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Back to Subjects - Speech

Smoking

Smoking a. Whoa…1,000 dollars! Yes, ladies and gentleman, my first slide of my power point presentation does say, “Whoa…1,000 dollars!” b. From my Health Psychology Book by Linda Brannon and Jess Feist, it stated that “Currently, about 25% of the adults in the United States are classified as smokers,” in 1998 when the book was published. c. Now, considering all of us are 18 or older in the room, one out of every four of us is a smoker. Therefore, one out of every four of us spends approximately 1,000 dollars a year on cigarettes, plus the health damage it will do to them later on in life. d. In America, the average number of cigarettes smoked per day is 18. That’s almost a whole pack of cigarettes a day. Smoking cigarettes is a practice that people should never take a part in. e. I intend to explain why Americans today should either stop smoking or should not start at all by examining these main points: i. The financial end of the deal is absolutely absurd and that money could be put to a greater purpose. ii. Smokers and non-smokers alike should be aware that cigarette smoke contains harmful chemicals. iii. The health factors involved with such a small product outweigh the enjoyment of the actual smoking itself. [To begin with, I’d like to show some statistics of the financial side of cigarettes as well as personal characteristics and behaviors that predict smoking.] a. There has been a major price increase since both my parents began to smoke. i. My mom told me when she first started smoking she would spend five dollars for a carton of cigarettes, which was almost 24 years ago. ii. Now, on average a carton of cigarettes are between $28.00 and $34.00 depending on the brand you want. iii. If my calculations are correct, an average American smoker that smokes 18 cigarettes per day for 365 days per year equals 6,570 cigarettes. There are 20 cigarettes per pack equaling 328.5 packs, 10 packs in a carton, 32.85 cartons times $28.00-$34.00 a carton, ranges between $919.80 and $1,116.90 a year. iv. Smoking is indubitably an extremely expensive habit. b. From my Health Psychology book I learned the personal characteristics and behaviors that predict smoking in college students like us. i. These include being dissatisfied with education, being unhappy, living in a coed dorm, valuing parties, having multiple sex partners, using marijuana, binge drinking, and having a negative view on religion. ii. This behavior suggest that smokers are somewhat discontented and tend to take social risks. [I will now move on to the harmful chemicals that are in cigarette smoke and the risk factors associated with smoking cigarettes.] a. In the Health section of the BBC News, they state that cigarette smoke contains 4,000 chemicals, 200 of which are known as harmful, yet people still choose to smoke. i. Some of the harmful chemicals include: Acetone which is used in paint stripper; ammonia, contained in toilet cleaners; butane, a form of lighter fuel; and beta-naphthyl methylether, more commonly known as moth balls. ii. Smokers also take the risk of inhaling hydrogen cyanide, the poison used in gas chambers; methanol, a rocket fuel; and arsenic and carbon monoxide, which is the poisonous gas in car exhausts. b. The National Clearing House for Alcohol and Drug Information gives many risks associated with smoking cigarettes. i. These risks include: diminished or extinguished sense of smell and taste, frequent colds, smoker's cough, gastric ulcers, chronic bronchitis, increase in heart rate and blood pressure, premature and more abundant face wrinkles, emphysema, heart disease, stroke,cancer of the mouth, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, lungs, pancreas, cervix, uterus, and bladder. ii. My mom said that once you get real heavy into smoking you start to notice things about yourself. She said, “I noticed that my hands and arms starting having a yellow pigment to them, my whole body reeked of smoke, as well as my clothes, my breath was always unpleasant, and my teeth starting becoming yellow.” iii. Not only does the smoker notice these things, but also, so do others! [Now we shall take a look at the more extreme health issues of smoking.] IV. The number of people afflicted with cancer increases every year and even more rapidly as the number of people with any other cancer disease reported by BBC News. a. Depending on the amount of cigarettes per day will determine the chances of getting lung cancer. An average smoker increases his/her chance of getting cancer to 10 times that of a non-smoker. However, a passionate smoker who smokes a few packs per day risks even 20 times more. My dads highest amount of cigarettes had gotten up to three packs a day. He would fall into the passionate smoker’s category. b. The 1982 US Surgeon General’s Report states, "Cigarette smoking is the major single cause of cancer mortality in the United States." i. According to the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study II, it is estimated that 430,700 US deaths per year (nearly one in five) were attributed to smoking from 1990-1994. ii. Smoking causes about 87% of lung cancer deaths. iii. Some symptoms of lung cancer include cough, shortness of breath, hoarseness, blood in the sputum, and pain. iv. The biggest prevention of lung cancer is of course to not smoke. [I hope it is clear that there is more that comes along with just smoking a cigarette.] a. To sum up my main points, the money, the harmful chemicals, and the health concerns make smoking worthless. b. Therefore, in order to save money, and keep you in a good health, please either stop smoking or don’t start! c. And lastly, I’ve been talking about my parents’ experiences with smoking, and they are one of the main reasons for choosing this topic for my speech. However, I am glad to say that 3 years ago on New Year’s they made the decision to quit. It was a very hard decision for them to make but it was for the best. Thank you! Bibliography:

Word Count: 1021