Essay on Smoking

500 words essay on  smoking.

One of the most common problems we are facing in today’s world which is killing people is smoking. A lot of people pick up this habit because of stress , personal issues and more. In fact, some even begin showing it off. When someone smokes a cigarette, they not only hurt themselves but everyone around them. It has many ill-effects on the human body which we will go through in the essay on smoking.

essay on smoking

Ill-Effects of Smoking

Tobacco can have a disastrous impact on our health. Nonetheless, people consume it daily for a long period of time till it’s too late. Nearly one billion people in the whole world smoke. It is a shocking figure as that 1 billion puts millions of people at risk along with themselves.

Cigarettes have a major impact on the lungs. Around a third of all cancer cases happen due to smoking. For instance, it can affect breathing and causes shortness of breath and coughing. Further, it also increases the risk of respiratory tract infection which ultimately reduces the quality of life.

In addition to these serious health consequences, smoking impacts the well-being of a person as well. It alters the sense of smell and taste. Further, it also reduces the ability to perform physical exercises.

It also hampers your physical appearances like giving yellow teeth and aged skin. You also get a greater risk of depression or anxiety . Smoking also affects our relationship with our family, friends and colleagues.

Most importantly, it is also an expensive habit. In other words, it entails heavy financial costs. Even though some people don’t have money to get by, they waste it on cigarettes because of their addiction.

How to Quit Smoking?

There are many ways through which one can quit smoking. The first one is preparing for the day when you will quit. It is not easy to quit a habit abruptly, so set a date to give yourself time to prepare mentally.

Further, you can also use NRTs for your nicotine dependence. They can reduce your craving and withdrawal symptoms. NRTs like skin patches, chewing gums, lozenges, nasal spray and inhalers can help greatly.

Moreover, you can also consider non-nicotine medications. They require a prescription so it is essential to talk to your doctor to get access to it. Most importantly, seek behavioural support. To tackle your dependence on nicotine, it is essential to get counselling services, self-materials or more to get through this phase.

One can also try alternative therapies if they want to try them. There is no harm in trying as long as you are determined to quit smoking. For instance, filters, smoking deterrents, e-cigarettes, acupuncture, cold laser therapy, yoga and more can work for some people.

Always remember that you cannot quit smoking instantly as it will be bad for you as well. Try cutting down on it and then slowly and steadily give it up altogether.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Smoking

Thus, if anyone is a slave to cigarettes, it is essential for them to understand that it is never too late to stop smoking. With the help and a good action plan, anyone can quit it for good. Moreover, the benefits will be evident within a few days of quitting.

FAQ of Essay on Smoking

Question 1: What are the effects of smoking?

Answer 1: Smoking has major effects like cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and more. It also increases the risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems with the immune system .

Question 2: Why should we avoid smoking?

Answer 2: We must avoid smoking as it can lengthen your life expectancy. Moreover, by not smoking, you decrease your risk of disease which includes lung cancer, throat cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more.

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Nursing — Argumentative Essay On Smoking Cigarettes

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Argumentative Essay on Smoking Cigarettes

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Published: Mar 13, 2024

Words: 507 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Health effects of smoking, economic implications, impact on non-smokers, the case for regulation, references:.

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Smoking & Tobacco Use. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/index.htm

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essay on smoking is a bad habit

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Essay on Negative Effects Of Smoking

Students are often asked to write an essay on Negative Effects Of Smoking in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Negative Effects Of Smoking

Introduction to smoking.

Smoking is a bad habit that harms our body. Many people smoke cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Some people also chew tobacco. These things contain nicotine, a harmful chemical. It’s highly addictive, meaning once you start smoking, it’s very hard to stop.

Health Problems Caused by Smoking

Smoking can cause many health problems. It can lead to lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke. It can also cause other types of cancer, like mouth and throat cancer. Smoking can make it hard to breathe and can cause chronic coughing.

Smoking and Secondhand Smoke

Not only does smoking hurt the smoker, but it also harms others around them. This is called secondhand smoke. It can cause the same health problems in non-smokers. Children exposed to secondhand smoke can get sick more often.

Smoking and Appearance

Smoking can also affect how you look. It can cause yellow teeth and bad breath. It can also cause your skin to age faster, leading to wrinkles. Smoking can even cause hair loss and turn your fingers yellow.

In conclusion, smoking is very harmful. It can cause many health problems and can even harm others around you. It’s best to avoid this bad habit. If you or someone you know smokes, try to quit. Your body will thank you.

250 Words Essay on Negative Effects Of Smoking

Introduction.

Smoking is a harmful habit that many people around the world have. It is bad for our health and the environment. This essay will talk about the negative effects of smoking.

Damages to Health

Smoking hurts our bodies in many ways. It is the main cause of lung cancer. This is a very serious disease that can lead to death. Other than lung cancer, smoking can also cause heart disease. This is because the smoke makes it harder for the heart to pump blood.

Problems for the Environment

Smoking is not just bad for our health, but also for our environment. Cigarette butts are often thrown on the ground, causing pollution. Also, the smoke from cigarettes adds to air pollution. This is bad for all living things, not just humans.

Effects on Others

Smoking is not only harmful to the person who smokes, but also to the people around them. This is called second-hand smoke. It can cause the same health problems as smoking does. This means that even if you do not smoke, you can still get sick from being around someone who does.

In conclusion, smoking is a harmful habit with many negative effects. It causes health problems, harms the environment, and can even make others sick. It is important to avoid smoking for a healthier and safer world.

500 Words Essay on Negative Effects Of Smoking

Smoking is a habit that many people pick up due to various reasons, such as stress, peer pressure, or even out of curiosity. Despite its popularity, smoking has many negative effects on our health and the environment. This essay will discuss these harmful effects in simple terms.

Effects on Personal Health

Firstly, let’s talk about how smoking harms our own health. When you smoke, you inhale many dangerous chemicals. These chemicals can harm nearly every organ in your body. The most commonly known health problem caused by smoking is lung cancer. But that’s not all. Smoking can also lead to other types of cancer, such as mouth cancer and throat cancer.

Apart from cancer, smoking can cause heart disease. The chemicals in smoke make it harder for your heart to work properly. This can lead to heart attacks. Smoking also harms your lungs, making it difficult to breathe. This can lead to diseases like bronchitis and emphysema.

Effects on Others’ Health

Smoking is not only harmful to the smoker but also to those around them. This is called secondhand smoke. When you smoke, the people around you also breathe in the harmful chemicals. This can lead to the same health problems that smokers face. Children are particularly at risk. They can suffer from problems like asthma, ear infections, and even sudden infant death syndrome.

Effects on the Environment

Smoking also hurts our environment. Cigarette butts, which are often thrown away carelessly, are a form of litter. They can take many years to break down and are harmful to wildlife. The smoke from cigarettes also adds to air pollution. This can harm the air we all breathe and contribute to climate change.

Effects on Personal Life

Lastly, smoking can affect your personal life. It can make your clothes and breath smell bad, which can affect your relationships with others. It can also be a costly habit. The money spent on cigarettes could be used for other things like education, hobbies, or saving for the future.

In conclusion, smoking has many negative effects. It harms our health, the health of those around us, our environment, and our personal lives. It’s important to understand these effects and to make healthy choices for ourselves and our communities. Remember, it’s never too late to quit smoking and start living a healthier life.

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essay on smoking is a bad habit

Persuasive Essay Guide

Persuasive Essay About Smoking

Caleb S.

Persuasive Essay About Smoking - Making a Powerful Argument with Examples

Persuasive essay about smoking

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Are you wondering how to write your next persuasive essay about smoking?

Smoking has been one of the most controversial topics in our society for years. It is associated with many health risks and can be seen as a danger to both individuals and communities.

Writing an effective persuasive essay about smoking can help sway public opinion. It can also encourage people to make healthier choices and stop smoking. 

But where do you begin?

In this blog, we’ll provide some examples to get you started. So read on to get inspired!

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  • 1. What You Need To Know About Persuasive Essay
  • 2. Persuasive Essay Examples About Smoking
  • 3. Argumentative Essay About Smoking Examples
  • 4. Tips for Writing a Persuasive Essay About Smoking

What You Need To Know About Persuasive Essay

A persuasive essay is a type of writing that aims to convince its readers to take a certain stance or action. It often uses logical arguments and evidence to back up its argument in order to persuade readers.

It also utilizes rhetorical techniques such as ethos, pathos, and logos to make the argument more convincing. In other words, persuasive essays use facts and evidence as well as emotion to make their points.

A persuasive essay about smoking would use these techniques to convince its readers about any point about smoking. Check out an example below:

Simple persuasive essay about smoking

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Persuasive Essay Examples About Smoking

Smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the world. It leads to adverse health effects, including lung cancer, heart disease, and damage to the respiratory tract. However, the number of people who smoke cigarettes has been on the rise globally.

A lot has been written on topics related to the effects of smoking. Reading essays about it can help you get an idea of what makes a good persuasive essay.

Here are some sample persuasive essays about smoking that you can use as inspiration for your own writing:

Persuasive speech on smoking outline

Persuasive essay about smoking should be banned

Persuasive essay about smoking pdf

Persuasive essay about smoking cannot relieve stress

Persuasive essay about smoking in public places

Speech about smoking is dangerous

Persuasive Essay About Smoking Introduction

Persuasive Essay About Stop Smoking

Short Persuasive Essay About Smoking

Stop Smoking Persuasive Speech

Check out some more persuasive essay examples on various other topics.

Argumentative Essay About Smoking Examples

An argumentative essay is a type of essay that uses facts and logical arguments to back up a point. It is similar to a persuasive essay but differs in that it utilizes more evidence than emotion.

If you’re looking to write an argumentative essay about smoking, here are some examples to get you started on the arguments of why you should not smoke.

Argumentative essay about smoking pdf

Argumentative essay about smoking in public places

Argumentative essay about smoking introduction

Check out the video below to find useful arguments against smoking:

Tips for Writing a Persuasive Essay About Smoking

You have read some examples of persuasive and argumentative essays about smoking. Now here are some tips that will help you craft a powerful essay on this topic.

