Smoking and Its Risks

Today, things are different. Smoking, once associated with glamour and sophistication, is now associated with cancer and heart disease. In addition, medical research has shown that smoking is not only harmful for smokers, but it may also be harmful for those in close proximity to smokers. There is a strong anti-smoking movement that works diligently toward passing laws against smoking so that nonsmokers can breathe freely, and an important issue today is whether smoking bans--in the workplace or in public places--are justified (Leichtman & Merryman, 1992, p. 1056). Many people are so unhappy about breathing in secondhand smoke that they feel smoking bans are justified. Others claim that because about two-thirds of the people in the United States actually prefer separate smoking areas, bans ar

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first six months on the market (Waldrop, 1992, p. 4). People who use the patch are typical smokers. About half are women, and they are in their 40s. The pharmaceutical industry was expected to gross between $800 million and $1 billion from patches by the end of 1992. The collective effects of the Surgeon General's warnings, increased taxes, bans on smoking in public places, and changing public opinion have already achieved impressive results. However, whether to smoke or not is often a question of gender, socio-economic group, age, or race. About 29 percent of adults smoked in 1987, compared with 40 percent in 1964, according to NCHS. For example, twenty-three percent of adults say they are former smokers. The share of smokers peaks among baby boomers. In 1987, almost 36 percent of men and 31 percent of women aged 25 to 44 were current cigarette smokers (Waldrop, 1992, p. 4). Among African Americans, studies have shown that they find smoking socially unacceptable and are strongly motivated to quit, but abstinence may be difficult even for lighter smokers (Royce & et. al., 1993, p. 220-226). The smoking changes that have occurred among pregnant African American teenagers (in Missouri) have also been evaluated and th
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Approximate Word count = 2239
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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