Smoking

Smoking is the act of burning the dried or cured leaves of the HYPERLINK "http /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /Tobacco " \o "Tobacco " tobacco plant and inhaling the smoke for pleasure , for ritualistic or social purposes (to project an image or due to HYPERLINK "http /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /Peer_pressure " \o "Peer pressure " peer pressure ) self-medication , or simply to satisfy addiction . The practice was common among Native Americans throughout North and South America and was later introduced to the rest of the world , via trade , following European exploration of the Americas

Tobacco smoke

contains nicotine , an addictive stimulant . The effect of nicotine in first time or irregular users is an increase in alertness and memory , and mild euphoria . In chronic users , nicotine simply relieves the symptoms of nicotinewithdrawal :confussion , restlessness anxiety , insomia anddysphoria . Withdrawal symptoms in chronic users begin to appear approximately 30 minutes after every dose . Nicotine also disturbs metabolism and suppresses appetite

Methods of Smoking

Cigarette Smoking is the most common form of Tobacco consumption . It leads all other methods by more than a factor of 10 . A cigarette is a product manufactures from cured and cut tobacco leaves , which are rolled and /or stuffed into a -wrapped cylinder . The cigarette is lit usually with a match or lighter at one end and allowed to burn for the purpose of inhalation of its smoke

Form the other end , which is inserted in the mouth . Cigarette are smoked by some with a cigarette holder . Cigarette smoke contains a number of artificial additives , particularly to enhance taste and also several carcinogens Risk of smoking

Because of their nicotine addiction , many smokers find it difficult to cease smoking despite their knowledge of ill health effects

The health effects of tobacco smoking are related to direct tobacco smoking , as well as passive smoking

Because of their nicotine addiction , many smokers find it difficult to cease smoking despite their knowledge of ill health effects , inhalation of environmental or secondhand tobacco smoke . A 50 year study of over thirty-thousand British-physicians showed that nonsmokers lived 10 years longer than smokers . For those born between 1920 and 1929 the standardized mortality rate between the ages of 35 and 69 for nonsmokers was 15 and for smokers was 45 - nearly three times as great

The main health risk in tobacco pertain to disease of the cardiovascular system , in particular smoking being a major risk factor for a Myocardial infraction or Heart Attack , diseases of the respiratory tract such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease , Asthma , Emphysema and Cancer (particularly lung cancer and cancers of the larynx and tongue

A person 's increased risk of contracting disease is directly proportional to the length of time that a person continues to smoke as well as the amount smoked . However , if someone stops smoking , then these chances gradually decrease as the damage to their body is repaired . A year after quitting , the risk of contracting disease is half that of a smoker

The health risks of smoking are not uniform across all...