Running Head: Smoking Tobacco 1

Smoking Tobacco: A Review of the Literature

Stanley Bernard Motley Jr

Hampton University

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 Abstract

Smoking tobacco is known to many Americans as a forbidden fruit or something very

bad. No matter where you go you can always find somebody smoking. This literature review will

inform the reader with the history and development of Smoking as well as the dangers it

possesses. Statistical data will contribute to the research on Smoking Tobacco and how it has

played a key role in many Americans lives.

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All it takes is one puff and your life is changed forever. There is a war going on in the
world today and this war is not your average war with guns, tanks, or nuclear weapons. This war
is going on in every nation in the world and it is a war on cigarettes. Many people in the world
today are not aware that smoking is a global problem and the major cause of preventable death
(Tonkin, 2009). Although there are many questions that one may ask about smoking or want to
know regarding smoking there are four questions that everyone should want to know.
1. What policies have been made to stop or lower the number of people that consume
tobacco?
2. What are the effects of smoking on smokers and nonsmokers?
3. What are the other forms of tobacco products and what role do they play today?
4. What does smoking tobacco do to your health?
Smoking tobacco is a complex issue that can only be stopped through public awareness,
when the public realizes the dangers and effects of smoking then the problem will be resolved.
What policies have been made to stop or lower the number of people that consume
tobacco?
There are many policies or laws in the world today, but the laws that are very important

today is tobacco laws. According to HHS (2017) tobacco policies started in 1965 and are still to

this day forever growing into more and more policies. According to HHS (2017) The first law

or policy on tobacco was the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act. This act requires a

health warning on cigarette packages and it also requires Federal Trade Commission to submit

annual report to Congress on tobacco industry advertising and labeling practices. However, even

though this act was established in 1965 many people are not aware of the policies being made to

lower the number of people who smoke tobacco. Figure 1 illustrates an unscientific survey

conducted by the author to get a better understanding on how many people are aware that there

are policies that try to stop people from smoking. Twenty participants from various

demographics were asked about their knowledge of the laws or policies on tobacco and here is

what they said. The results indicated that 75% or 15 out of the 20 people were not aware of the

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policies on tobacco. On the other hand, the results indicated that 25% or 5 out of the 20 people

are aware of the policies that are made to stop people from smoking (see Figure 1): Figure 1. A

chart depicting survey responses to the question, what policies have been made to stop or lower

the number of people that consume tobacco?

Although these results cannot be generalized to the population at large, this small sample may

be indicative that these same people would not necessarily question its validity because they do

not have a basis of knowledge of the laws that are in place on tobacco today. One of the most

important policies made on tobacco today is the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1970.

According to HHS (2017) the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act prohibits cigarette

advertising on television and radio. This is an important policy because many people watch

television especially children and if the children do not see these commercial or shows

advocating tobacco then they will be less likely to smoke. The main reason many people do not

know that they are laws in effect to stop the smoking of tobacco is because people are ignorant to

the fact. If more people became aware to the policies, then there will be a decrease in the

consuming of tobacco.

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Did you know that smoking effects just not the smoker, but also nonsmokers?
According to CDC (2017) secondhand smoke harms children and adults, and the only way to

fully protect nonsmokers is to eliminate smoking in all homes, worksites, and public places.

However, there are many things that the government has done to counter this one of which is are

strong smoke free laws. According to Song (2015) strong smoke-free laws are an effective

public health intervention that not only reduce secondhand smoke exposure, but are followed by

substantial drops in hospitalizations for cardiac and respiratory diseases and lower rates of

preterm birth. Twenty participants from various demographics were asked about their knowledge

on secondhand smoke and this is what they said. The results indicated that 60% or 12 out of the

20 people did not know that there smoking effects people who do not smoke. On the other hand,

40% or 8 out of the 20 people did know that smoking effects other people including those who

do not smoke (see Figure 2): Figure 2.

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Although these results cannot be generalized to the population at large, this small sample may be

indicative that these same people would not necessarily question its validity because they do not

have a basis of knowledge of secondhand smoke. According to CDC (2017) You can take steps

to protect yourself and your family from secondhand smoke, such as making your home and

vehicles smoke free. Secondhand smoke plays a major role in society today if people who

smoke realize they are not just effecting themselves, but other people then they would stop

smoking.

What are the other forms of tobacco products and what role do they play today?

