The College Years - Tobacco’s Biggest Investment
Everyone knows that smoking is bad, but this can’t be made any clearer to the age group that has the highest rate of tobacco use, the college age people (18-24). Considered by many as too young to even have a serious addiction, this age group seems to have been left behind on the quitting band wagon.
Instead, being a college student leaves this age group with a different overshadowing concern from the public - drinking and alcohol abuse. “Until recently, health experts largely ignored smoking on college campuses,” says Henry Wechsler, PhD, a researcher with the Harvard School of Public Health.
“Alcohol is such a major issue that smoking kind of got lost in the shuffle,” he says. This topic has gotten much more attention recently because the college years are when addictions can be formed and broken most easily.“
“The importance of the college years hasn’t been lost on the tobacco companies,” says John Pierce, PhD, head of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the University of California, San Diego. “The industry has been focusing heavily on getting its promotional material to college students,” he says. “In some ways college students are the perfect audience. They’re old enough to buy cigarettes but young enough to be highly receptive to ads promoting a hip, fun lifestyle.”
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The Report on Global Tobacco Epidemic from WHO
The World Health Organization released their 369 page study called “The Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic in 2008.” In this report, they calculated that by the end of the century, tobacco will have been 
responsible for taking the lives of one billion people. This is an impending tragedy if the current trends of the rate of tobacco consumption continue on the same path. In the 20th Century, 100 million lives were claimed for tobacco’s sake.
Currently, 5.4 million people die each year from illnesses directly linked to tobacco use such as lung cancer and heart disease. That is one life every six seconds. The study states that as soon as 2030 we could see that number jump from 5.4 to 8 million people a year. An additional sobering fact is that 80% of those deaths will be in developing worlds, where tobacco use is growing most rapidly.
With the effects of smoking being so dire, why is it that the number of tobacco consumers continues to rise? Do citizens have a death wish? Do they enjoy the time spent ill, watching their money deplete as it is siphoned off into medications and hospital bills? The problem with getting people to quit smoking or to not light up in the first place, is the same as it is with most other public health problems, lack of education.
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Is Propylene Glycol in Electronic Cigarettes Safe?
Propylene glycol is a chemical that has been relatively unheard of until recently. Interest in the chemical has been on the rise lately because it is one of the main ingredients that many companies are putting in their electronic cigarettes.
But if an ingredient is deemed by many to be dangerous, then why would it be added to a product that is supposed to be safe for you to use?
First, you must understand how an electronic cigarette works. Electronic cigarettes look like real cigarettes, but you inhale a vapor instead of smoke. This vaporized nicotine is so you get your nicotine fix without all the added chemicals and cancer causing agents such as carbon monoxide.
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Fire Safe Cigarettes Still Not Fire Proof
The National Fire Protection Association informs us that the top cause of death to civilians by fire is a result of items used for smoking. For example, matches and cigarettes that are either not disposed of properly or just flat out forgotten. Also, tossing a match into the yard or leaving a cigarette to burn while one falls asleep.
More than 900 lives were claimed in fires caused by these materials in 1998. Another 2,500 people were injured senselessly for the same reason. The cost for the combined property damage was $411.7 million.
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No If’s, And’s, or ‘Butts’ About It - Smoking Causes Cancer
There is no "May" - Smoking definitely causes cancer.
It almost seems as though everything can cause cancer, illness, or negative effects, no matter how beneficial the product is. From antibiotics and their stomach irritation warnings, to carbonated beverages and their likelihood of gastrointestinal effects, everything has its risk.
I take my chances with carbonation. I love a nice glass of diet soda in the afternoon with my lunch. It “may” cause me to have a little belching problem later in the day, but there are no guarantees. I’ve gotten away with no gastro effects, while other days I’m like a hot-air balloon ready to burst at any moment.
I also take my chances with watching television for extended periods of time, even though there’s a risk of eye damage. I live on the edge. We all do in one way or another.
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