In the modern world, smoking and drinking liquor is very rampant on some teenagers. Many engages themselves in these kind of activities due to peer pressure and such factors.
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream.
Liquor (also hard liquor, hard alcohol, spirit, or distilled drink) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruit, or vegetables that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation.
Drinking alcohol is often a social activity. Situations where alcohol is present may also include more smokers. Being around smokers can trigger the urge to smoke. Plan ahead for how you will deal with this trigger if you are around others who are smoking.
The danger of smoking
Cigarettes contain more than 4,000 chemical compounds and 400 toxic chemicals that include tar, carbon monoxide, DDT, arsenic and formaldehyde. The nicotine in cigarettes, in particular, makes them highly addictive. There are so many diseases caused by smoking that it’s hard to decide where to begin.
Any amount and type of smoking is bad for your health. Besides being a notorious risk factor for lung cancer, coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke, smoking can damage almost any organ in our body, leading to leukaemia and cancers of the kidney, pancreas, bladder, throat, mouth and uterus. It can damage the airways and air sacs of our lungs to cause chronic bronchitis and breathing difficulties. It can also raise our blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reduce bone density in women and increase the risk of infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth and sudden infant death syndrome.
The danger of heavy drinking
Most people like to have a drink or two, be it beer, wine or spirits. Light drinking is acceptable and may even be beneficial for the heart. Heavy and binge drinking, on the other hand, can lead to serious medical problems.
A healthy limit for drinking is usually no more than 2 drinks (3 units of alcohol) a day for men and 1 drink (2 units) a day for women. Binge drinking means having 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more drinks for women on one occasion.
Certain groups of people should not drink alcohol at all. These include young people under the age of 18, pregnant women, people with certain health conditions, patients on medication that will interact with alcohol, recovering alcoholics, and people who intend to drive or do activities that require attention and coordination.
Heavy drinking can lead to many serious health conditions. Binge drinking can cause immediate problems such as acute intoxication, nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, impaired judgment and alcohol poisoning.
In the long term, heavy alcohol consumption can cause high blood pressure, gastric problems, liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, pancreatitis, memory impairment, alcohol dependence and various psychological conditions. Excessive alcohol drinking can also result in accidental injuries and even death. Pregnant women who drink heavily can harm their babies.
Effects of smoking and drinking on the heart
Both tobacco and alcohol share similar effects on the heart. While the deleterious effect of smoking on the risk of cardiovascular disease is well-recognised and straightforward (the risk of heart disease increases with the amount of smoking), the impact of drinking is more complex.
Some evidence suggests that moderate drinking (3 – 14 drinks a week) may be associated with a lower risk of heart attack, while heavier drinking may well increase the risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke and high blood pressure.
As smoking is also common among alcohol drinkers, and smokers and drinkers frequently share similar behavioural and lifestyle patterns, it is currently unclear whether it is the combined or independent effects of smoking and alcohol that greatly raises cardiovascular risk.
Nonetheless, the health problems associated with excessive smoking and drinking are extensive. Public health efforts to minimise the dangers of both smoking and drinking may significantly improve the well-being of society.
- Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. This is nearly one in five deaths.
- Smoking causes more deaths each year than the following causes combined:
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- Illegal drug use
- Alcohol use
- Motor vehicle injuries
- Firearm-related incidents
- More than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the United States.
- Smoking causes about 90% (or 9 out of 10) of all lung cancer deaths. More women die from lung cancer each year than from breast cancer
https://smokefree.gov/challenges-when-quitting/cravings-triggers/alcohol-smoking
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking/index.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquor
https://www.mountelizabeth.com.sg/healthplus/article/how-smoking-and-drinking-affects-the-body
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