Whether my neighbors grandfather who has been smoking since i was a kid still smokes till today, and i was even told by mom that he has been smoking long before i was born, so by my calculations, I guess he must have been smoking for almost the past 79years but he is still alive! Maybe he is a super being? 


**Are you as surprised as I am?** 

But also the federal ministry of health warns that smokers are liable to die young!
 
I really have a lot of questions, who is wrong ,you know I have severally heard my neighbors grandfather say convincingly  that "in the end, all men will die," ,he even boast of how he has been smoking for decades and he is as strong as the days of his youths. And today he is still alive and kicking .

If you're someone curious like me, you would want to know more about this, I therefore implore you to kindly follow me as I take you on a journey. I plan to amaze you a lot and open you to new vistas of knowledge.

![smoker.JPG](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUDEUof325CLHkiPKUBegr6vUELkaeiNQfisjYT3waZY7/smoker.JPG)
[<sup> Smoker Image under public domain</sup>](http://www.misawa.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/403687/smoking-ban-takes-effect-at-misawa/)

You see, Science is always on the move and every day, some scientist and researchers are breaking new grounds, exploring more depths, you know, immediately you think they can't come up with this, they come up with another thing. Our world is moving so fast and to keep up with the pace, we all have to be so updated, are you ready for me, **let’s move now.**


## Why do you think people still smoke after the fact that smokers are liable to die young?


**_Did you know that about 443,000 Americans die from tobacco-caused illness every year. While the smoking rate has dropped down drastically since 1964, when the world came to realize that tobacco is deadly. But even at that about 46million adults ,one in five adults still smoke._** [<sup>Source from CNN</sup>](https://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/11/health/still-smoking/index.html)

Are these people oblivious of the fact smoking really could be dangerous? 

I don’t think they are, these are my reasons:

When people smoke their brains are stimulated, they suddenly begin to feel high, there is this sense of reward, smoking also plays a crucial role in soothing pain. our world is full of enough depressed people and everyone is trying to find their way out of their condition, people also smoke because they feel the relieve from their problems temporarily but majorly when people smoke, there is a stimulation of the brain to produce a chemical called opioids. These opioids are the ones that gives the feeling people get when they smoke.


<div class="pull-right"><img src="https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmURyR1LMbePJ8e5qACEmPNhsReufGrrhHDmoWvnno1MNs/DOPAMINE.jpg"><center><a href="http://www.publicdomainfiles.com/show_file.php?id=14000169022104"><sup> Dopamine receptor in the brain under public domains</sup></a></center></div>

But ,I have heard that nicotine intake through smoking produces dopamine? Where is opioids coming from again?
Let me quickly explain it to you, when you smoke, your brain gets stimulated to produce a chemical called opioids, once it is produced, it starts to take effect almost immediately and processes it into another chemical called dopamine.

When dopamine is produced at a high level, the smoker has a feeling of extreme pleasure and excitement.

## Consequently, addiction sets in.

Our brain is quite intelligent; it has been trained to function on its own without our own permission. Dopamine which is produced at the production of opioids is a neurotransmitter and it works with the neurons of the body system and it is crucial to how our brain deals with reward and pleasure.

The way the brain is structured, it wants to do more of the things that gives pleasure, same dopamine is released during sexual activity and reason why sexual activity can be addiciting too. Dopamine as commonly called," a feel good" chemical which always make the people crave for the same experience again.

**LET’S TAKE A CUE FROM SEX ADDICTS**

Have you seen a sex addict before, he wants to have sex all the time, when he thinks of sex, his brain is stimulated and opioids are released and he is so pressurized, he is looking for every means to have sex.

Also, dopamine, when produced creates concentration and commitment, once the brain can figure an activity as pleasurable, it has been trained to become more committed to doing the same activity over and over again. No wonder one of the prominent features of living organisms is **adaptation**

So, you see reasons by now, why it is almost impossible for smokers to stop smoking, even with the warning on the pack, it is almost impossible ,it is not something done by the will of the smoker, it is an action created by a chemical reaction, quite difficult to exit.

**DON’T forget, we are still under the reasons why people smoke.**

People also smoke because of peer pressure ,here in my college , a lot of sophomore students begin smoking by the end of their second year. Ask them why, because their friends started out by trying it out, they felt inferior so they decided to take a puff , so they can keep up with the jonses.

