I Want To Stop Smoking

These days, the term smoking is generally associated with smoking a cigarette or a cigar. However, since 5000 BC this practice has been around. It existed mainly in African and Indian cultures as rituals in various ceremonies. With time it has grown from in the first place natural plant stems and leaves to pipes to now handy and simple cigarettes.

A temporary feeling of goodness felt is the main reason why a lot of people smoke. The substance giving this feeling may change but tobacco is the most favorite substance. Tobacco comes from the leaves of the plants belonging to the species Nicotiana. Smokers find tobacco addictive and relish it because of a chemical called nicotine. In addition to this, marijuana is also used,; commonly flavored with tobacco or herbal fruits.

An increasing amount of youth start smoking at ages as young as 18 and continue smoking into their adulthood. This growth in recent years can be associated with the appealing advertisements of mainly cigarettes. Developing countries account for the most smoking teenagers due to the lack of awareness of the health risks associated with smoking.

As a result of long periods of smoking, the chemicals in the tobacco smoke bank on the lungs, with time, turning into a tumour, resulting in lung cancer. Smoking is responsible for majority of lung cancer deaths. The fast growth in the number of deaths due to smoking related lung cancer has to lead to many campaigns to stop smoking. Even packets of cigarettes now hold health warnings claiming that smoking is harmful to health.

Many countries have banned smokingin public areas in attempts to completely stop smoking. Almost all airports have a separate area for those who want to smoke. These attempts are to not only stop smoking people of the habit, but to cut down the number of passive smokers. Passive smokers are greatly affected too as they do not have the advantage of the filter found in almost all cigarettes. This has resulted in many objections by passive smokers to stop smoking, not only in public areas, but everywhere in the country.

Some may say that the industry to stop smoking is growing as fast as the tobacco industry. Things like nicotine patches, and various types of treatments are being used to help people quit the habit and to stop smoking. Usually it takes a heavy smoker a few years to stop smoking completely, but with the help of these tools the time taken to stop smoking has reduced to months.