Tobacco Addiction
Dealing with Addiction
Providing the facts about substance abuse, gambling, gaming & food addiction as well as how to help people recover from addiction.
- Age range: 12 years and upwards
- Category: Schools
- Last revised: 2021
- Pages: 83
- Illustrated throughout
Ebook: £10.99 
Hard copy: £35.99 add to basket
Most of us know that smoking is bad for our physical health, and we have all heard the government warnings that smoking kills. Did you know that tobacco smoke is the main cause of preventable illness and death worldwide? Smoking is the leading cause of cancer and globally it is responsible for 90% of lung cancers. So why do people start smoking?
Many people start smoking when they are young, often due to peer pressure. Very often, once they start, it is very difficult to stop smoking due to the addictive nature of nicotine.
Smokers are almost 25 times more likely to get lung cancer than non-smokers, and life expectancy for smokers is at least 10 years shorter than for non-smokers. Therefore if a smoker does not want to die early from smoking, they need to take steps to quit as soon as possible.
What is Tobacco Addiction?
Many smokers are addicted to tobacco, but they are mainly addicted to nicotine, which is present in the tobacco plant. Nicotine is highly addictive and nicotine addiction is as difficult to fight as heroin addiction.
So how bad is smoking for our health, and what illnesses does smoking cause?
There are a number of tobacco related diseases and illnesses caused by smoking and they include:
- Lung cancer — globally it is the leading cause of this type of cancer
- Cancer of the mouth, head and neck
- Breast cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart disease
There are over 4000 toxic chemicals in one cigarette including:
- Arsenic
- Lead
- Butane
- Formaldehyde
- Carbon monoxide
- Tar
How to Stop Smoking
If someone wants to stop smoking, there are products available such as nicotine patches, which help wean the smoker off nicotine. The withdrawal symptoms may be unpleasant, but if someone is determined to quit smoking, they must remember that the physical symptoms will taper off. They will still need support to deal with the mental and emotional difficulties such as depression and anxiety, so it is a good idea for them to see their GP if they want to stop smoking.