Choose a Specific Angle

Select a particular perspective on the issue that you can use to form your argument. When talking about smoking, you can focus on any aspect such as the health risks, economic costs, or environmental impact.

Think about how you want to approach the topic. For instance, you could write about why smoking should be banned. 

Check out the list of persuasive essay topics to help you while you are thinking of an angle to choose!

Research the Facts

Before writing your essay, make sure to research the facts about smoking. This will give you reliable information to use in your arguments and evidence for why people should avoid smoking.

You can find and use credible data and information from reputable sources such as government websites, health organizations, and scientific studies. 

For instance, you should gather facts about health issues and negative effects of tobacco if arguing against smoking. Moreover, you should use and cite sources carefully.

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Make an Outline

The next step is to create an outline for your essay. This will help you organize your thoughts and make sure that all the points in your essay flow together logically.

Your outline should include the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. This will help ensure that your essay has a clear structure and argument.

Use Persuasive Language

When writing your essay, make sure to use persuasive language such as “it is necessary” or “people must be aware”. This will help you convey your message more effectively and emphasize the importance of your point.

Also, don’t forget to use rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos to make your arguments more convincing. That is, you should incorporate emotion, personal experience, and logic into your arguments.

Introduce Opposing Arguments

Another important tip when writing a persuasive essay on smoking is to introduce opposing arguments. It will show that you are aware of the counterarguments and can provide evidence to refute them. This will help you strengthen your argument.

By doing this, your essay will come off as more balanced and objective, making it more convincing.

Finish Strong

Finally, make sure to finish your essay with a powerful conclusion. This will help you leave a lasting impression on your readers and reinforce the main points of your argument. You can end by summarizing the key points or giving some advice to the reader.

A powerful conclusion could either include food for thought or a call to action. So be sure to use persuasive language and make your conclusion strong.

To conclude,

By following these tips, you can write an effective and persuasive essay on smoking. Remember to research the facts, make an outline, and use persuasive language.

However, don't stress if you need expert help to write your essay! Our professional essay writing service is here for you!

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Persuasive Essay

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Tobacco smoking: Health impact, prevalence, correlates and interventions

Robert west.

a Department of Behavioural Science and Health , University College London , London, UK

Background and objectives : Despite reductions in prevalence in recent years, tobacco smoking remains one of the main preventable causes of ill-health and premature death worldwide. This paper reviews the extent and nature of harms caused by smoking, the benefits of stopping, patterns of smoking, psychological, pharmacological and social factors that contribute to uptake and maintenance of smoking, the effectiveness of population and individual level interventions aimed at combatting tobacco smoking, and the effectiveness of methods used to reduce the harm caused by continued use of tobacco or nicotine in some form.

Results and conclusions : Smoking behaviour is maintained primarily by the positive and negative reinforcing properties of nicotine delivered rapidly in a way that is affordable and palatable, with the negative health consequences mostly being sufficiently uncertain and distant in time not to create sufficient immediate concern to deter the behaviour. Raising immediate concerns about smoking by tax increases, social marketing and brief advice from health professionals can increase the rate at which smokers try to stop. Providing behavioural and pharmacological support can improve the rate at which those quit attempts succeed. Implementing national programmes containing these components are effective in reducing tobacco smoking prevalence and reducing smoking-related death and disease.

Introduction

The continued popularity of tobacco smoking appears to defy rational explanation. Smokers mostly acknowledge the harm they are doing to themselves and many report that they do not enjoy it – yet they continue to smoke (Fidler & West, 2011 ; Ussher, Brown, Rajamanoharan, & West, 2014 ). The reason is that nicotine from cigarettes generates strong urges to smoke that undermine and overwhelm concerns about the negative consequences of smoking, and the resolve not to smoke in those trying to stop (West & Shiffman, 2016 ). Progress is being made in many countries in reducing smoking prevalence but it remains one of the main causes of ill health and premature death worldwide (Gowing et al., 2015 ).

This paper provides a broad overview of smoking in terms of: the health effects, benefits of stopping, prevalence and patterns of use, psychological, pharmacological and social factors leading to uptake and maintenance of the behaviour, effectiveness of population level and individual level interventions to combat it, and methods used to reduce the harm despite continued use of tobacco or nicotine.

Definitions of smoking and smoking cessation

Tobacco smoking consists of drawing into the mouth, and usually the lungs, smoke from burning tobacco (West & Shiffman, 2016 ). The type of product smoked is most commonly cigarettes, but can also include cigarillos, cigars, pipes or water pipes. ‘Smokeless’ tobacco is also popular in some parts of the world. This typically involves using tobacco preparations for chewing, sniffing into the nose or placing as a wad in the mouth between the cheeks and gums (Critchley & Unal, 2003 ). Smokeless tobacco use has features that are similar to smoking and can carry significant health risks (Critchley & Unal, 2003 ); however, this article focuses on smoked tobacco only as this has been the subject of by far the largest volume of research and is the most harmful form of tobacco use.

Stopping smoking usually involves an intention not to smoke any more cigarettes from a given point in time (a ‘quit attempt’), followed by self-conscious resistance of urges to smoke resulting in a period of abstinence. If someone making a quit attempt smokes one or more cigarettes on an occasion but then resumes abstinence, this is usually termed a ‘lapse’. If this person resumes smoking on a regular basis s/he is said to have ‘relapsed’. ‘Short-term abstinence’ is commonly defined in terms of achieving up to 4 weeks of abstinence. ‘Long-term abstinence’ often refers to abstinence for at least 6 months but more typically involves abstinence for at least 12 months. There is no agreed criterion for deciding when someone has ‘stopped smoking’ so it is essential when using the term to be clear about how long the abstinence period has been.

Health impact of smoking and the benefits of stopping

Tobacco smoking increases the risk of contracting a wide range of diseases, many of which are fatal. Stopping smoking at any age is beneficial compared with continuing to smoke. For some diseases, the risk can be reversed while for others the risk is approximately frozen at the point when smoking stopped.

Health impact of smoking

Table ​ Table1 1 lists the main causes of death from smoking. Tobacco smoking is estimated to lead to the premature death of approximately 6 million people worldwide and 96,000 in the UK each year (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016b ; World Health Organization, 2013 ). A ‘premature death from smoking’ is defined as a death from a smoking-related disease in an individual who would otherwise have died later from another cause. On average, these premature deaths involve 10 years of life years lost (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ). Many of these deaths occur in people who have stopped smoking but whose health has already been harmed by smoking. It also happens to be the case that smokers who do not stop smoking lose an average of 10 years of life expectancy compared with never-smokers and they start to suffer diseases of old age around 10 years earlier than non-smokers (Jha & Peto, 2014 ).

Most smoking-related deaths arise from cancers (mainly lung cancer), respiratory disease (mainly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – COPD), and cardiovascular disease (mainly coronary heart disease) (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016b ). Smoking is an important risk factor for stroke, blindness, deafness, back pain, osteoporosis, and peripheral vascular disease (leading to amputation) (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ). After the age of 40, smokers on average have higher levels of pain and disability than non-smokers (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

Smoking in both women and men reduces fertility (Action on Smoking and Health, 2013 ). Smoking in pregnancy causes underdevelopment of the foetus and increases the risk of miscarriage, neonatal death, respiratory disease in the offspring, and is probably a cause of mental health problems in the offspring (Action on Smoking and Health, 2013 ).

People used to think that smoking was protective against Alzheimer’s disease but we now know that the opposite is the case: it is a major risk factor for both Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia (Ferri et al., 2011 ; US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

There is a positive association between average daily cigarette consumption and risk of smoking-related disease, but in the case of cardiovascular disease the association is non-linear, so that low levels of cigarette consumption carry a higher risk than would be expected from a simple linear relationship (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

Tobacco smoke contains biologically significant concentrations of known carcinogens as well as many other toxic chemicals. Some of these, including a number of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (particularly NNK and NNN) are constituents of tobacco, largely as a result of the way it is processed, while others such as benzopyrine result from combustion of tobacco (Action on Smoking and Health, 2014b ). These chemicals form part of the particulate matter in smoke. Tobacco smoke also contains the gas, carbon monoxide (CO). CO is a potent toxin, displacing oxygen from haemoglobin molecules. However, acutely the amount of CO in tobacco smoke is too small to lead to hypoxia and the body produces increased numbers of red blood cells to compensate.

The nicotine in tobacco smoke may cause a small part of the increase in cardiovascular disease but none or almost none of the increase in risk of respiratory disease or cancer (Benowitz, 1997 , 1998 ). It is the other components of cigarette smoke that do almost all the damage. It has been proposed on the basis of studies with other species that nicotine damages the adolescent brain but there is no evidence for clinically significant deficits in cognition or emotion in adults who smoked during adolescence and then stopped (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004 ).

Exposure to second-hand smoke carries a significant risk for both children and adults. Thus, non-smokers who are exposed to a smoky environment have an increased risk of cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease (Action on Smoking and Health, 2014a ).

Benefits of stopping smoking

Table ​ Table1 1 lists the main benefits of stopping smoking. Smokers who stop before their mid-30s have approximately the same life expectancy as never smokers (Doll, Peto, Boreham, & Sutherland, 2004 ; Pirie, Peto, Reeves, Green, & Beral, 2013 ). After the age of 35 years or so, stopping smoking recovers 2–3 months of healthy life expectancy for every year of smoking avoided, or 4–6 h for every day (Jha & Peto, 2014 ).

Stopping smoking has different effects on different smoking-related diseases. Excess risk of heart attack caused by smoking reduces by 50% within 12 months of stopping smoking. Stopping smoking returns the rate of decline in lung function to the normal age-related decline, but does not reverse this; it reduces the frequency of ‘exacerbations’ (acute attacks of breathing difficulty resulting in death or hospitalisation) in COPD patients (US Surgeon General, 1990 ). Stopping smoking ‘freezes’ the risk of smoking-related cancers at the level experienced when stopping occurs but does not decrease it in absolute terms (US Surgeon General, 1990 ).

Smokers who stop show reduced levels of stress and mood disorder than those who continue (Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2013 ). They also report higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction than those who continue (Shahab & West, 2009 , 2012 ). This suggests that smoking may harm mental health, though other explanations cannot be ruled out on the current evidence.