## IS SMOKING DANGEROUS: (Lets find out)


<div class="pull-right"><img src="https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfCthLdTkm7gopeHoinyaZhPhTVWBLe3NXWaN6QiHohWL/badass%20smoker.jpg"><center><a href="https://www.maxpixel.net/Habit-Smoke-Dependency-Nicotine-Put-In-Danger-3116409"><sup> image source : maxpixel CC0 licenseunder public domain</sup></a></center></div>

The day I realized that when a cigarette burns, it releases over 6,500 chemicals and all are extremely harmful to the body, that day i almost screamed ,I was shocked at how dangerous smoking can be and how that my neighbor’s grandfather still survives and hasn't kicked the bucket yet. 

Maybe you don’t understand my point, cigarettes contain DDT(dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) which is part of the elements for making insecticides, what about  methanol which is a part of of the component of jet fuel, cigarette has ammonia (NH3) which is a part of bleach and also arsenic a part of the component of rat poison.

Effect of smoking on your body system.
-	Stroke : this is very common to the smokers this is because smoking gradually increase blood pressure and also there is a buildup of Cholesterol and the probability of blood clotting. And when there is clotting of blood, blood vessels are blocked which prevents the flow of blood to the brain.

-	Breathing and lungs problems: The respiratory organs consist of sacs used for inhaling and exhaling, the sacs are naturally spongy and elastic and so they can perform their job so well but for a smoker, their respiratory sacs have lost their elasticity and inhaling and exhaling becomes difficult almost impossible. This is a major problem as oxygen is needful for survival. The image below will show you the lungs of a healthy man versus the lungs of a tobacco smoker

(https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZeA68njFwyxvgzJVMv7oVnf2H9p6TzVw8ak4zfmjooJD/tobacco%20lungs.jpg)
[<sup>The lungs of a Smoker: Image adapted from Wikipedia under public domain</sup>](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Healthy_lung-smokers_lung.jpg)

You don't smoke? What if I tell you that you are also at a great risk just as the smoker if you occasionally stay around smokers ...shocked?

Have you heard about second hand smoking?
Prepare your mind, I want to blow you away!

Talking about 2nd hand smoke, (smoke puffed out by a smoker) is just enough to block your batteries and start an heart attack.

A research done recently showed that kids that have parents that smoke are more likely to have poor mental health problems, they are more prone to have issues coping at school.

Will people ever stop smoking?

No matter what is said by the ministry of health, people will always still smoke, not even when recent research now shows that even smoking could have some health benefits.

Maybe that’s the reason why people like my neighbor’s grandfather are still alive. Maybe, just saying, we would find out soon, you must have thought i forgot about who the lair is, my neighbors grandfather or the federal ministry of health? We are going to know soon.


## The other side of the coin (What you never knew about smoking?)

Smoking is one of the way to prevent against Parkinson’s disease. People who regularly smoke does not have the chances to develop this disease.

Another beautiful benefit is that it activates a particular type of protein called cytochromes. The function of cytochromes is that they convert clopidogrel into a very active state.

But what is clopidogrel,it is actually a medication used to reduce the risk of heart disease.


**Now back to my main argument, _who lied?_** Actually both sides were correct, you could smoke and still live long which is not always the case, there are individuals who have some kind of certain genes which protect cells in the body from the harm of smoking, these cells also repair themselves.

Can I shock you?

These genes reduce the risk of cancer by almost 12%.

 
# CONCLUSION

From the brief journey i have taken us through, i have a question, "why do you want a throat cancer, why do you want to put yourself under the risk of asthma, will you like to have a colored teeth and a bad breath? Whatever your answers are determines if you'd try a stick of cigarette or never move close to one." 

# REFERENCES

For further studies you might want to look up some of this links

[Medical news today](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182473.php?_e_pi_=7%2CPAGE_ID10%2C2112323983)

[Chemicals opiates release](https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/opiate-addiction/chemicals-opiates-release/?_e_pi_=7%2CPAGE_ID10%2C9019844243)

[Smoking cigarettes affect the brain like heroin](https://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20041027/smoking-cigarettes-affects-brain-like-heroin#1?_e_pi_=7%2CPAGE_ID10%2C5878218587)

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/12/09/surgeon-general-cigarette-puff-kill.html.

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