Smoking
hideSmoking is a practice where a substance, most commonly tobacco, is burned and the smoke tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them available for absorption through the lungs. It can also be done as a part of rituals, to induce trances and spiritual enlightenment. The most common method of smoking today is through cigarettes, primarily industrially manufactured but also hand-rolled from loose tobacco and rolling paper. Other smoking tools includes pipes, cigars, hookahs and bongs.
Smoking is one of the most common forms of recreational drug use. Tobacco smoking is today by far the most popular form of smoking and is practiced by over one billion people in the majority of all human societies. Less common drugs for smoking include cannabis and opium. Most drugs that are smoked are considered to be addictive. Some of the substances are classified as hard narcotics, like heroin and crack cocaine, but the use of these is very limited as they are often not commercially available.
The history of smoking can be dated to as early as 5000 BC, and has been recorded in many different cultures across the world. Early smoking evolved in association with religious ceremonies; as offerings to deities, in cleansing rituals or to allow shamans and priests to alter their minds for purposes of divination or spiritual enlightenment. After the European exploration and conquest of the Americas, the practice of smoking tobacco quickly spread to the rest of the world. In regions like India and Subsaharan Africa, it merged with existing practices of smoking (mostly of cannabis). In Europe, it introduced a new type of social activity and a form of drug intake which previously had been unknown.
Perception surrounding smoking has varied over time and from one place to another; holy and sinful, sophisticated and vulgar, a panacea and deadly health hazard. Only recently, and primarily in industrialized Western countries, has smoking come to be viewed in a decidedly negative light. Today medical studies have proven that smoking tobacco is among the leading causes of many diseases such as lung cancer, heart attacks and can also lead to birth defects. The well-proven health hazards of smoking have caused many countries to institute high taxes on tobacco products and anti-smoking campaigns are launched every year in an attempt to curb tobacco smoking.
For more information about Smoking, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with smoking
British pub finds smoking ban loophole: report
May 13, 2009 |
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The landlady of a British pub has exploited a loophole in the country's smoking ban by opening a "smoking research centre" where drinkers can light up legally, reports said Wednesday.
The herbal remedy: Teens use cannabis for relief, not recreation
Apr 22, 2009 |
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When legal therapies let them down, some teens turn to cannabis. A new study, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Substance Abuse, Treatment, Prevention and Policy suggests that around a third of teens who sm ...
Men who never smoke live longer, better lives than heavy smokers
Oct 13, 2008 |
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Health-related quality of life appears to deteriorate as the number of cigarettes smoked per day increases, even in individuals who subsequently quit smoking, according to a report in the October 13 issue of Archives of In ...
Growing evidence of marijuana smoke's potential dangers
Aug 05, 2009 |
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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 ...
Do smokers cost society money?
Apr 08, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Smoking takes years off your life and adds dollars to the cost of health care. Yet nonsmokers cost society money, too - by living longer.
Vaccine being developed to help smokers quit
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Glaxo-SmithKline has joined forces with Nabi Pharmaceuticals to produce a vaccine to help smokers give up their addiction permanently.
Trouble quitting?: New smoking study may reveal why
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Aug 26, 2008 |
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A new study from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University sheds light on why smokers' intentions to quit "cold turkey" often fizzle out within days or even hours.
Canadian tobacco firm destroyed evidence: researchers
Oct 16, 2009 |
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Researchers said Thursday they uncovered evidence that a Canadian tobacco company destroyed scientific data it had decades ago showing that cigarettes were addictive and caused cancer.
Study links smoking with most male cancer deaths
Jan 21, 2009 |
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The association between tobacco smoke and cancer deaths — beyond lung cancer deaths — has been strengthened by a recent study from a UC Davis researcher, suggesting that increased tobacco control efforts could save more lives ...
Third-hand smoke: Another reason to quit smoking
Dec 29, 2008 |
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Need another reason to add "Quit Smoking" to your New Year's resolutions list? How about the fact that even if you choose to smoke outside of your home or only smoke in your home when your children are not there - thinking ...
Smoking associated with increased risk for colorectal cancer and death
Dec 16, 2008 |
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An analysis of previous studies indicates that smoking is significantly associated with an increased risk for colorectal cancer and death, according to an article in the December 17 issue of JAMA.
Mentally ill smoke at 4 times the rate of general population
Oct 07, 2008 |
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Australians with mental illness smoke at four times the rate of the general population, says a new study from the University of Melbourne.
30-year follow-up study: 'Tremendous' impact of smoking on mortality and cardiovascular disease
May 08, 2009 |
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Non-smokers live longer and have less cardiovascular disease than those who smoke, according to a 30-year follow-up study of 54,000 men and women in Norway. Smoking, say the investigators, is "strongly" related to cardiovascular ...
Smoking increases depression in women, Australian study reveals
Oct 01, 2008 |
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A new study reveals that women who smoke are at greater risk of developing major depressive disorder. The study has been published today the British Journal of Psychiatry.
New evidence strengthens link between cigarette smoke exposure and poor infant health
Nov 05, 2008 |
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The damaging effects of smoking and smoke exposure can be seen at any age. Pediatricians have even noted these negative effects in various stages of infant development. The consequences of maternal smoke exposure during ...