Prevalence and patterns of smoking

Smoking prevalence.

There are estimated to be approximately 1 billion tobacco smokers worldwide (Eriksen, Mackay, & Ross, 2013 ), amounting to approximately 30% of men and 7% of women (Gowing et al., 2015 ).

Cigarette smoking prevalence in Great Britain was estimated to be 16.9% in 2015, the most recent year for which figures are available at the time of writing: slightly lower in women than men (Office of National Satistics, 2016 ). Smoking in Great Britain has declined by 0.7 percentage points per year since 2001 (from 26.9% of adults in 2001). In Australia, daily cigarette smoking has declined by 0.6 percentage points per year over a similar time period (from 22.4% of adults aged 18 + years in 2001 to 14.5% in 2015) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015 ). However, international comparisons are confused by different countries using a different definition of what counts as being a smoker, and different methods for assessing prevalence. Australia only counts daily smokers in their headline figures. The situation in the US is even more misleading. The headline prevalence figure for the US is below 16%, but this does not include occasional smokers and people who smoke cigarillos which are essentially cigarettes in all but name and which have become increasingly popular in recent years. So the figure for prevalence that is most comparable to the figure for Great Britain is 20% (Jamal, 2016 ).

With the above caveats in mind, the figures in Table ​ Table2 2 for smoking prevalence in world regions in men and women provide very broad estimates (Gowing et al., 2015 ). Most noteworthy is that smoking prevalence in men is more than four times that in women globally but that the difference is much less in most parts of Europe, and that Eastern Europe as a whole has the highest smoking prevalence of any region in the world.

Note: Current smoking of any tobacco product, adults aged 15 years and older, age-standardised rate, by gender. ‘Tobacco smoking’ includes cigarettes, cigars, pipes or any other smoked tobacco products. ‘Current smoking’ includes both daily and non-daily or occasional smoking. From Gowing et al. ( 2015 ).

Smoking patterns

The most common age of first trying a cigarette in countries that have been studied is 10–15 years (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015b ; Talip, Murang, Kifli, & Naing, 2016 ); take up of regular smoking usually continues up to early 20s (Dierker et al., 2008 ).

Average daily cigarette consumption among smokers in the US and UK has declined steadily since the 1970s. In the UK, it is currently 11 cigarettes per day, and non-daily smoking is very rare (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ; Jarvis, Giovino, O’Connor, Kozlowski, & Bernert, 2014 ). Smokers take in an average of 1–1.5 mg of nicotine per cigarette (US Department of Health Human Services, 2014 ). The US figures on patterns of smoking are distorted by not counting ‘cigarillos’ and other smoked tobacco products which are used very much like cigarettes, whose prevalence has increased in recent years (Jamal et al., 2015 ). The reduction in daily cigarette consumption has not been accompanied by a reduction in daily nicotine intake (Jarvis et al., 2014 ). This could be due to the use of other smoked tobacco products (in the case of the US) or smokers smoking their cigarettes more intensively (taking more, deeper or longer puffs).

Smokers in England spend an average of £23 per week on cigarettes and this figure is slowly rising (West & Brown, 2015 ). In the UK, hand-rolled cigarettes have become increasingly popular with 34% of smokers currently reporting use of these products (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ). Men and people in more deprived socio-economic groups are more likely to smoke hand-rolled cigarettes (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ).

In most countries, there are strong negative associations between smoking prevalence and educational level, affluence and mental health; and positive associations with alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016a , 2016c ; Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2013 ; Talati, Keyes, & Hasin, 2016 ). In the UK, average daily cigarette consumption is higher for men than women, and higher in smokers in more deprived socio-economic groups and those with mental health problems (Action on Smoking and Health, 2016c ).

Psychological, pharmacological and social factors involved in smoking and smoking cessation

The natural history of smoking can be modelled as states and factors that influence the transition between these. Figure ​ Figure1 1 shows transitions that have been researched – the variables identified in the diagram are listed descriptively without attempting to explain how they may be connected.

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Factors associated with transitions in the natural history of smoking (parentheses indicate negative associations).

Smoking initiation

Important factors predicting initiation in western societies are: having friends who smoke, having parents who smoke, low social grade, tendency to mental health problems and impulsivity (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015b ). Transition to daily smoking follows a highly variable pattern sometimes being very rapid and sometimes taking several years (Schepis & Rao, 2005 ). Important factors predicting transition to regular smoking are: having friends who smoke, weak academic orientation, low parental support, pro-smoking attitudes, drinking alcohol and low socio-economic status (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015b ).

Smoking initiation has a ‘heritability’ (the proportion of variance in a characteristic that is attributable to genetic rather than environmental variance) of approximately 30–50% in western societies (Vink, Willemsen, & Boomsma, 2005 ). This means that differences in genetic make-up account for almost half of the difference in likelihood of starting smoking between individuals. This does not mean that environmental factors do not also play a crucial role as is evident from the very large decline in smoking initiation since the 1970s in many western countries.

The heritability of cigarette addiction (as distinct from smoking) is approximately 70–80% in western societies (Vink et al., 2005 ). Cigarette addiction here refers to the extent to which someone experiences a strong need to smoke. It is usually indexed by a combination of number of cigarettes per day and time from waking to smoking the first cigarette of the day (Kozlowski, Porter, Orleans, Pope, & Heatherton, 1994 ). It can also be indexed by the self-reported strength of urges to smoke (Fidler, Shahab, & West, 2011 ). Heritability of cigarette addiction, as indexed by failure of attempts to stop, is higher than the heritability for smoking and for initiation of smoking. This suggests that differences in genetic inheritance play a larger role in being able to stop smoking than in starting to smoke.

Cigarette addiction

Cigarette addiction stems from the fact that smoking provides highly controllable doses of the drug, nicotine, rapidly to the brain in a form that is accessible, affordable and palatable (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ). Nicotine provided more slowly, for example by the nicotine transdermal patch, is much less addictive. It is possible that one or more mono-amine oxidase inhibitors in cigarette smoke add to, or synergise, the addictive properties of nicotine (Hogg, 2016 ).

The psychopharmacology of cigarette addiction is complex and far from fully understood. The following paragraphs summarise the current narrative.

Nicotine resembles the naturally occurring neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, sufficiently to attach itself to a subset of neuronal receptors for this neurotransmitter in the brain. These are called ‘nicotinic acetylcholine receptors’. When it does this with receptors in the ventral tegmental area in the midbrain, it causes an increased rate of firing of the nerves projecting forward from that area to another part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. This causes release of another neurotransmitter called dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.

Dopamine release and uptake by neurones in the nucleus accumbens is believed to be central to all addictive behaviours. It acts as a neural ‘teaching signal’ which causes the brain to form an association between the current situation as perceived and the impulse to engage in whatever action immediately preceded this release. In the case of smoking, this creates an urge to smoke in situations in which smoking frequently occurs. These are often referred to as ‘cue-driven smoking urges’ or ‘situational cravings’ (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ). This explains why even non-daily smokers often find it difficult to stop smoking altogether.

Repeated ingestion of nicotine from cigarettes causes changes to the functioning of the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens such that when brain concentrations of nicotine are lower than usual, there is an abnormally low level of neural activity in these regions. This leads to feelings of need for behaviours that have in the past restored normal functioning, typically smoking. This feeling of need can be thought of as a kind of ‘nicotine hunger’, also called ‘background craving’ (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ). This is probably why time between waking and first cigarette of the day is a useful predictor of difficulty stopping smoking (Vangeli, Stapleton, Smit, Borland, & West, 2011 ). So ‘cue-driven smoking urges’ and ‘nicotine hunger’ are important factors contributing to smoking behaviour and thought to be the primary mechanisms underpinning cigarette addiction (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

When smokers abstain from cigarettes, within a few hours many of them start to experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms from a drug are temporary symptoms that arise when the drug dose is reduced or use is terminated. They arise from neural adaptation to the presence of the drug in the central nervous system. For smoking, the most common early onset symptoms are: irritability, restlessness and difficult concentrating. Depression and anxiety have also been observed in some smokers. These symptoms typically last 1 to 4 weeks (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

After a day or two of stopping smoking, many smokers experience other symptoms: increased appetite, constipation, mouth ulcers, cough, and weight gain. Increased appetite tends to last for at least 3 months; weight gain (averaging around 6 kg) tends to be permanent; other symptoms tend to last a few weeks. The increased appetite, weight gain and constipation arise from termination of nicotine intake but the others are probably related to other effects of stopping smoking (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

Any of the above effects of abstinence may in individual cases promote resumption of smoking following a quit attempt but statistically the association is inconsistent and weak; the main factors driving relapse appear to be cue-driven smoking urges and nicotine hunger (Fidler & West, 2011 ; West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

Many smokers report that smoking helps them cope with stress and increases their ability to concentrate. However, this appears to be because when they go for a period without smoking they experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms that are relieved by smoking. Long-term smokers who stop report lower levels of stress than when they were smoking and no reduction in ability to concentrate (West, 2009 ; West & Shiffman, 2016 ).

It is commonly thought that smokers with mental health problems are using cigarettes to ‘self-medicate’ or treat their psychological symptoms. However, the evidence indicates that neither nicotine nor smoking improves psychological symptoms, and people with serious mental health disorders who stop smoking do not experience a worsening of mental health. In fact some studies have found an improvement (Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2013 ).

Smoking cessation

For most smokers, cessation requires a determined attempt to stop and then sufficient resolve in the following weeks and months to overcome what are often powerful urges to smoke. Factors that predict quit attempts differ from those that predict the success of those attempts (Vangeli et al., 2011 ). Approximately 5% of unaided quit attempts succeed for at least 6 months (Hughes, Keely, & Naud, 2004 ). Relapse after this point is estimated to be around 50% over subsequent years (Stapleton & West, 2012 ).

The most common self-reported reasons for smoking are stress relief and enjoyment, with around half of smokers reporting these smoking motives. Weight control, aiding concentration and socialising are also quite commonly cited (Fidler & West, 2009 ). Smoking for supposed stress relief, improved concentration, weight control or other functions has not been found to be related to attempts to stop or success of attempts to stop (Fidler & West, 2009 ). Smokers who report enjoying smoking are less likely to try to stop but not less likely to succeed if they do try (Fidler & West, 2011 ). In addition, having a positive smoker identity (liking being a smoker) predicts not trying to quit, over and above enjoyment of smoking (Fidler & West, 2009 ).

