Title of Project: Cigarettes
Research Question: What the consequence of cigarettes?
Teacher's Name: Nellie Deutsch
School Name: Ort-Guttman
Name: Elad Tamir
The subject of this project is about cigarettes, the research question is: What the consequence of cigarettes? When I was in grade 8 the school sent students to drugs and cigarettes workshop and since this workshop I want to know more details as I can about this subject so I do my project about cigarettes and now I can to learn more things about the cigarettes that I didn't know and I sure that most people don't know very much about it. Also I choose this subject because it's very interesting that big part of the population smoke cigarettes, I want that people understand what the cigarettes effect how badly it is also I want to know some things on this subject: I want to know why people started to smoke cigarettes? I want to know what's inside a cigarette. I want to know how cigarettes effect on the human body. Also I want to know how people become addicted to those cigarettes. When I'll get answers about all my questions I want to show the population the true about cigarettes and to convince them to change them point of view that they be aware of the consequence of cigarettes.
There are over one thousand million smokers throughout the world, considering the harm smoking does to your body, which we are all well aware of. With this mind, the question "why people start to smoke?" is a really complicated one.
So, why people really start to smoke? There are not many smokers that started smoking after the age of 18. In fact, the majority of smokers took up the habit in their early or mid teens. There are several reasons as to why children or teenagers start smoking.
The social pressure plays an important part. Many children start smoking because their friends have tried it or smoke themselves. Some children may also begin to smoke if they have low self-esteem. Smoking may get them in with the "in crowd" and help them to make friends At that age, a teenager is more likely to be influenced by what their friends are doing rather than doing what their parents would like them to do, also children start smoking as an act of rebellion or defiance against their parents or other people.
Children who grown up in an environment where their parents, grandparents and older siblings smoke, those children smoke in order to look and act like their environment, even some teenagers may take up smoking because their favorite idol smokes. They may think that if they smoke just like their favorite idol does, then they will appear more attractive or sexy, like them.
Also because the limit age of selling cigarettes that in many countries is 18 years old, many teenagers want to feel that their are adult people and because of that their start to smoke.
What's in a cigarette?
There's more to a tab than shredded tobacco. When someone sparks up, the smoke contains almost 4,000 chemicals, many of which are harmful to health. From all this chemicals I am going to explain about three biggest harmful components are nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar. Nicotine The damage to health may be caused by the tar and poisonous chemicals, but it's the nicotine in tobacco which smokers can grow to depend upon. Nicotine is a powerful and fast-acting stimulant drug. In small doses, it speeds up heart rate and increases blood pressure. This makes smokers feel more alert when they light up, while the brain activates a 'reward' system which is thought to be responsible for the pleasurable, relaxing 'hit' they describe. The effect on an individual smoker depends on a number of different factors:
- Physical build and current state of health;
- The length of time they have been smoking;
- How frequently they smoke;
- The number of puffs they take, and how deeply the smoke is inhaled.
Tar Cigarette smoke condenses when it's inhaled. This is a bit like watching droplets form upon the ceiling above a boiling kettle. The end result with smoking, however, is a whole lot more black and sticky. In fact about 70% of the tar present in tobacco smoke gets dumped into the lungs. It contains many substances which have been linked with cancer, as well as irritants that cause the narrow airways inside the lungs to get inflamed and clogged with mucus. Carbon monoxide This is a poisonous gas found in high concentration in cigarette smoke, not to mention the stuff which coughs out of car exhaust pipes. Once inside the lungs, the carbon atoms grab any passing hemoglobin and basically take a joy ride around the body. Someone who smokes 20 a day can have a carbon monoxide level which is 5-10 times that of a non-smoker. This deprives the body of oxygen, which makes the blood sticky and can cause problems with the growth, repair and exchange of healthy nutrients. In particular, any reduction in oxygen levels is a real hazard to unborn babies. Pregnant women who smoke run a serious risk of miscarrying or having babies with low birth rate.
Ultimately, carbon monoxide can mess up electrical activity in the heart and encourage fatty deposits to clog up artery walls. Other chemicals present in tobacco smoke:
- Formaldehyde: used for pickling things in jars;
- Acetone: found in nail varnish;
- Ammonia: used in fertilizer;
- Hydrogen sulphide: smells of rotten eggs;
- Polonium: a radioactive component;
- Arsenic: a killer poison.
How people get addicted? Nicotine is one of the main ingredients in tobacco. Nicotine is a powerful drug that speeds up the brain and central nervous system. It triggers the release of a chemical in your brain (dopamine) that boosts your mood, makes you feel calm, and at the same time, can make you feel more alert. The nicotine in cigarette smoke is absorbed through the skin lining of the mouth and the nose. The nicotine level in your blood peaks within 10 seconds of inhaling (breathing in) cigarette smoke into your lungs. Over time, your brain adjusts to the stimulation from nicotine and lowers your natural energy level or mood. You may then start to crave a cigarette for a boost. The more you smoke the more nicotine you need to feel good. Soon, your body craves nicotine to feel "normal." Being without nicotine for even a few hours can cause withdrawal symptoms like headaches, depression, anger, anxiety, and problems sleeping. Withdrawal symptoms last about a week for most people. You can cope with them by knowing what to expect and finding other ways to handle cravings before you quit. Withdrawal symptoms are a sign that your body is healing. They won't last forever. How behavior feeds nicotine addition The other part of nicotine addiction is behavior. After months or years of smoking, cigarettes become a part of your daily life. You may light a cigarette out of habit as soon as you get into the car or when you drink a cup of coffee. Smoking habits can also be formed by the way you feel - many smokers reach for a cigarette when they feel bored, stressed or angry. Even if you have been smoking for many years, you can learn to live without cigarettes. But it takes practice. It's important to know your triggers and plan how you will deal with each of them before you quit.
Shortly conclusion of this project: After I learn some new things about this subject I think I can answer the research question, my research question was: What the consequence of smoking cigarettes? Answer: People who smokes in most cases in general start it when They were teenagers, they start it from lot of reasons and a person that continues with the smoking becomes an addicted. Here's the problems begin actually it's begin after the person became an addicted because after it he smokes lot and harm more his health, cigarettes can cause cancer, heart attacks, and more lot of diseases. The smoke contains almost 4,000 chemicals, many of which are harmful to health from all this chemicals there are three biggest harmful components are nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar that I explain about them in the project. Also the cigarettes cost lot of money, person that addicted will buy everyday pack of cigarettes and he will spend lot of money on this. It's sad that because peoples get addicted to the cigarettes they don't see that they destroyed their longevity and also they spend their money for something that harms their health. My opinion is that we need to be more alert to this subject, we need educate and explain to the teenagers that cigarettes is bad thing and we should try to stop the smoking.
In the beginning it was little difficult were to start finding all this information about my subject however the Internet full of information about it I need something more specific that matching to my project. After lot searches I found the right information to do my project and right now I'm almost in the end of the project. I think that the research was good and I learn from this research many new things that I don't know before the project also I derive pleasure from this project and now my knowledge in projects it's more big than before so if any time I'm gone to do project like this I knew how to start and how to learn from him new information.
- My personal knowledge