Smoking, Is it as bad as the stereotype? How bad?
I believe that it is a huge deal in today's society because it is to the point where you can't walk somewhere in public without seeing someone light up with a cigarette or some other form of smoking. Smoking has become such a common and acceptable activity in today's society; smoking has become a norm for it to be "cool" in most high schools and for teenagers nowadays. You always see people in movies, TV shows, and celebrities in general just smoking away causally, in my opinion that creates this standard for people to look up to and I know personally celebrities can shape the way you act, dress, and talk. So why wouldn't you want to follow after your favorite rapper, athlete, or movie star and be just as cool as them? It is important because if it is really as bad as everyone stereotypes it to be, that you die an average of 10 years earlier, then it will make a huge impact on most of our culture and that is quite saddening. Imagine everyone that smokes now, and how they will apparently die that much younger, the death rate will grow in ginormous numbers when it hits them all. I believe that it isn't all that it is cracked up to be and that people are just overreacting like they do over everything else today. Of course it isn't the healthiest thing to put in your body but what is nowadays? Everywhere you turn there is something new to give you cancer like toothpaste, cellphones, and more common things like lettuce; so this personally brings out the pessimistic mindset “You’re going to die anyways, so why does it matter how you die?” The honest truth is that it really does matter and it affects me and you because at least one person in our lives smoke and they will be affected by it eventually, thus affecting us. Also if you buy into the “killing of the ozone” and “polluting our natural air” theories then yes we are doomed because it’s hard enough to get one person to smoke, good luck getting hundreds to stop. I believe that I can find most of my answers by looking at surveys and polls that have been collected by organizations like the surgeon general and health organizations that may focus on smoking or tobacco usage. Finding opinions on smoking should be among the easiest to find because there are so many defensive people that have to speak their mind and shut the scientists up.
This post reminds me of the movie "Greece" where everyone smokes. Or like in the end when Sandy changes her outfit and all over attitude, she goes from a non-smoker to a smoker. I have three people in my family that smoke and I think that it does have an effect on my family and me. This brings me to the thought of at a hospital how there are smoking zones, but they are not nearly far enough away from the entrance. You are still in the "smoke zone" and it makes me wonder why does the American public put up with this? What would we do if we were to change things? Where do we even start?
ReplyDeleteOnce I saw a documentary about smoking and the terrible things it does to your body. One of the women in it said she only started smoking after seeing one of her favorite movie stars puffing on a cigarette as part of her role. In idolizing the actress, the woman started smoking as a teen and couldn't quit, developing serious health issues later in life. This goes along with your idea of smoking being "cool" and I can really see what you mean about it becoming an issue. Why do people so easily fall into this trap and risk everything just to feel liked? Could it possibly be a question of morals? I'm excited to see the direction your research goes!
ReplyDeleteI think your topic is very interesting, I agree that a lot of the younger generation that smokes is most likely to fit in. On the other hand there are those who smoke to alleviate stress, which gets them hooked because they become chemically dependant everytime they get stressed. It's a very open ended subject that has various perspectives.
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