No clear association has been found between the number of times smokers have tried to stop in the past and their chances of success the next time they try (Vangeli et al., 2011 ). However, having tried to stop in the past few months is predictive of failure of the next quit attempt (Zhou et al., 2009 ). Belief in the harm caused by smoking is predictive of smokers making quit attempts but not the success of those attempts (Vangeli et al., 2011 ).

Some clinical studies have found that women were less likely to succeed in quit attempts than men but large population studies have found no difference in success rates between the genders (Vangeli et al., 2011 ) so it may be the case that women who seek help with stopping have greater difficulty than men who seek help with stopping.

Number of cigarettes smoked per day, time between waking and the first cigarette of the day and rated strength of urges to smoke prior to a quit attempt have been found to predict success of quit attempts (Vangeli et al., 2011 ).

Quit attempts that involve gradual reduction are less likely to succeed than those that involve quitting abruptly, even after controlling statistically for measures of cigarette addiction, confidence in quitting, other methods used to quit (e.g. nicotine replacement therapy) and sociodemographic factors (Lindson-Hawley et al., 2016 ).

Interventions to combat smoking

There is extensive evidence on interventions that can reduce smoking prevalence, either by reducing initiation or promoting cessation. Table ​ Table3 3 lists those that have the strongest evidence.

Population-level interventions

Increasing the financial cost of smoking through tax increases and control of illicit supply on average reduces overall consumption with a typical price elasticity globally of 0.4 (meaning that for every 10% increase in the real cost there is a 4% decrease in the number of cigarettes purchased). Most of the effect is in getting smokers to reduce their daily cigarette consumption so the effect on smoking prevalence has been found to be an average of a 1–2 percentage point prevalence reduction for every 10% increase in the real cost (Levy, Huang, Havumaki, & Meza, 2016 ). It has been claimed that increasing taxes on tobacco increases the amount of smuggling of cheap tobacco, but the evidence does not support this (Action on Smoking and Health, 2015a ; Joossens & Raw, 2003 ).

Social marketing campaigns (e.g. TV advertising) can prevent smoking uptake, increase the rate at which smokers try to quit and improve the chances of success. This can lead to a reduction in smoking prevalence. Their effectiveness varies considerably with intensity, type of campaign and context (Bala, Strzeszynski, Topor-Madry, & Cahill, 2013 ; Hoffman & Tan, 2015 ).

Legislating to ban smoking in all indoor public areas may have a one-off effect on reducing smoking prevalence but findings are inconsistent across different countries (Bala et al., 2013 ). For example, in countries such as France it was not possible to detect an effect while in England, there did appear to be a decline in prevalence following the ban.

Although it is hard to show conclusively, circumstantial evidence suggests that banning tobacco advertising and putting large graphic health warnings on cigarette packets may have reduced smoking prevalence in some countries (Hoffman & Tan, 2015 ; Noar et al., 2016 ).

Individual-level interventions to promote smoking cessation

Brief advice.

Brief advice to stop smoking from a physician and offer of support to all smokers, regardless of motivation to quit, has been found in randomised trials to increase rate of quitting by an average of 2 percentage points of all those receiving it, whether or not they were initially interested in quitting (Stead et al., 2013 ). The offer of support appears to be more effective in getting smokers to try to quit than just advising smokers to stop (Aveyard, Begh, Parsons, & West, 2012 ).

Pharmacotherapy

Using a form of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT: transdermal patch, chewing gum, nasal spray, mouth spray, lozenge, inhalator, dissolvable strip) for at least 6 weeks from the start of a quit attempt increases the chances of long-term success of that quit attempt by about 3–7 percentage points if the user is under the care of a health professional or provided as part of a structured support programme (Stead et al., 2012 ). Some studies have found that NRT when bought from a shop and used without any additional structured support does not improve the chances of success at stopping (Kotz, Brown, & West, 2014a , 2014b ). A small proportion of people who use NRT to stop smoking continue to use it for months or even years after stopping smoking, but NRT appears to carry minimal risk to long-term users (Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ; Stead et al., 2012 ).

Data are sparse but at present, using an electronic cigarette in a quit attempt appears to increase the chances of success at stopping on average by an amount broadly similar to that from NRT; the variety of products available and the greater similarity to smoking appear to make them more attractive to many smokers as a means of stopping than NRT (McNeill et al., 2015 ; Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ). Electronic cigarettes deliver nicotine to users by heating a liquid containing nicotine, propylene glycol or glycerol and usually flavourings to create a vapour that is inhaled. They appear to carry minimal acute risk to users. If they are used long-term, their risk is almost certainly much less than that of smoking (based on concentrations of chemicals in the vapour) (McNeill et al., 2015 ; Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ).

‘Dual-form NRT’ (combining a transdermal NRT patch and one of the other forms) increases the chances of success at stopping more than ‘single-form NRT’ (just using one of the products) (Stead et al., 2012 ). Starting to use a nicotine transdermal patch several weeks before the target quit date may improve the chances of success at quitting compared with starting on the quit date (Stead et al., 2012 ).

Taking the prescription anti-depressant, bupropion (brand name Zyban), improves the chances of success of quit attempts by a similar amount to single-form NRT (Hughes, Stead, Hartmann-Boyce, Cahill, & Lancaster, 2014 ). Bupropion often leads to sleep disturbance and carries a very small risk of seizure. Bupropion probably works by reducing urges to smoke rather than any effect on depressed mood, but how it does this is not known. It is contra-indicated in pregnant smokers and people with an elevated seizure risk or history of eating disorder (Hughes et al, 2014 ). Taking the tricyclic anti-depressant, nortriptyline also improves the chances of success of quit attempts, probably by about the same amount as bupropion and NRT (Hughes et al., 2014 ). Its mechanism of action is not known. Nortriptyline often leads to dry mouth and sleep disorder and can be fatal in overdose (Hughes et al., 2014 ).

Taking the nicotinic-acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, varenicline (brand name Chantix in the US and Champix elsewhere), improves the chances of success by about 50% more than bupropion or single-form NRT (Cahill, Lindson-Hawley, Thomas, Fanshawe, & Lancaster, 2016 ). This is true for smokers with or without a psychiatric disorder (Anthenelli et al., 2016 ). Varenicline appears to work both by reducing urges to smoke and the rewarding effect of nicotine should a lapse occur (West, Baker, Cappelleri, & Bushmakin, 2008 ). Varenicline often leads to sleep disturbance and nausea. Serious neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular adverse reactions have been reported, but in comparative studies these have not been found to be more common than placebo or NRT (Anthenelli et al., 2016 ; Cahill et al., 2016 ; Sterling, Windle, Filion, Touma, & Eisenberg, 2016 ).

Taking the nicotinic-acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, cytisine, appears to improve the chances of success at least as much as single-form NRT and probably more (Cahill et al., 2016 ). Cytisine often causes nausea. No serious adverse reactions have been reported to date (Cahill et al., 2016 ). Where it is licensed for sale, cytisine is less than 1/10th the cost of other smoking cessation medications (Cahill et al., 2016 ).

Behavioural support

There is good evidence that behavioural interventions of many kinds, delivered though several modalities can help smokers to stop. Thus, behavioural support (encouragement, advice and discussion) from a trained stop-smoking specialist, provided at least weekly until at least 4 weeks following the target quit date can increase the chances of long-term success of a quit attempt by about 3–7 percentage points, whether it is given by phone or face-to-face (Lancaster & Stead, 2005 ). Group behavioural support (specialist-led groups of smokers stopping together and engaging in a structured discussion about their experiences), involving at least weekly sessions lasting until at least 4 weeks after the target quit date can increase the chances of success of a quit attempt by a similar amount or possibly more than individual support (Stead & Lancaster, 2005 ). Scheduled, multi-session telephone support can improve rates of success at stopping smoking by a broadly similar amount (Stead, Hartmann-Boyce, Perera, & Lancaster, 2013 ) but some large studies have failed to detect an effect so contextual factors and/or the precise type of support could be crucial to success. The effects of behavioural support and medication/NRT on success at stopping smoking appear to combine roughly additively (Stead, Koilpillai, & Lancaster, 2015 ). Smoking cessation support appears to be effective in primary care, secondary care and worksite settings (Cahill & Lancaster, 2014 ; West et al., 2015 ). Financial incentives, in the form of vouchers, have been found to increase smoking cessation rates for as long as they are in place (Cahill, Hartmann-Boyce, & Perera, 2015 ; Higgins & Solomon, 2016 ). Printed self-help materials can improve the chances of success at stopping long term by around 1–2 percentage points (Hartmann-Boyce, Lancaster, & Stead, 2014 ).

There is still relatively limited evidence on the effectiveness of digital support interventions for smoking cessation. Thus, while there is evidence that tailored, interactive websites can improve the chances of success at stopping smoking compared with no support, brief written materials or static information websites, many of those tested have not been found to be effective and it is not clear what differentiates those that are effective from those that are not (Graham et al., 2016 ). Text messaging programmes have been found to increase the chances of success of quit attempts by about 2–7 percentage points (Whittaker, McRobbie, Bullen, Rodgers, & Gu, 2016 ). There is currently insufficient evidence to know whether smartphone applications can improve success rates of quit attempts, although preliminary data suggest that they might (Whittaker et al., 2016 ). Evidence on alternative and complementary therapies is not sufficient to make confident statements about their effectiveness as aids to smoking cessation (Barnes et al., 2010 ; White, Rampes, Liu, Stead, & Campbell, 2014 ).

Overall, the highest smoking cessation rates appear to be achieved using specialist face-to-face behavioural support together with either varenicline or dual form NRT. With this support, continuous abstinence rates up to 52 weeks, verified by expired-air carbon monoxide tests, of more than 40% have been achieved (Kralikova et al., 2013 ). More commonly, 52-week continuous abstinence rates with this treatment are between 15 and 25% (West et al., 2015 ).

Smoking cessation support for pregnant smokers

In pregnant smokers, there is some evidence that NRT can help promote smoking cessation but evidence for an effect sustained to end of pregnancy is not conclusive (Sterling et al., 2016 ). There is also evidence that written self-help materials and face-to-face behavioural support can aid smoking cessation (Jones, Lewis, Parrott, Wormall, & Coleman, 2016 ), and financial incentives have also been found to improve quitting rates among pregnant smokers (Tappin et al., 2015 ). Almost half of women who stop smoking during pregnancy as a result of a clinical intervention relapse to smoking within 6 months of the birth (Jones et al., 2016 ).

Effectiveness of programmes to reduce smoking uptake

School-based programmes that involve both social competence training and peer-led social influence have been found to reduce smoking uptake (Georgie, Sean, Deborah, Matthew, & Rona, 2016 ) but educational programmes have not (Thomas, McLellan, & Perera, 2013 ). Mass media campaigns and increasing the financial cost of smoking reduce smoking uptake (Brinn, Carson, Esterman, Chang, & Smith, 2012 ; van Hasselt et al., 2015 ).

Reducing the harm from tobacco and nicotine use

Smokers who report that they are reducing their cigarette consumption smoke only 1–2 fewer cigarettes per day on average than when they say they are not (Beard et al., 2013 ). Clinical trials have found that use of NRT while smoking can substantially reduce cigarette consumption compared with placebo (Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ) but national surveys show very little reduction in cigarette consumption when smokers take up use of NRT in real-world settings (Beard et al., 2013 ). The benefit from using NRT while continuing to smoke appears to be in promoting subsequent smoking cessation. Using NRT (or varenicline) to reduce cigarette smoking with no immediate plans to quit leads to increased rates of quitting subsequently (Wu, Sun, He, & Zeng, 2015 ).

‘Snus’, a form of tobacco that is placed between the gums and the cheek and which is prepared in a way that is very low in carcinogens, gives high doses of nicotine but without evidence of an increase in risk of major tobacco-related cancers and either no, or a small, increase in risk of heart disease. It does appear to increase risk of periodontal disease, however. Snus is very popular in Sweden. Sweden has very low rates of smoking and tobacco-related disease indicating that a form of nicotine intake other than smoking can become popular and suggesting that this can contribute to a substantial reduction in tobacco-related harm (Royal College of Physicians, 2016 ).

The introduction of complete bans on smoking in indoor public areas can also be considered as a harm reduction measure. In this case, the main issue is harm to non-tobacco users. The evidence shows that such bans have been rapidly followed in the UK and several other jurisdictions by a reduction in heart attacks in non-smokers (Action on Smoking and Health, 2014a ).

Conclusions

Tobacco smoking causes death and disability on a huge scale and only about half of smokers report enjoying it. Despite this, approximately 1 billion adults engage in this behaviour worldwide and only around 5% of unaided quit attempts succeed for 6 months or more. The main reason appears to be that cigarettes deliver nicotine rapidly to the brain in a form that is convenient, and palatable. Nicotine acts on the brain to create urges to smoke in situations where smoking would normally occur and when brain nicotine levels become depleted. Concern about the harm from, and financial cost of, smoking are mostly not sufficient to counter this.

Governments can reduce smoking prevalence by raising the cost of smoking through taxation, mounting sustained social marketing campaigns, ensuring that health professionals routinely advise smokers to stop and offer support for quitting, and make available pharmacological and behavioural support for stopping.

Statement of competing interests

RW has, within the past 3 years, undertaken research and consultancy for companies that develop and manufacture smoking cessation medications (Pfizer, GSK, and J&J). He is an unpaid advisor to the UK’s National Centre for Smoking cessation and Training. His salary is funded by Cancer Research UK.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

This work was supported by Cancer Research UK [grant number C1417/A22962].

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Essays About Bad Habits: 5 Essays Examples and Writing Prompts

Writing about bad habits poses an interesting topic; to help with your essays about bad habits, read our top essay examples and writing prompts below.

Many people tend to discount their bad habits as small. They get blinded to their life-shattering and long-term effects because they don’t think of it as a “big deal,” they get blinded to their life-shattering and long-term effects. 

Whether smoking or procrastination, these habits are detrimental to our quality of life. Many people don’t realize how detrimental these habits can be until they create more significant problems in their lives.

Writing about bad habits and how to kick them will create an engaging, compelling, and thought-provoking essay. Read on to see the best examples of essays about bad habits and 8 intriguing writing prompts.

1. Weekly Reflections – The Ordeal of Breaking Bad Habits by Steven Lawson

2. how to break a bad habit and replace it with a good one by james clear, 3. how bad habits form (and why they’re so difficult to break) by ian kan, 4. break your bad habits by amy novotney, 5. 5 bad business habits you need to stop immediately by dylan ogline, 8 prompts on writing essays about bad habits, 1. causes of bad habits, 2. how bad habits take a toll on the health, 3. getting past the challenge of changing bad habits, 4. how to know if a habit is bad or good, 5. does stress drive us to form bad habits, 6. are bad habits contagious learn how to avoid adopting them, 7. american habits that are considered weird or bad habits in other cultures, 8. understanding the time it takes to break a bad habit.

“Our external realities are always tied to and flow out of our interior/spiritual core. Change occurs first at one’s core and then manifests itself on the surface, not the other way around.”  

Lawson uses a spiritual approach to understand bad habits, including how they’re formed and how to get rid of them. He delved into his difficulties with transforming his bad habits and wrote about how he perceived his bad habits as a behavioral reaction to a problem.

“You can teach yourself new and healthy ways to deal with stress and boredom, which you can then substitute in place of your bad habits.”

Clear’s take on bad habits is that they are methods of dealing with stress and boredom. After explaining the formation of habits from stress and boredom, he provides methods and tips for replacing them with good habits. Clear also included examples that his readers can easily relate to.

“Of course, you might feel guilty, but the goal is to be aware of those bad habits and how often they happen. Then from there, you can hatch a plan to break those habits.”

Ian Kan’s essay on bad habits dives into the psychology behind habit formation, including the various stages. After this in-depth look, he offers various methods of transforming bad habits into good ones.

“Self-motivation is best sustained by having a clear, long-range goal that can be broken down into a series of specific, attainable smaller goals to guide one’s efforts along the way.”

Novotney’s essay focuses on the top ten habits that grad students have that prevent them from gaining further academic success. She emphasizes how these habits keep students from making it through graduate school. On top of listing a good number of commonly practiced bad habits among students, she also included solutions for fixing and correcting them.

“But with each habit I shed, my prospects got brighter. When I shed all five, my agency was on track to becoming the seven-figure business it is today.”

Ogline takes bits and pieces from his experience as a business owner to write his essay on bad habits. He also provides business smarts and wisdom for readers of his essay, whether they’re simply interested in the essay or fellow entrepreneurs.

Consider the essay ideas and topics we’ve listed below if you’re more interested in writing your essays about bad habits.

Understand why bad habits exist or how they form by reading and writing about them. Use this essay writing opportunity to talk about how certain actions, situations, or emotions may lead to the formation of some bad habits.

Like stress, bad habits can worsen a person’s health. This essay focuses on the harm bad habits may cause to a person’s physical or mental health. You can even include how bad habits caused by stress can stress a person even more.

This idea will drive you to consider how difficult it is to get out of a habit cycle. When you choose to write about this topic, ensure you research the different methods of effectively dropping bad habits for different kinds of people. It gives immense help if you’ve already experienced how hard it is to break a bad habit. 

Figure out how to write a narrative essay to better share your story.

Sometimes, a habit lies in the gray area. It can be good in certain situations and bad at other times. Thus, it’s helpful to figure out how detrimental or beneficial a habit is. Consider including a habit’s effects in the short and long term.

Bad habits can form from many things, including stress. This essay prompt encourages you to read about how stress can create bad habits in a person. For example, drinking alcohol can become a way for someone to cope with stress from work or family pressure. Then, consider other forms of bad habits and how stress might have a hand in encouraging their formation.

Essays About Bad Habits: Are Bad Habits Contagious

Like diseases, bad habits can spread from person to person. In extreme cases, bad habits can even affect entire nations. Think about the bad habits you’ve gotten from being around or observing other people. You can also apply this essay to fictional works wherein the characters start adopting each other’s bad habits. It provides a good study on how bad habits can

What you may see as a bad habit can be good in a different culture. A famous example is slurping noodles loudly in East Asian countries. Loud slurping is unpleasant and rude in the West, but it’s a sign of appreciation for the food in East Asia. Research other habits that create cultural divides and discuss the different ways people view them, whether negatively or positively.

Let’s say you’re ready to break a bad habit. The challenge is to endure until you’ve gotten rid of it or changed it into a good one. This essay idea is a perfect topic for people who have tried breaking several bad habits and want to write about the experience. Use this essay topic to explore why some bad habits took longer to stop and how difficult it has been to break them.  

Get more writing ideas from our informative essay topics list for students.   

essay on smoking is a bad habit

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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500 Words Essay on Smoking is bad for health

500 Words Essay on Smoking is bad for health

Essay on smoking is bad for health.

One of the most common problems that is killing people all over the world today is smoking.

This horrible habit cause stress, personal problems and lung problems to many people all over the world.

Some people start it as an exhibition while some people use it to enjoy it.

One smoker can cause another person to smoke, which can lead to addiction. When a person smokes or smokes, he hurts not only himself but also others around him.

Smoking causes many terrible diseases to the human body. Almost everyone knows that smoking causes cancer and heart disease.

Studies have shown that the habit of smoking can shorten a person’s life by about 10 years and this bad habit causes thousands of cigarettes to be smoked every year.

Read also: Essay on Education for All

Obviously, smoking is a very bad habit because tobacco contains nicotine which is highly addictive, and because of which one cannot give up this addiction easily.

Most teenagers use this drink because they want to stay fit. When teenagers see their friends smoking, it becomes clear to them that they look happy or free because of smoking, although this is not the case at all.

The first cause of smoking, which is nicotine, is an addictive and harmful substance in cigarettes. It reduces stress and is thought to calm people who are restless and anxious.

The second most common cause of smoking is “psychological”, which is a very important factor in getting people into the habit. Some children get addicted to it at an early age due to which they have to face serious health issues.

