Tobacco smoking
hideTobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the vapors either tasted or inhaled. The practice began as early as 5000–3000 BC. Many civilizations burnt incense during religious rituals, which was later adopted for pleasure or as a social tool. Tobacco was introduced to the old world in the late 1500s where it followed common trade routes. The substance was met with frequent criticism, but became popular nonetheless. German scientists formally identified the link between smoking and lung cancer in the late 1920s leading the first anti-smoking campaign in modern history. The movement, however, failed to reach across enemy lines during the Second World War, and quickly became unpopular thereafter. In 1950, health authorities again began to suggest a relationship between smoking and cancer. Scientific evidence mounted in the 1980s, which prompted political action against the practice. Rates of consumption from 1965 onward in the developed world have either peaked or declined. They however continue to climb in the developing world.
Smoking is the most common method of consuming tobacco, and tobacco is the most common substance smoked. The argicultural product is often mixed with other additives and then pyrolyzed. The resulting vapors are then inhaled and the active substances absorbed through the alveoli in the lungs. The active substances trigger chemical reactions in nerve endings which hightens heart rate, memory, alertness, and reaction time. Dopamine and later endorphins are released, which are often associated with reward and pleasure. As of 2000, smoking is practiced by some 1.22 billion people. Men are more likely to smoke than women, however the gender gap declines with younger age. The poor are more likely to smoke than the wealthy, and people of developing countries than those of developed countries.
Many smokers begin during adolescence or early adulthood. During the early stages, smoking provides pleasurable sensations and thus serves as a source of positive reinforcement. After an individual has smoked for many years, the avoidance of withdrawal symptoms and negative reinforcement become the key motivations.
For more information about Tobacco smoking, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with cigarette smoke
Quitting smoking can reverse asthma-inducing changes in lungs
Dec 07, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Asthmatic smokers may be able to reverse some of the damage to their lungs that exacerbates asthmatic symptoms just by putting down their cigarettes, according to research out of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
Random DNA mix-ups not so random in cancer development
Dec 03, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine have pinpointed a mechanism that may help explain how chromosomal translocations - the supposedly random shuffling of large chunks of DNA that frequently lead to cancer - ...
Smokeless tobacco called 'moist snuff' is contaminated with harmful substances
Dec 03, 2009 |
2 / 5 (1) |
0
A new study on the smokeless tobacco product called moist snuff — placed between lip and gum — has led scientists in Minnesota to urge the tobacco industry to change manufacturing practices to reduce snuff's ...
Waterpipe tobacco smokers inhale same toxicants as cigarette smokers
Dec 02, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
Smoking tobacco through a waterpipe exposes the user to the same toxicants - carbon monoxide and nicotine - as puffing on a cigarette, which could lead to nicotine addiction and heart disease, according to a study led by ...
Possible link studied between childhood abuse and early cellular aging
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 20, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
0
Children who suffer physical or emotional abuse may be faced with accelerated cellular aging as adults, according to new research from Butler Hospital and Brown University.
Tobacco smoke exposure before heart transplantation may increase the risk of transplant failure
Nov 24, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
A study conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore provides the first direct evidence that cigarette smoke exposure prior to a heart transplant in either the donor, recipient, or both, accelerates ...
Growing evidence of marijuana smoke's potential dangers
Aug 05, 2009 |
2.3 / 5 (29) |
18
In a finding that challenges the increasingly popular belief that smoking marijuana is less harmful to health than smoking tobacco, researchers in Canada are reporting that smoking marijuana, like smoking ...
Current cigarette smokers at increased risk of seizures
Nov 18, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
A recent study determined there is a significant risk of seizure for individuals who currently smoke cigarettes. Boston-based researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School also found that long-term, ...
Fight obesity? Add sales tax to soda tab
Sep 16, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (10) |
32
Presenting a united front in the war on obesity, diabetes and other nutrition-related disorders, seven of America’s leading public health and economics experts are urging passage of taxes on sugar-sweetened ...
Bladder cancer risks increase over time for smokers
Nov 16, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
Risk of bladder cancer for smokers has increased since the mid-1990s, with a risk progressively increasing to a level five times higher among current smokers in New Hampshire than that among nonsmokers in 2001-2004, according ...
Smokers with common autoimmune disorder at higher risk for skin damage
Nov 02, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
As if there weren't enough reasons to stop smoking, a team of researchers at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) have just found another. A study led by Dr. Christian A Pineau, Co-Director ...
Variation in prostate stem cell antigen gene raises bladder cancer risk
Aug 02, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
Researchers have pinpointed a specific gene variation that causes increased risk of urinary bladder cancer, according to a scientific team led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Second-hand smoking results in liver disease, study finds
Sep 10, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
2
A team of scientists at the University of California, Riverside has found that even second-hand tobacco smoke exposure can result in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a common disease and rising cause ...
New genes at work in patients with hereditary lung disease
Aug 10, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
University of Florida researchers have safely given new, functional genes to patients with a hereditary defect that can lead to fatal lung and liver diseases, according to clinical trial findings slated to appear this week ...
Activated stem cells in damaged lungs could be first step toward cancer
May 26, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Stem cells that respond after a severe injury in the lungs of mice may be a source of rapidly dividing cells that lead to lung cancer, according to a team of American and British researchers.
