Smoking Cessation

Tobacco smoking, usually referred to as "smoking", is the act of burning the dried or cured leaves of the tobacco plant and inhaling the smoke for pleasure or ritualistic purposes, for self-medication, or out of habit and to satisfy addiction. more...

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The practice was common among Native Americans throughout North and South America, and was later introduced to the rest of the world via trade following European exploration of the Americas.

Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, an addictive stimulant which temporarily improves alertness, memory, and mood, but also forms a strong physical and psychological chemical dependence (addiction). Nicotine, like any stimulant, can also increase anxiety, restlessness, and disturb metabolism. Medical research has determined that tobacco smoking is a major contributing factor towards many health problems, particularly lung cancer (which has a survival percentage of 16.4%), emphysema, and cardiovascular disease. Many countries regulate or restrict tobacco sales and advertising and require warnings to be placed prominently on the product packaging. Many governments now ban smoking in a variety of public venues due to health impacts on non-smokers breathing second-hand smoke.

History

Smoking tobacco goes back thousands of years. Tobacco smoking with pipes and cigars was common to many Native American cultures prior to the arrival of European explorers. The practice is depicted in early Mayan art dating back to around 1,500 years ago. The Maya were also known to use tobacco as an all-purpose medicinal antidote, and the crop was widely believed to possess magical powers as its usage has been documented in ancient ceremonial sacrifices and divinations as well as in talismans.

On October 12, , Christopher Columbus was given dry leaves by the Arawaks, but threw them away. Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis de Torres were the first Europeans to observe smoking, and Jerez became the first recorded smoker outside the Americas. Throughout the 16th century, the habit of smoking was common mainly among sailors. Tobacco was introduced to England in the 1560s by the crew of Sir John Hawkins but did not begin making an impact on European society until the 1580s. The cigar became immensely popular in England during the late 1820s. In 1828, the cigarette appeared in Spain and enjoyed immediate success but still remained less popular than both the cigar and pipe until the early 20th century when cheap mechanically manufactured cigarettes became standard.

During World War I, it was typical for tobacco products to be included in military rations. Following the war, cigarette smoking was advertised as part of a glamorous, carefree lifestyle, and became socially acceptable for women. In the 1930s, Nazi medical and military leaders grew concerned with the possibility that tobacco might be hazardous to human health and their scientists were the first to confirm this link. In the United States, biologist Raymond Pearl demonstrated the negative health effects of tobacco smoking as early as 1938. In the 1950s and 1960s, the medical community along with various governmental bodies, and Readers Digest magazine, began a campaign to reduce the degree of smoking by showing how it damaged public health. Although tobacco smoking in many regions of the world has dropped dramatically in recent years, worldwide tobacco production is still growing. Smoking rates continue to remain relatively high in some Asian countries.

Read more at Wikipedia.org