Many people who start smoking are family members or close friends of the person whom they also become addicted to and start smoking.

Smoking is like a slow death. There are various examples of the harms of smoking. Such as smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, asthma, and a wide variety of other diseases.

You might be interested: Essay on Why Trees are Important in our Life

Smokers have more coughs and colds than non-smokers. In addition to affecting themselves, smokers also have a negative effect on other people around them, which is also called second hand smoking.

Also, pregnant women who are exposed to cigarette smoke have an increased risk of having abnormal babies.

Have you ever thought, what is in cigarettes that is pushing millions of people to smoke every day?

Cigarettes contain more than 4,000 toxins, some of which are: arsenic (found in rat poison), acetic acid (found in hair dye manufacturers), ammonia (found in household cleaners), benzene (found in rubber cement), butane (found in light liquids), carbon monoxide (found in car smoke), hydrazine and methanol (both found in rocket fuels).

Smoking is a habit that people find it difficult to quit. Many people prepare in various ways in an effort to get rid of the habit of months.

Many teenagers smoke due to stress and tension but they do not know how smoking kills them slowly and puts their health at risk. But teenagers don’t think.

Always try to avoid smoking. Keep in mind the consequences before starting it. Smoking is bad for everyone !!!!!!

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Task 2 IELTS Sample Essay: Smoking

by faysal ahmad (dhaka bangladesh)

which makes para lashed our body smoke infornt of their family member
smoking is a dangerous bad habit.it contains nicotine.it causes different diseases and damages our brain and lungs.

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Smoking Is a Bad Habit

Smoking Is a Bad Habit

 introduction.

People smoke mostly in the form of cigarettes. Some people use even cigars, pipes, etc. All these contain dried leaves of the tobacco plant. A cigarette or any such thing is made to inhale smoke. It contains a harmful substance ‘nicotine’. Tobacco is an agricultural product, grown on farms. Farmers get a good income by growing tobacco as an agricultural plant. Tobacco is also used in the preparation of some medicines. But when tobacco is used just for pleasure, is harmful to life.

Smoking causes many harmful diseases like lung cancer, emphysema, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and can lead to birth effects. Some people smoke just for fashion. Generally, a person starts smoking with friends or colleagues just for fun. Slowly they get addicted and later they reach a stage where they can’t resist smoking and become ‘chain smokers’. Chain-smoking means a person continues to smoke almost without break.

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If once a person becomes a ‘chain smoker’ then it will be very tough for that person to keep himself away from smoking even for a few hours and this habit leads to death. It is found that most men smoke, but the habit of smoking is also seen in some women and it is a very dangerous habit for women when compared to men. Because researchers have found that smoking leads to more health hazards (risks) in women when compared to men. Smoking habit is found more in young women when compared to old women.

Smoking habit is found in women of backward country areas and also in so-called Hi-Fi society. Smoking is dangerous for pregnant women. Because it will show the effect on the child in the stomach and may lead to birth effects. Smoking affects not only the person who takes it directly but also the people around that person. The people who are around the person who is smoking are forced automatically to perform ‘passive smoking’. This passive smoking is more dangerous when compared to direct smoking. Passive smoking can be found in public places like bus stands (stops) railway stations and any closed room with less ventilation. The government has banned smoking in public places. But it is not being implemented strictly anywhere in the country. Some countries strictly accomplish a ban on public smoking. But in our country still, it has to be performed. Every year many people who are dying due to diseases caused by smoking habit. It includes men and women. Government should implement a strict ban on public smoking and also usage of tobacco in any form. Many companies are producing different products by using tobacco.

People who use tobacco feel that they are enjoying but day by day the habit will lead to many diseases and ultimately to death also. The government is implementing some rules that on every cigarette packet it is printed as STATUTORY WARNING: SMOKING IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH. But even when the person who takes the cigarette from that pack reads it and continues to take cigarettes. People who are well educated also resort to smoking as it becomes their habit. Some even say that smoking keeps them active and it will help them in getting new ideas and leads to creativity.

But in fact it is not true. Nicotine which is present in tobacco keeps a person active only for some time, but it shows long-term ill effects. Some street children also resort to smoking regularly which is more dangerous than adults. Smoking is a bad habit that causes not only inconvenience to others but is also harmless. Those who are addicted to smoking can quit smoking by undergoing some treatment and also some methods such as deciding strictly not to smoke and if even they smoke, smoking some herbal cigarettes which are not harmful to health. Thus slowly they can quit smoking completely. History 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. Some of the substances are classified as hard narcotics, like heroin, 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 Americans, 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 cannabis). In Europe, it introduced a new type of social activity and a form of drug intake which previously had been unknown.

Smoking – health risks

You can eat five portions of fruit or veg a day and exercise regularly – but healthy behavior means little if you continue to smoke. The message that ‘smoking is bad for you’ is an old one, so not everyone gives it their full attention. Below we list the health risks of smoking. Why quit smoking? Most people know that smoking can cause lung cancer, but it can also cause many other cancers and illnesses. Smoking directly causes over 100,000 deaths in the UK each year and contributes to many more.

Of these deaths, about 42,800 are from smoking-related cancers, 30,600 from cardiovascular disease, and 29,100 die slowly from emphysema and other chronic lung diseases.

How do cigarettes damage health?

Cigarettes contain more than 4000 chemical compounds and at least 400 toxic substances. When you inhale, the cigarette burns at 700°C at the tip and around 60°C at the core. This heat breaks down the tobacco to produce various toxins. Like a cigarette burn, the residues are concentrated towards the butt. The most damaging products are:

  • tar, a carcinogen (substance that causes cancer) nicotine is addictive and increases cholesterol levels in your body
  • carbon monoxide reduces oxygen in the body
  • components of the gas and particulate phases cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).

The damage caused by smoking is influenced by:

  • the number of cigarettes smoked
  • whether the cigarette has a filter
  • how the tobacco has been prepared

Smoking affects how long you live Research has shown that smoking reduces life expectancy by seven to eight years. Of the 300 people who die every day in the UK as a result of smoking, many are comparatively young smokers.

The number of people under the age of 70 who die from smoking-related diseases exceeds the total figure for deaths caused by breast cancer, AIDS, traffic accidents, and drug addiction. Non-smokers and ex-smokers can also look forward to a healthier old age than smokers.

Major diseases caused by smoking

 Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death due to smoking. Hardening of the arteries is a process that develops over years, when cholesterol and other fats deposit in the arteries, leaving them narrow, blocked, or rigid. When the arteries narrow (atherosclerosis), blood clots are likely to form.

Smoking accelerates the hardening and narrowing process in your arteries: it starts earlier and blood clots are two to four times more likely. Cardiovascular disease can take many forms depending on which blood vessels are involved, and all of them are more common in people who smoke.

  • Coronary thrombosis: a blood clot in the arteries supplying the heart, which can lead to a heart attack. Around 30 percent are caused by smoking.
  • Cerebral thrombosis: the vessels to the brain can become blocked, which can lead to collapse, stroke, and paralysis. Damage to the brain’s blood supply is also an important cause of dementia. If the kidney arteries are affected, then high blood pressure or kidney failure results.
  • Blockage to the vascular supply to the legs may lead to gangrene and amputation. Smokers tend to develop coronary thrombosis 10 years earlier than non-smokers and makeup 9 out of 10 heart bypass patients. CANCER Smokers are more likely to get cancer than non-smokers. This is particularly true of lung cancer, throat cancer, and mouth cancer, which hardly ever affect non-smokers.
  • Ninety percent of lung cancer cases are due to smoking.
  • If no one smoked, lung cancer would be a rare diagnosis – only 0. percent of people who’ve never touched a cigarette develop lung cancer.
  • One in ten moderate smokers and almost one in five heavy smokers (more than 15 cigarettes a day) will die of lung cancer. The more cigarettes you smoke in a day, and the longer you’ve smoked, the higher your risk of lung cancer. Similarly, the risk rises the deeper you inhale and the earlier in life you started smoking. For ex-smokers, it takes approximately 15 years before the risk of lung cancer drops to the same as that of a non-smoker. If you smoke, the risk of contracting mouth cancer is four times higher than for a non-smoker.

Cancer can start in many areas of the mouth, with the most common being on or underneath the tongue, or on the lips. Other types of cancer that are more common in smokers are:

  • bladder cancer
  • cancer of the esophagus
  • cancer of the kidneys
  • cancer of the pancreas
  • cervical cancer COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a collective term for a group of conditions that block airflow and make breathing more difficult, such as:

  • emphysema – breathlessness caused by damage to the air sacs (alveoli)
  • chronic bronchitis – coughing with a lot of mucus that continues for at least three months.

Smoking is the most common cause of COPD and is responsible for 80 percent of cases. It’s estimated that 94 percent of 20-a-day smokers have some emphysema when the lungs are examined after death, while more than 90 percent of non-smokers have little or none. COPD typically starts between the ages of 35 and 45 when lung function starts to decline anyway. In smokers, the rate of decline in lung function can be three times the usual rate. As lung function declines, breathlessness begins. As the condition progresses, severe breathing problems can require hospital care.

The final stage is death from slow and progressive breathlessness. Other risks caused by smoking:

  • Smoking raises blood pressure, which can cause hypertension (high blood pressure) – a risk factor for heart attacks and stroke.
  • Couples who smoke are more likely to have fertility problems than couples who are non-smokers.
  • Smoking worsens asthma and counteracts asthma medication by worsening the inflammation of the airways that the medicine tries to ease.
  • The blood vessels in the eye are sensitive and can be easily damaged by smoke, causing a bloodshot appearance and itchiness. Heavy smokers are twice as likely to get macular degeneration, resulting in the gradual loss of eyesight.
  • Smokers run an increased risk of cataracts.
  • Smokers take 25 percent more sick days a year than non-smokers.
  • Smoking stains your teeth and gums.
  • Smoking increases your risk of periodontal disease, which causes swollen gums, bad breath, and teeth to fall out.
  • Smoking causes an acid taste in the mouth and contributes to the development of ulcers.
  • Smoking also affects your looks: smokers have paler skin and more wrinkles.

This is because smoking reduces the blood supply to the skin and lowers levels of vitamin A. Smoking and impotence For men in their 30s and 40s, smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) by about 50 percent. Erection can’t occur unless blood can flow freely into the penis, so these blood vessels have to be in good condition. Smoking can damage the blood vessels and cause them to degenerate: nicotine narrows the arteries that lead to the penis, reducing blood flow and the pressure of blood in the penis.

This narrowing effect increases over time, so if you haven’t got problems now, things could change later. Erection problems in smokers may be an early warning signal that cigarettes are already damaging other areas of the body – such as the blood vessels that supply the heart. Smoking and others There are many health-related reasons to give up cigarettes – not just for smokers, but to protect those around you. Babies born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy are twice as likely to be born prematurely and with low birth weight. Passive smoking.

The ‘side-stream’ smoke that comes off a cigarette between puffs carries a higher risk than directly inhaled smoke. Children who grow up in a home where one or both of their parents smoke have twice the risk of getting asthma and asthmatic bronchitis. They also have a higher risk of developing allergies. Infants under two years old are more prone to severe respiratory infections and cot death. For adults, passive smoking seems to increase the risk of lung cancer, but the evidence for an increased risk of heart disease is not yet conclusive.

Thinking about quitting? As well as reducing your risk of getting a smoking-related illness, there are other benefits to quitting smoking.

  • General health improves – tiredness and headaches can be linked to smoking.
  • Your sense of taste and smell improves.
  • Your heart will be less strained and work more efficiently.

Stopping smoking is the single biggest thing you can do to improve your health, but it’s a difficult task. Smokers who are trying to kick their habit may be disappointed to find there’s no single quit method that guarantees success.

The weight of evidence suggests that smokers should set a date to stop, and do their best to quit completely from this point. On average it takes four to five attempts to give up, and several things can help willpower.

  • Nicotine replacement treatment (NRT) in the form of gum, skin patches, or nasal spray.
  • Zyban (bupropion) is a medicine that’s licensed to help smoking cessation.
  • Champix (varenicline): a medicine that mimics the effect of nicotine in the body, and so reduces the urge to smoke and also reduces withdrawal symptoms.

Varenicline can double your chance of successfully quitting

  • Behavior modification programs.
  • Alternative therapies such as acupuncture and hypnosis.

Research shows that people who take part in a full ‘quit smoking’ program, including behavioral therapies and medication, may increase their chance of successfully quitting from about 3 percent on willpower alone to over 30 percent. Prevalence Smoking, primary tobacco, is an activity that is practiced by some 1. 1 billion people, and up to 1/3 of the adult population.

The image of the smoker can vary considerably but is very often associated, especially in fiction, with individuality and aloofness. Even so, smoking both tobacco and cannabis can be a social activity that serves as a reinforcement of social structures and is part of the cultural rituals of many and diverse social and ethnic groups. Many smokers begin smoking in social settings and the offering and sharing of a cigarette is often an important rite of initiation or simply a good excuse to start a conversation with strangers in many settings; in bars, nightclubs, at work, or on the street.

Lighting a cigarette is often seen as an effective way of avoiding the appearance of idleness or mere loitering. It has been shown that even opening a packet of cigarettes, or offering a cigarette to other people, can increase the level of dopamine (the “happy feeling”) in the brain. Other than recreational drug use, it can be used to construct identity and a development of self-image by associating it with personal experiences connected with smoking. The rise of the modern anti-smoking movement in the late 19th century did more than creating awareness of the hazards of smoking.

By the 17th century allowances of tobacco were a standard part of the naval rations of many nations and by World War I cigarette manufacturers and governments collaborated in securing tobacco and cigarette allowances to soldiers in the field. It was asserted that regular use of tobacco while under duress would not only calm the soldiers but allow them to withstand greater hardship. Until the mid-20th century, the majority of the adult population in many Western nations were smokers and the claims of anti-smoking activists were met with much skepticism.

Today the movement has considerably more weight and evidence of its claims, but a considerable proportion of the population remains steadfast smokers. Conclusion Smoking has been accepted into culture, in various art forms, and has developed many distinct, and often conflicting or mutually exclusive, meanings depending on time, place, and the practitioners of smoking. Pipe smoking, until recently one of the most common forms of smoking, is today often associated with solemn contemplation, old age and is often considered quaint and archaic.

Cigarette smoking, which did not begin to become widespread until the late 19th century, has more associations with modernity and the faster pace of the industrialized world. Cigars have been, and still are, associated with masculinity, power and are an iconic image associated with the stereotypical capitalist. Some evidence suggests that men with higher than average testosterone levels are more likely to smoke. Smoking in public has for a long time been something reserved for men and when done by women has been associated with promiscuity.

But in conclusion, we would like to say once again that smoking is deadly harmful to human health, moreover, we are convinced that it is necessary to fight against smoking, to protect people from passive smoking because non-smokers suffer even more than smokers. We have known a lot of useful information and interesting facts. And as no one of us doesn’t smoke we would try to protect people close to us, our relatives from smoking, we would try to encourage them to quit smoking.

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Smoking and Its Negative Effects on Human Beings Research Paper

Smoking is one of the most common negative habits that people indulge in. Many health experts have warned that smoking is unhealthy and dangerous to the human health. This essay will discuss the negative effects of smoking on human beings.

Smoking cigarette is addictive that is why many smokers have difficulties in giving up the habit. Cigarettes are produced of tobacco with a large percent of other additives, which account for the largest number of preventable deaths in the world. People who smoke commonly face different health problems, which are caused by tobacco consumption. Therefore, smoking has negative health consequences for smokers and people who live with them and become passive smokers as a result.

The WHO and other health organisations have sensitised people on the dangers of smoking. There are many health conditions which smokers are likely to suffer from (Pampel 61). Their bodies absorb harmful toxins which cigarettes contain which are dangerous to their health.

Smoking is a major health risk which results in heart attacks, strokes, bronchitis, and other respiratory diseases. The accumulation of tobacco and other toxins in the respiratory tract of a smoker makes a person suffer from respiratory health conditions.

Smokers, therefore, are likely to incur huge medical bills when they seek for treatment for these diseases. Many governments spend a lot of money on treating smoking related diseases, which increases the cost of healthcare. Pampel argues that smokers can succumb to such illnesses unless they stop smoking (64).

Tobacco consumption causes dental problems which are difficult to reverse. Smokers are likely to have bad breath, stained teeth and smelly gums. Toxic elements, which cigarettes contain, for instance, tar, have dangerous impacts on human health. These substances cause smokers to have poor dents and even lose their teeth (Peate 362).

Smokers are likely to suffer emotionally and psychologically because poor health and unattractive appearance, caused, for example, by stained or broken teeth, make a person lose his/her own self-esteem. Smokers are likely to be shunned by people close to them because of fetid breath, bad body odour and poor outward appearance. Therefore, people need to be made aware of dental and other health problems they are likely to experience as a result of smoking.

Tobacco consumption causes a lot of deaths in developing countries. These countries have weak laws which do not effectively regulate cigarette selling and consumption. Advertisement implicit messages encourage the young to become smokers. Tobacco advertising in many developed countries has been prohibited. However, some third world countries still allow tobacco advertising, which encourages more people to acquire this bad habit.

The images of sophistication, bravery and glamour which are carried by tobacco adverts easily persuade the young to become smokers. Peate reveals that tobacco companies target adolescents and women to increase their sales (363). These people are easily influenced by what they see in the media. People who begin smoking at early age are likely to be addicted for a longer period than those who develop the habit at mature age (Cox).

Smokers are exposed to various carcinogens in cigarettes. These carcinogens cause cancer and negatively affect human health. Lung, throat, brain, bladder, cervical cancer as well as other forms are caused by smoking. The symptoms are often detected at the time when the smoker’s health condition is already chronic.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death world wide. A significant number of cancer patients have a history of smoking and tobacco consumption (Peate 365). If people get exposed to exhaled smoke, they are likely to be affected by it. They breathe in toxic components of the exhaled smoke that deposit in their lungs and other respiratory organs. These people can suffer from respiratory illnesses as well.

Women, who smoke during pregnancy, are likely to expose their unborn babies to toxic substances contained in cigarettes. The tar that is present in cigarettes is likely to be embedded in the DNA of a mother, who may pass it on to the child in her womb. These toxic components inhibit the normal growth of a baby in the fetus, which results in death and still births. Cox reveals that if the pregnancy proceeds to full term, the delivered child can have severe brain disorders.

Such children are very slow at learning because their cognitive functions are impaired. Female smokers are likely to become infertile or their reproductive abilities are limited. Nicotine restricts the ability of the female reproductive system to generate estrogen. Many physiological and reproductive functions in women depend on estrogen.

Nicotine is a substance found in cigarettes which is very addictive. People who try to give up smoking experience severe withdrawal symptoms, which restrict their ability to function effectively. They are likely to experience several episodes of depression.

This is because their bodies are used to the intake of nicotine and have difficulties in performing its functions without it (Cox). Nicotine stimulates the human mind just like any other drug, which increases the risk of high blood pressure in a smoker. From the above mentioned, it is easy to conclude that smoking has negative effects on people’s health.

Works Cited

Cox, Jack. “ The Lesser Known Harmful Effects of Smoking .” The Register . 2012. Orange Country Register News . Web.

Pampel, Fred C. Tobacco Industry and Smoking . New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Print.

Peate, Ian. “The Effects of Smoking on the Reproductive Health of Men”. British Journal of Nursing 14.7 (2005): 362–366. Print.

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essay on smoking is a bad habit

Four unhealthy habits – and how to break them

W hether it’s smoking, vaping , caffeine, alcohol, or late-night snacking , it can be very hard to kick an unhealthy habit. Just ask Adele. The singer previously gave up her 25-a-day cigarette habit, but she just can’t seem to quit caffeine , and has been left with withdrawal symptoms including migraines and “the shakes”. 

“I decided this week to stop drinking coffee,” she told her audience in Las Vegas. “It was harder than giving up cigarettes, harder than when you want to stop drinking… I had a splitting headache for two days because I cut it out. My head was pounding. It was like there was a drill inside my head. It was a lot.”

