in obesity: cross-comparison in human and mouse. Psychopharmacology (Berl.) 2005;180:306–315. [PubMed]
40. Piano MR, et al. American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Nursing Impact of smokeless tobacco products on cardiovascular disease: implications for policy, prevention, and treatment: a policy statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2010;122:1520–1544. [PubMed]

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Today smoking is one of the hardest habits to break; yet to this day millions of people still smoke. If you look on all tobacco products it says right on there “caution may cause cancer or tooth loss”. So why do they start smoking in the first place? Is it because they are addicted to it or is it because people don’t know what they’re doing to their body? Even though people may find smoking relaxing, it is life threatening not only to themselves but others around them.…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Satire About Addiction

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Also, peer pressure. Also many children start smoking because their friends have tried it or smoke themselves. Also children may have started as they have grown up in an environment where their parents, grandparents and older siblings smoke, and so they smoke in order to look and act like them. Other children start smoking as an act of rebellion or defiance against their parents or people of authority. As these are just a couple reasons to why people smoke there are…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    black lungs

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages

    One of the most common problems plaguing our society all across the world today is the smoking of tobacco. The worst part is, most people are aware of the detrimental health effects involved in its use. But why do people begin smoking if they known of the complications that arise from it? Why do they continue you smoke regularly knowing of its irreversible effect upon our bodies? Why is such a deadly product still on shelves, and how dit it start to begin with?…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nicotine

    • 1772 Words
    • 6 Pages

    What forces them into starting one of the cruellest habits imaginable. To look big? To look more like an adult? To get rid of stress? These are all the wrong reasons to smoke.…

    • 1772 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Smoking is the inhalation of burning substances either in a cigarette, pipe or cigar. People can start smoking for many reasons they can be stress or peer pressure. Most people know that smoking is bad for you but they either don't care or they cant…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Smoking Gun Imagine

    • 1072 Words
    • 3 Pages

    People smoke cigarettes because of popularity. According to Susan Dominus who wrote “Teen Smoking: An Overview” teens think smoking looks sexy or cool or hope they will help them lose weight or make them feel less dependent on their parents. This is true, there are many teens out there that think if they have a cigarette in their hand it will get their crush to like them or maybe they will fit in. At that moment it may seem okay, but no one actually thinks of the consequences later on. Most heavy smokers that are around today started when they were teens because of those reasons.…

    • 1072 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tobacco and Its Effects

    • 1453 Words
    • 42 Pages

    Nicotine Addiction The primary reason people continue to use tobacco despite the health risks is that they have become addicted to a powerful psychoactive drug: nicotine. Although the tobacco industry long maintained that…

    • 1453 Words
    • 42 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Cause Effect Rewrite

    • 568 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The second main cause of smoking is psychological which seems to be a very important factor for people to get addicted. One of the psychological situations which drive people to smoke is low self-esteem.…

    • 568 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is very important to prevent teen smoking. But in order to do that, one must first understand why many teens start smoking in the first place.…

    • 2320 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cigarette smoking is a habit that kills approximately million of people per year. It is surprisingly being picked up by myriad amount of children every day. Smoking becomes a growing trend in the youth community. The number of young smokers have been increased in most American middle schools and high schools. Both girls and boys are smoking because they think it is cool. The four reasons that cause many teenagers to start smoking are peer-pressure, image projection, rebellion, and adult aspirations.…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most people begin smoking when they are teenagers and go on to become regular smokers as adults. It has been suggested that young people are attracted to the 'image' they associate with smoking. The tobacco industry has created an image of smoking as being tough, cool, sexy or a form of rebellion. Although nicotine addiction keeps people smoking, young people usually start smoking because of the social image they want to present to others. Young people are also more likely to start smoking if their friends or family are smokers.…

    • 2891 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As of 2008, there were 46 million adult smokers in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). That means 20.6 percent of people over 18 expose themselves to the disadvantages of smoking cigarettes (LiveStrong.com). Smoking usually begins at a young age and progresses through the years. Research says adolescents begin to smoke because it makes them look cool. Peer pressure is a major factor in the question, why do adolescents begin to smoke. Smoking also appeals to young adults because most parents won’t allow smoking, therefore, it becomes an adventure, or experiment. Before an adolescent realizes how dangerous smoking really is, they become addicted and become another CDC statistic. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causes many diseases, and reduces the health of smokers in general.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    as a gesture of friendship while at a party. This is one reason why the number of young smokers has rapidly increased in Taiwan. Historically, through the advertising of cigarette companies, smoking has been connected to social groups that were considered cool therefore making believe that smoking is an important social need. Unfortunately the need to be cool gradually transforms that person into a habitual smoker that cannot stop.…

    • 1121 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Causes of Teenage Smoking

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A teen's first cigarette usually comes from a friend. Peer pressure has tremendous impact on a young person's decision to experiment with cigarettes, according to Teen Smoking. Sometimes, teens start smoking because a friend dares them to. Other teens who are trying to find themselves experiment with cigarettes and become addicted. Smoking is also viewed as an act of rebellion and a way to demonstrate independence.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    One of the most common problems today that are killing people, all over the world, is smoking. Many people start this horrible habit because of stress, personal issues and peer pressure. Some begin from simply being curious. One cigarette can result in smoking others, which can lead to major addiction. When someone smokes a cigarette they are not only hurting themselves, but others around them. Smoking does many horrible things to the human body that most people are not aware of. Almost everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart disease; that it can shorten your life by 10 years or more; and that the habit can cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year. So, why people are still smoking? The answer is obviously, addiction. Smoking is a hard habit to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. There are several effects and causes of smoking; the causes of smoking are influence by peers and stress whereas the effects are wide range of diseases and in pregnant women which may result in serious health risks for both the woman and the foetus.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays