Final Project

For my final project I will be narrating my second essay. It is about the ill effects of smoking, and the effect it has on the general public

Essay 1

How America has changed our behavior towards cigarettes in the 60’s 

            America was not always the anti-smoking country that is portrayed today through the media and support groups. There was a time in American culture in the 60’s where it seemed like all Americans did was smoke. To understand how the American attitude towards smoking has changed it is important to compare the different advertising, the difference in consumption, the differences in medical research on the hazardous effects of smoking and the changing federal policies regarding tobacco. Tobacco affects the lives and health of millions of Americans every year, and will continue to do so until a change is made to the regulation of cigarettes as a whole instead of regulating where you can smoke.

            The biggest change we have seen in smoking from the 1960’s compared to the 2000’s is the advertising. Back in the 60’s there were no rules against tobacco advertising so it was everywhere including the children’s cartoon the Flintstones. “The Flintstones (1960-1965) was sponsored by a cigarette maker” (Ingram) so even the children were being targeted by tobacco companies. Smoking ads also littered magazines getting up to 20 cigarette ads in one magazine such as Penthouse and Playboy, “Cigarettes are the most heavily advertised product in the U.S.” (Jacobs). Until 1964 cigarette companies didn’t have to put the Surgeon General’s warning on their ads or products, where as now they do.

            The biggest difference Americans have seen in regards to tobacco is consumption. “In 1964 over half of adult Americans smoked” (Surgeon General). Now in America less than twenty percent of Americans smoke, around forty-six million. Even soldiers in the U.S. Army were deliberately targeted by cigarette companies; with every Army K-ration the soldiers were given a 5 pack of cigarettes which my have been a contributing factor in many soldiers starting the habit.  Cigarettes were everywhere in the 60’s most offices and even bathrooms were accommodated for smokers. In most homes (even those of none smoking families) they had cigarette jars for guest who liked to smoke. Also you could smoke everywhere and anywhere in the 60’s including planes, elevators and even hospitals. People literally smoked everywhere.

Now in America less than twenty percent of Americans smoke, around forty-six million. This decline is in part due to the excise tax on cigarettes as well as the increased knowledge of the general public to the lasting effects of cigarettes and second hand smoke.  This is also due to the high profile, high visibility media campaigns that are targeting big tobacco companies, exposing their previous ads campaigns focused on increasing usage among children, heralding the medical issues associated with prolonged tobacco usage, as well as highlighting the massive profits they are reaping from what is quickly becoming deemed a “filthy habit”. 

The amount of underage smokers has also significantly decreased as local, state and federal laws have made it more difficult for them to purchase cigarettes.  There is also an increased focus on enforcement of these laws with local retailers including significant fines for those merchants that knowingly sell to minors.  Furthermore, several high visibility successful legal cases against the big tobacco companies has helped fuel the current backlash against big tobacco and provided further incentive in various state and local legislatures to take increasingly bold action in their states. 

            There are now federal policies and state policies to help regulate the use of cigarettes such as bans on where you can smoke; as we all know it is now illegal to smoke in a hospital. Recently President Obama signed a new bill called the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, landmark legislation that gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco” (AHA). Whereas in the sixties the only thing regulated was there had to be a smoking and none smoking area in restaurants. There are now also statewide bans on places to smoke as well s advertising, this is why you don’t see cigarette commercials on television anymore.

            While in the 1960’s smoking was seen as a glamorous vice that most stars, national personalities and “cool kids” practiced, in later decades has increasingly been viewed as a more disdainful habit.  This change in view is likely the result of a growing body of medical knowledge, formed off of a growing number of people that are suffering from the long term effects of tobacco usage, that definitively point to a wide range of maladies including throat and lung cancer, emphysema, tongue cancer and other issues.  Furthermore, the growing public awareness of these issues, along with a more aggressive media campaign targeting the big tobacco companies coupled with more proactive legislative efforts at both the federal and state level, have had a significant effect on the number of Americans that currently smoke, but more importantly on those choosing not to smoke and also those looking to stop smoking. 