Tobacco today comes in many shapes and sizes. The different types of ways someone could

smoke are bidis, chew, dissolvable tobacco, electronic cigarette, and hookah. According to CT

(2009) bidis are small, thin hand-rolled cigarettes imported to the United States primarily from

India and other Southeast Asian countries. According to CT (2009) bidi smoking is associated

with an increased risk for oral, lung, stomach, and esophageal cancer and an increased risk for

coronary heart disease and heart attacks, and risk for chronic bronchitis. One of the most

popular types of smoking targeted for young people is hookah. According to CT (2009) Hookah

smoking has been associated with lung, mouth and other cancers, heart disease and respiratory

infections. Many of the young people who use hookah stick to smoke fail to realize that the

substances used to heat the tobacco also produce carbon monoxide, health metals, and cancer

causing chemicals. Twenty participants from various demographics were asked about their

knowledge on the different to smoke instead of using a cigarette and here is what they said. The

results indicated that 90% or 18 out of 20 people know there are different ways to smoke without

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using a cigarette. However, 10% or 2 out of 20 people did not know that there are other ways to

smoke without using a cigarette (see Figure 3): Figure 3.

Again, although these results cannot be generalized to the entire population, the outcome of this

survey reveals that a higher percentage of people know the different types of tobacco while the

lower percentage does not. There are many ways one can smoke tobacco today. The role that

these different forms of tobacco play are huge. They effect children and adults and if they are not

brought to the light they will continue to affect people lives in a negative way.

What does smoking tobacco do to your health?

Smoking effects your health in various ways to some people smoking helps them relax and think

for other people smoking is a dangerous problem that needs to stop. Many people believe that

light and intermittent smoking do not carry the same health risks as daily smoking. However,

they are wrong very few people are aware that light and intermittent smoking carry nearly the

same risk for cardiovascular disease as daily smoking (Schane, 2010). Twenty participants from

various demographics were asked if they believe smoking tobacco effects their health. The

results indicated that 75% or 15 out of the 20-people believed that smoking tobacco effected their

health. However, 25% or 5 out of the 20-people believed that smoking does not affect their

health in anyway (see Figure 4): Figure 4.

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Again, although these results cannot be generalized to the entire population, the outcome of this

survey reveals that a higher percentage of people know the different types of tobacco while the

lower percentage does not. Smoking causes many health problems and causes many deaths if

people do not realize the error of their ways then smoking will continue to plague the world

today with health problems.

Conclusion

Ever since the 1930s tobacco has been on a rise and is continuing to effect people lives every

day. What is agreed upon is that smoking causes health problems and increases your risk for

health problems. Future research needs to continue to ensure the validity that smoking tobacco

causes more health problems, but for now smoking tobacco is not good for anyone.

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 References

Tonkin, A.M., Beauchamp, A., and Stevenson, C. (2009). The Importance of Extinguishing

Secondhand Smoke. American Heart Association, 1(20), 1339-1341.

Song, A., Dutra, L., and Neilands, T. (2015). Association of Smoke- Free Laws with Lower

Percentages of New and Current Smokers Among Adolescents and Young Adults an 11- Year

Longitudinal Study. Jama Pediatrics, 169(9), 1-6. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.2285.

Schane, R., Ling, P., and Glantz, S. (2010). Health Effects of Light and Intermittent Smoking.

American Heart Association, 12(1), 1518-1522. Doi:

https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.904235.

CDC. (2017, Feb 21). Second Hand Smoke Facts. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/general_facts/.

HHs. (2017, March 12). Be Tobacco Free. Retrieved from https://betobaccofree.hhs.gov/laws/.

CT (2009, July 15). Retrieved

fromhttp://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/hems/tobacco/tobacco_products.pdf.

( see Appendix for a copy of survey questions)

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 Appendix
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking causes more than
480,000 deaths each year in the United States. Stopping the smoking of cigarettes reduces the
amount of people who die each year due to smoking tobacco, it reduces the amount of people
who get lung cancer, and finally it reduces of pulmonary disease. Please answer the following
questions about smoking cigarettes.

Q1. Are you aware that there are polices or laws that are in effect to help stop people from
smoking tobacco?
__ yes
__ No

Q2. Did you know that smoking effects just not the smoker, but also nonsmokers?
__ yes
__ No

Q3. Are you aware of the different ways to smoke instead of a Cigarette?
__ yes
__ No

Q4. Do you believe that smoking tobacco effects your health?