persuasive essay smoking

Why People Should Stop Smoking

You’ve all heard of the dangerous effects of smoking, but have you heard all the facts? 8.6 million People in the U.S. have at least one serious illness caused by smoking. That means that for every person who dies of a smoking-related disease, there are 20 more people who suffer from at least one serious illness associated with smoking (General Smoking Facts). Smoking is one of the greatest causes of disease and chronic illnesses in the world, yet people continue to underestimate its ill effects, and rather choose risking their health over quitting. People need to be conscious of these effects and stop smoking.

First of all, smoking can cause many life-threatening diseases, because cigarettes contain many cancer-causing substances. Cigarette smoking causes many types of cancer, including cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx (voice box), mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach, and cervix, as well as acute myeloid leukemia (Harms of Smoking). Not only does smoking ruin your insides, it ruins your outer appearance too. Smoking leads to bad breath, yellow teeth, yellow fingernails, and early aging skin. a study conducted in 2002 showed that facial wrinkling, while not yet visible, can be seen under a microscope in smokers as young as 20 (Causes Of Aging Skin). It is 2014; people have many healthier alternatives such as, cigarettes, patches, etc. So why do they continue to put their lives at risk?

Additionally, on top of all the serious health hazards of smoking, it costs a fortune! Based on a study conducted in 2012, a packet of 20 cigarettes costs around $14.50. That means if you smoke a pack a day you will spend more than $5,000 a year on cigarettes (Costs of Smoking). It makes more sense to invest all that money in house repairs, a new car, holidays, even on your kid’s tuition, then on a death catalyst! In an article by Hilary Smith of MSN Money called "The high cost of smoking," the cost of cigarettes alone is equated to a house payment or family vacation (Facts on the Costs of Smoking). Smoking is not healthy. Smoking is not cheap. Smoking is not beneficial. Smoking is a death sentence.

Lastly, smoking does not only kill the average smoker, it kills 53,800 people every year from secondhand smoke exposure (Secondhand Smoke). From living with my mother I personally know the struggle of secondhand smoke. Even though my mother smokes outside the stench latches on to her clothes, creeps into the house through the cracks under the door, and makes the walls on our back porch yellow. We re-paint our back porch every summer, and we are constantly buying, and spraying Febreze. Since the 1986 Surgeon General's Report titled The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking stated that secondhand smoke can cause disease in nonsmokers; hundreds of studies have

Concluded not only this, but that exposure to secondhand smoke can result in death (Secondhand Smoke). It is absurd that people endanger the lives of healthy human beings because of their selfish actions. Smoking needs to come to an end. If it is killing nonsmokers as well as addicted smokers that really shows how dangerous tobacco is.

In conclusion, people who smoke either need to find a healthy alternative, or quit all together. Smoking does not benefit the human race, it is benefiting tobacco companies. Everyday the harmful effects of smoking are taking the lives of many individuals, and consuming a huge amount of the economy.