Research shows it takes 66 days to form a habit and, once it’s set, it can prove very difficult to break. Your vice of choice – whether it’s a flat white, a cigarette or a packet of biscuits – prompts the release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of pleasure and reward, and it can seem impossible to cut it out.

“The only way I can cut down on something is to impose an arbitrary rule on myself,” says one colleague of mine, who has valiantly cut out 4pm biscuits and other sweet treats in the office. “I invented a rule that I wouldn’t have sugary snacks from Monday to Friday. And going cold turkey during the week actually means I crave sugar less when Saturday comes, as I’ve broken the addictive cycle.”

More than just dogged determination, there are certain tips and tricks that can help you boot a bad habit once and for all. Here’s how.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with a morning coffee, and multiple studies have indicated that moderate caffeine consumption can have health benefits . But while you might not think of it as a drug, caffeine can cause dependency like any other addictive substance – as Adele knows all too well.

“Caffeine addiction is a subtle combination of physical and psychological addiction,” says John Dicey, co-author of the Allen Carr books on how to quit smoking. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors (which promote sleep), which increases the production of dopamine and other neurotransmitters that play a role in cognitive function, such as noradrenaline and glutamate.

However, you end up needing more to chase down that energy boost. “Stimulants tend to become less effective the more you use them. If you have a coffee every time you’re tired, it eventually stops working… [you’re] becoming even more exhausted, and seemingly even more in need of another fix. Your mind associates taking the drug with feeling better than you did the moment before.” How can you cut down?

There is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that switching to decaffeinated coffee can help, and this is a tactic Adele has employed. “I did have about 25 decaf coffees yesterday, trying to trick my brain into thinking I was drinking coffee,” she said.

As with any bad habit, it is more helpful to replace it with a healthier one, rather than focus on cutting it out. With coffee, this could be decaf, but it could also be a herbal tea or a different soft drink.

You may experience the predictable withdrawal symptoms: headaches, fatigue and irritability, to name a few. But persevere. More important than weathering the physical symptoms is changing your mindset around caffeine withdrawal.

“Whether it’s a drug or a habit that you want to rid yourself of – don’t worry about withdrawal. Those feelings are mostly caused by a sense that you’ve sacrificed something, or given up something precious,” says Dicey. “If you think in terms of having ‘got rid of’ a habit or drug, rather than having ‘given it up’, it makes a huge psychological difference.” Remember, too, he argues, that most of the energy you glean from caffeine is an “illusionary boost… If you really are tired, then your body is asking for sleep and rest, not caffeine.”

It is notoriously hard to give up cigarettes – in one study, which followed 630 smokers who tried to quit, only 22 per cent managed to keep their resolve after two weeks, and just 8 per cent at six months. But as a former 80-a-day smoker, Dicey can advise.

There are different schools of thought, but he argues it is better to go cold turkey than to taper down. “Most people who taper down find it harder to quit… and often end up smoking more. By controlling it, it makes cigarettes seem even more precious,” he says. One study published in Psychological Science found that smokers who tried to control their thoughts of smoking found they thought about it more.

Here’s how you should go about it. With smoking, as with any habit you want to break, “set a date and stick to it”, he says. “Think of the date you plan to change as a big day, something to look forward to rather than dread. You’re planning to make a really positive change that will make you happier, healthier and more in control of your life – it’s something to anticipate with relish rather than fear.”  

The second tip is to avoid trying to quit through willpower alone. Research shows that nicotine-replacement therapies, such as skin patches, chewing gum and nasal sprays, can be effective, especially when combined with support from a stop-smoking service.  

“Most people go about quitting the wrong way… willpower [alone] doesn’t really work,” says Dicey. “Rather than focusing on the downsides – smokers know all the bad stuff and it doesn’t prevent them smoking – the best way to look at it is what are the arguments for smoking? For instance, ‘It makes me feel less stressed.’ Once they’ve understood why they do it, they can begin to understand why smoking doesn’t actually help with those things.” Research shows that the stress and anxiety levels of smokers are actually higher than non-smokers.

A sugary snack habit can be among the most difficult to quit, as sugar itself is pretty hard to avoid. “We’re faced with high-sugar foods everywhere we go and every supermarket is laden with sugary options,” says nutritionist Jenna Hope. As with smoking, simply relying on willpower to break a bad habit is unlikely to work.

One 2008 study published in the journal Appetite found that those who suppressed their thoughts about eating chocolate experienced a behavioural rebound effect and ended up eating significantly more chocolate than those who didn’t.

Sugar isn’t an addictive substance, but it can stimulate the brain’s “reward centre” in a similar way to caffeine and other dependencies, says Hope. It can also contribute to a “blood-sugar rollercoaster”.

Instead of going cold turkey (which, in the case of sugar, is nigh on impossible), she suggests gradually decreasing your overall intake. If you have sugar in tea or coffee, for example, try “halving the amount you’re adding to tea and coffee, and then slowly halve it again and again, until you no longer need sugar in your hot drinks”.

She also recommends “starting the day with a savoury breakfast, such as peanut butter on rye toast, eggs or cottage cheese on crackers with vegetables, as this can help to stabilise your blood-sugar levels”, and swapping one sugary snack per day for a savoury option.

Plenty of us are aware that we could do with cutting down on how much we drink – although if your drinking has become a problem and tipped into alcohol addiction, the advice is to speak to your GP or call the free national alcohol helpline, Drinkline, in confidence.

But if you are primarily a social drinker wanting to break the habit of always saying yes to that second glass of wine on a weeknight, the same bad-habit-breaking principles apply. Replacing an unhealthy habit with a healthier one is key. Follow specific strategies, rather than rely on willpower alone: for example, try implementing a rule of two dry days per week; alternating one alcoholic beverage with a non-alcoholic one at the pub; and taking a 20-minute break between drinks.

Have you managed to break a bad habit? Tell us how in the comments section below 

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‘Research shows it takes 66 days to form a habit and, once it’s set, it can prove very difficult to break,’ writes Buchanan

Here are seven charts to make sense of the Victorian state budget

Australian banknotes, mostly $50 bills, strewn over a flat surface.

The Victorian government handed down its budget for 2024-25 yesterday.

Some of the big announcements include $400 credits for children at government schools, the delay of the Airport Rail Link, and billions of dollars invested into upgrading major hospitals  — but plenty more can be gleaned from the data.

Here are seven charts to help make sense of the numbers.

Debt is predicted to grow

The Victorian government is in debt, and that's only predicted to increase.

After a sharp rise in the last few years, attributed to the COVID pandemic and big infrastructure project spending, the debt is expected to grow to $156.2 billion.

By 2027-28, it's forecast to rise further, to $187.8 billion.

However, the debt isn't growing as fast as it has in previous years, which is perhaps better seen by comparing the size of the debt to Victoria's economy as a whole.

The size of Victoria's economy is measured using the Gross State Product (GSP), which is calculated by adding up all the goods and services a state produces.

When analysing these figures together, we can see Victoria's debt will reach 24.4 per cent of its economy in the next financial year.

In budget forecasting, it's expected to peak at 25.2 per cent in 2026-27 — then fall by 0.1 per cent the year after.

In his budget speech, Treasurer Tim Pallas said this predicted decrease would be the first since the pandemic, and would indicate the "strength" in the growth of Victoria's economy.

But it's only a forecast figure at this stage.

Goal to reach budget surplus by June 2026

The Victorian government not only predicts a reduction in the debt ratio — it's forecasting a budget surplus.

This means the government will be taking in more money than it's spending.

After years of being in deficit through the COVID response years, the government predicts there will be one more year of deficit before a surplus of $1.5 billion in 2025-26.

The budget surplus is predicted to grow from there, increasing to $1.64 billion in 2026-27, and $1.94 billion the year after that. 

Infrastructure spending predicted to drop

One way the government has tried to keep future budgets in surplus is by reducing its spending on capital projects.

These projects encompass all the building and repairing of infrastructure that happens across the state, from major road projects, to new schools, and hospital upgrades.

There was a massive increase in infrastructure spending in the past few years, including level crossing removal projects across Melbourne, the West Gate Tunnel, the Metro Tunnel, and early works on the Suburban Rail Loop.

But now the government is looking to curb this.

The budget predicts annual infrastructure spending will reach a peak of $23.3 billion in the coming financial year, and gradually decrease to $15.6 billion in 2027-28.

Pallas says this is intentional, as the aim is to decrease the amount spent on infrastructure to pre-COVID levels, "to better align with the ability of our economy to deliver".

Health and education dominates spending

To get an idea as to what the state government spends its money on, a breakdown of expenditure by government function is a useful measure.

These functions are defined by the Australian government , and are useful when comparing the expenditure of different states and territories.

Health spending dominates, comprising 31 per cent of the 2024-25 budget's operating expenses.

Next comes education, which equates to about a quarter of spending.

That's followed by public order and safety, which includes policing, general public services, encompassing public servant wages, and transport.

These proportions stay similar from year to year.

Big reductions across government functions

Grouping government spending into these functions can also show where the government might look to save money in coming years.

This can be done by taking the amount allocated for the coming financial year, and comparing it with the forecast allocation for 2027-28. 

For example, 'general public services' will see a $3 billion annual increase in spending between this budget and 2027-28.

This allocation includes all the costs of running a government, such as paying MPs and public servants.

The biggest decrease is in 'economic affairs', which includes agriculture, forestry, mining, manufacturing, construction and communication. There will be more than a 50 per cent reduction in spending in this sector between this budget and 2027-28.

The next biggest reductions are in 'recreation, culture and religion', which includes sports funding, which the state government predicts will halve over the next four years.

But the biggest increase is in a classification called 'not allocated by function'. As its name suggests, this money has not yet been set aside for a particular purpose.

Payroll taxes are the state's biggest

And finally, a look at how the government makes its money from taxes.

The biggest tax is payroll tax, which is calculated based on wages paid to employees by an employer above a threshold.

Revenue from this tax is expected to grow, and is bolstered by the COVID Debt Levy, and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Levy, with these levies paid by businesses with a national payroll of more than $10 million.

Revenue from stamp duty and land taxes is also predicted to increase, while revenue from gambling taxes is expected to fall.

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