           

                 

Works Cited

1681, By. "History of Tobacco Regulation*." DRCNet Online Library of Drug Policy. Web. 05 Oct. 2010. <http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/nc/nc2b.htm>.

"Cigarette Advertising." Health & Literacy Special Collection. Web. 05 Oct. 2010. <http://www.healthliteracy.worlded.org/docs/tobacco/Unit2/1cigarett_adv.html>.

"Cigarette Commercials: TVparty!" Classic TV / TV Shows on DVD / Classic Television / TVparty! Web. 05 Oct. 2010. <http://www.tvparty.com/vaultcomcig.html>.

"Smoking Cessation." American Heart Association. Web. 05 Oct. 2010. <http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4731>.

"Smoking Habits Have Changed." Web. <http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/QQ/B/D/K/H/_/qqbdkh.pdf>.

"Smoking Rate Is Declining in U.S." WebMD - Better Information. Better Health. Web. 05 Oct. 2010. <http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20081113/smoking-rate-is-declining-in-us>.

Essay 2

Stephen Chrzanowski

Dr. Kerr

Eng 101 H Sec 1

10/25/2010

The Harmful Effects of Smoking Cigarettes

Smoking cigarettes can potentially create or exacerbate medical problems for those who use these tobacco-based products as well as for those who don’t smoke but suffer the effects of second hand smoke.  To accurately assess the effects of second hand smoke, one must define what constitutes second-hand smoke, examine the existing information about its harmful effects, and determine how this byproduct of smoking can be a contributory factor to a variety of health problems or risks among non-smokers who are exposed to second hand smoke (through either professional or personal circumstances) including those that can potentially lead to death.  While the short term effects of smoking (feelings of pleasure, contentment or getting "buzzed") can provide brief moments of ecstasy (with or without the additional feelings associated with such an addictive substance), leading medical authorities tend to agree that that the long term effects generally outweigh any short term gains.  Given the sheer number of smokers in the United States (even though this number appears to be shrinking) and the rising number of those affected by second hand smoke, particularly in light of the massive healthcare reform recently passed by the Obama Administration, the effects and ramifications of second hand smoke need to be examined, including how this phenomena relates to young people. 

            It has been proven that the smoking of cigarettes is a direct cause of cancer as said by the National Cancer Institute “Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and diminishes a person’s overall health. Smoking is a leading cause of cancer and of death from cancer. It causes cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx (voice box), mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach, and cervix.”  Smoking has been directly linked to the development of multiple types of cancer as stated above. When pregnant women smoke it is also extremely harmful to the baby, and is a leading cause of premature births. Smoking is easily preventable by simply not starting or quitting as there are immediate positive effects of quitting.

Another serious problem that arises from smoking is the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, as it literally affects everyone around the smoker. Especially people who are raising children and smoke in or around he house, the children are directly exposed to the same amount of toxins as the smoker is. Second hand smoking contains around The National Toxicology Program estimates that at least 250 chemicals in secondhand smoke are known to be toxic or carcinogenic” ("The Health"). And these toxins are directly connected to the development of asthma and other conditions as stated by the Environmental Protection Agency “Many of the health effects of secondhand smoke, including asthma, are most clearly seen in children because children are most vulnerable to its effects. Most likely, children's developing bodies make them more susceptible to secondhand smoke's effects and, due to their small size, they breathe more rapidly than adults thereby taking in more secondhand smoke. Children receiving high doses of secondhand smoke, such as those with smoking mothers, run the greatest relative risk of experiencing damaging health effects.” ("Asthma")

        The worst and most preventable effect of smoking is death; smoking kills numerous people every year. The easiest way to prevent this from happening is to not start smoking at all, and if you do smoke to quit as soon as possible. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention there are 443,000("Smoking") deaths annually as a result of the effects of smoking. And to fully understand the devastating effects of cigarette smoking on people’s lives it was best stated by the Center for Disease Control “On average, adults who smoke cigarettes die 14 years earlier than nonsmokers. Based on current cigarette smoking patterns, an estimated 25 million Americans who are alive today will die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses, including 5 million people younger than 18 years of age.^” That is a lot of time gone due to one cause.

