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Introduction
Smoking simply refers to a practice in which a known substance, usually cannabis or tobacco, is burnt and the smoke it produces is inhaled directly. The combustion releases active substances like tar and nicotine that are responsible for lung poisoning and infection. When inhaled, the smoke induces spiritual enlightenment and trances, it is also a major health hazard that indirectly claims the lives of many people by causing a variety of diseases including cervical cancer, lung cancer and other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPDs). Other risks caused by smoking include: the raising of an individual’s blood pressure, the worsening of one’s asthmatic conditions, the development of ulcers and the occurrences of erectile dysfunctions especially in males. The discussed below are some of the health-care policies and economic impacts of smoking.
Economic Impacts of Smoking
The most common method of smoking today is through cigarettes that contain tobacco, nicotine, tar, carcinogen, carbon monoxide and cannabis. These compounds are referred to as narcotics and have the following effects when ingested in the human body. Feldstein (2007, pg. 82) advices health medical officers to help in the reduction of the cost of treatment by lowering the number of high medical-cost subscribers such as, heavy drinkers, drug addicts and tobacco smokers through medical insurance.
The carcinogenic components of a cigarette are responsible for causing up to 60% of the cancerous diseases suffered by humans. The presence of carcinogen stimulates the growth of cancerous cells in the human body causing various types of cancers in the body namely: mouth cancer, lung cancer, throat cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer and cancer of the kidneys. This in turn raises the health-care cost of smokers since they always undergo very expensive medical treatment methods including surgery and radiology, as compared to the non-smokers who are less likely to be attacked by cancer.
Heavy smokers risk very high chances of contracting COPDs due to the blockage of their airflow systems by the cigarette smokes resulting into breathing difficulties. These chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases include emphysema and chronic bronchitis, which are characterized by severe coughing and chest pains. In fact, the research says that smoking is responsible for up to 80% of COPD cases in the recent years and that 94% of 20 smokers per day are suffering from emphysema while 90% of the non-smokers lack COPD attacks (Macnair, 2011).
Smoking is also accompanied by other risks including fertility problems and impotency where married couples experience hormonal imbalances with the males experiencing erectile dysfunction (ED). In fact, Feldstein (2007, pg. 32) argues that the worldwide smoking reduction program has lowered cost per life saved (from $1,000,000/40 to $50,000). He adds that the life expectancy and death rates are highly dependent on a number of factors including, drugs usage, smoking, diet, cultural values and many others. Nicotine narrows the blood capillaries within the penis and reduces the blood flow into the penis, hence, causing ED. Smoking raises the blood pressure levels of the smokers, thereby, exposing them to strokes and heart attacks; it also accelerates and worsens their asthmatic conditions. Tobacco smoking impairs muscular activities resulting into eyesight loss and development of cataracts due to the reduction of vitamin A levels in the human body.
Tobacco and cigarette production have been on the rise in the recent years. Therefore, the American Economics Group report in 1996 concluded that tobacco generated more than 1.8 million jobs producing over $53.4 billion wages and benefits. This sector has also generated taxes amounting to $36 billion (Warner at al, 1996). In their extensive research on Michigan incomes, Warner et al (1996) proposed that tobacco contributes to up to 1% of the region’s employment opportunities, hence, raising the number of jobs within the region is up to 133,000 vacancies nation wide. However, in terms of impacts, cost efficiency and efficacy, tobacco-use infections are ranked amongst the top three expensively treated human infections (Maciosek et al, 2006).
Smoking Health Policies
Due to the rise of the health-care cost, certain policies were put in place to check the discriminative usage of cigarettes. According to McLaughlin (2008), the US laid policies to boost the relationship between health-care financing and employment. Policies were made to improve the autonomy, status and the compensation of health professionals who tirelessly fight to curb smoking. McLaughlin (2008, pg. 304) adds that the finances spent on smoking cessation campaigns by governments ultimately reduces the Medicaid programs’ cost. Other personal smoking policies were instituted to consider the non-smokers’ interests which included the bans from smoking in all public and work places, the introduction of smoke-free legislations and laying a ban on expectant mothers to stop smoking until they deliver. According to Feldstein (2007), these health policy issues offer economic perspectives of understanding the political and socio-economic effects of smoking on human beings. He emphasized on the negative effects of drugs and smoking on their medication costs, medical education and expenditures.
Conclusion
Due to these disastrous effects associated with smoking, it is advisable for a smoker to quit smoking; this is because it will benefit the individual by lowering his/her cost of health-care, improving health, lessening the heart strains and improving his/her sense of smell and taste.
References
Feldstein, J.P. (2007). Health policy issues: an economic perspective. Irvine, California: Health Administration Press.
Maciosek, M.V., Coffield, A.B., Edwards, N.M. (2006). Priorities among effective clinical preventive services: results of a systematic review and analysis. American Journal of Medicine 31(1):52-61.
Macnair, P. (2011). Smoking-health risks. Web.
McLaughlin, D. C., & McLaughlin, P. C. (2008). Health Policies Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Warner, K. E., Fulton, G. A., Nicolas, P., & Grimes D. R. (1996). Employment implications of declining tobacco product sales for the regional economies of the United States. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 275 (16): 1241–46.
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