The United States Should Issue a Nationwide Ban on Smoking (Either in Public or in Private)

Two type of smoking will be introduced in the following argument: cocaine smoking and cigarette smoking. Table of Content Introduction Mechanism: Cocaine smoking vs. Cigarette smoking Health Effect: Cocaine smoking vs. Cigarette smoking Conclusion: Cocaine and Cigarette, they are twin brothers 1. Introduction Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Cigarette smoking causes many diseases and reduces the health of smokers in general. [1] In this debate, I will strive to establish the linkage between smoking cigarette and smoking cocaine in an attempt to show that if the United States bans the cocaine, the federal government should also ban cigarette smoking nationwide. In the United States, cocaine is Schedule II according to the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. [2] 2. Mechanism Cocaine Cocaine is an additive drug derived from coca or prepared synthetically, used as an illegal stimulant. (Oxford Dictionary) In an attempt to represent the similarity between cocaine and cigarette, it is better to understand how cocaine is abused. There are generally three routes of administration used for cocaine: snorting, injecting, and smoking. [3] It is the smoking route that would be the focus of this discussion. Smoking cocaine involves inhaling cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs, where it would subsequently absorbed into the bloodstream. [3] The intensity and duration of cocaine"s effects usually entail increased energy, reduced fatigue, and mental alertness. [3] In general, the faster cocaine is absorbed into the bloodstream and delivered to the brain, the more intense the high. [3] Smoking cocaine is considered to produce a quick and strong high. [3] On the other hand, faster absorption usually means shorter duration of action. [3] High from smoking cocaine, in general, may last only 5 to 10 minutes, thereby creating a constant demand for drugs to sustain the high. [3] Cocaine is a strong central nervous system stimulant that increases levels of dopamine. [3] Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that mediates pleasure in the brain. A neurotransmitter is a chemical substance that causes the transfer of the impulse to another nerve fiber. (Oxford Dictionary) Dopamine is considered to be associated with pleasure reward. [3] Normally, dopamine is released by a neuron in response to a pleasurable signal (e. g. , watching sports or the smell of good food), and then recycled back into the neuron that released it. Releasing of dopamine stimulates one to seek our pleasurable activity. Cocaine would actively prevent the dopamine from being recycled, thereby causing an excessive amount of the dopamine to build up. It is this excess of dopamine that is responsible for cocaine"s euphoric effects. [3] With repeated use, cocaine can cause long-term changes in the brain"s reward system which would eventually lead to addiction (repeated consumption in order to sustain the pleasure). [3] Cigarette The additive substance in Cigarette is nicotine, a toxic colorless or yellowish oily liquid. It acts as a stimulant in small doses. (Oxford Dictionary) Nicotine essentially works in the same way as cocaine in terms of its biological process in human brains. Basically, nicotine increases levels of dopamine in the brain reward circuits, and actively prevent dopamine from being recycled back thereby accumulating an excessive amount of neurotransmitters. [4] This reaction is similar to that seen with cocaine abuse and is thought to underlie the pleasurable sensations experienced by many smokers. Long-term brain changes induced by continued and repeated nicotine exposure result in addiction. [4] Cigarette smoking, similar to cocaine smoking, produces a rapid distribution of nicotine to the brain. The acute effects of nicotine dissipate quickly, as do the associated feelings of reward, which causes the Cigarette smoker to continue demanding more cigarettes to sustain pleasure. [4] Therefore, in term of the working mechanism, nicotine is no different from cocaine. 3. Health Effect Cocaine In terms of health effect, smoking cocaine can experience acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular emergencies, such as a heart attack or stroke. Bing-patterned cocaine use may lead to irritability, restlessness, and anxiety. Cocaine abusers can also experience sever paranoia, an effect rarely realized by cigarette smokers. [3] Cigarette Cigarette smoking, to a certain extent, has more sever effect on health than cocaine smoking. There are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes. When burned, they create more than 4,000 chemicals. [5] At lest 50 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer. Nicotine is considered the culprit of addiction. Cancer causing agents are substance such as tar. General consensus about the health effect of cigarette smoking includes increased risk for coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, chronic obstructive lung diseases, coronary heart disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm (i. e. , swelling or weakening of the main artery of the body where it runs through the abdomen), and other numerous type of cancers, including but not limited to, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, cancer of the pharynx (throat) and stomach cancer. In addition, smoking may also have many adverse reproductive and early childhood effects, including increased risk for low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms include irritability, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances. [1] 4. Conclusion Cocaine and Cigarette are no different. In fact, they are twin brothers. In terms of the chemical mechanism, they both fundamentally change the brain"s reward system by blocking the recycling of dopamine. In terms of long term health effect, smoking cigarette may even cause more problems than smoking cocaine due to the fact that there are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes and at least 50 of the chemicals generated from burning are carcinogenic. Therefore, if the United States outlaw the sale of cocaine, so should it ban the sale of cigarette. Thank you. References [1]. . http://www.cdc.gov... [2]. . http://en.wikipedia.org... [3]. . http://www.drugabuse.gov... [4]. . http://www.drugabuse.gov... [5]. . http://en.wikipedia.org...