              When someone examines the effects of smoking from the perspective of how it causes cancer, gives off dangerous second hand smoke and how it ultimately leads to death it is easy to see that smoking is not safe and should not be done by anyone. Also, when someone looks at the death toll every year for smokers it gives an entirely different view of what smoking really causes. On average one out of every two smokers will die from a smoking related illness. All of these points raise the fact that smoking is not worth the health risks associated with the act of smoking such as lung cancer and the harmful effects it has on children. The easiest cure for all of this is a simple no, that’s all it takes to prevent all of the death and disease from happening to the smoker and their loved ones.

Works Cited

"Asthma Triggers - Secondhand Smoke | Asthma | US EPA." US Environmental    Protection Agency. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. <http://www.epa.gov/asthma/shs.html>.

"Quitting Smoking: Why To Quit and How To Get Help - National Cancer                        Institute." National Cancer Institute - Comprehensive Cancer Information. Web.                        28 Oct. 2010.             <http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/cessation>.

"Smoking and Tobacco Use :: Fact Sheet :: Tobacco-Related Mortality :: Office on            Smoking and Health (OSH) :: CDC." Centers for Disease Control and      Prevention. Web. 28 Oct. 2010.             <http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_r elated_mortality/>.

 "The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services." Office of the                Surgeon General (OSG). Web. 28 Oct. 2010.             <http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/factsheets/factsheet9.  html>.

Police

Why did the Beatles hate police?

Why do they have so many songs referring to police as pigs and jokers and teasing them?

How many songs did the Beatles have refeerring to police?

How often does police brutality occur?
According to the National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project (a non-partisan non-governmental project) 19.4% of all reports involve police brutality, 1 out of every 235 cops will be accused of a violent crime. And 16.5 cops are cited for misconduct on average every day

How long have cops been around?
Modern police institutions are, essentially, the creation of nineteenth-century nation states and empires. (questia.com)

Where was the first police squad originated?

The Eggman

Who is the Eggman in folklore?
The eggman in folklore is humpty dumpty, who in a story fell off a wall and cracked open, he is seen in many childrens tales and rhymes

Who is the Eggman in the song? Is it John? Or is it Paul?
The eggman is Eric Burdon, the lead singer of a band called the Animals, John heard a rumor about something that Eric did during intercourse and found it funny, so he called him the Eggman.

What signifigance does the Eggman have in this song?
It really doesnt have anything to do with the song, it is a bunch of jumbled lyrics that each have individual meaning instead of a group understanding

Stupid Bloody Tuesday

What are they referring to?

Was this an event occurring around the time of this album?

Did this occurrence gain a lot of media attention?

Crying

What is crying? What physically causes us to cry?
Tears of emotion are produced from the main lacrimal gland. Basal tears are
produced continuously; about 5-10 oz. either drain into the puncta or
evaporate everyday. After the puncta the tears flow into the canalis ducts
and then into the lacrimal sac and finally into the nasolacrimal duct, which
then empties into the nose. When tears are the emotional type and are
abundant the puncta cannot accommodate the abundance of liquid, so they flow
out of the eyelids. (Academic.evergreen.edu)

How do you feel when you cry?
We usually are sad or very happy when we cry, although we can cry when we are physically in pain as well

Is crying healthy?
Crying may not be a blockbuster drug, but the latest research suggests it's highly effective at healing, and that it improves the mood of 88.8 per cent of weepers, with only 8.4 per cent feeling worse. (alternet.org)
How often does an adult cry?
The average American adult cries for five minutes 3-4 times a month (academic.evergreen.edu)

How often does a child cry?
The average infant cries 30 minutes to 2 hours a day (academic.evergreen.edu)