smoking and alcohol essay

Essay on Smoking

500 words essay on  smoking.

One of the most common problems we are facing in today’s world which is killing people is smoking. A lot of people pick up this habit because of stress , personal issues and more. In fact, some even begin showing it off. When someone smokes a cigarette, they not only hurt themselves but everyone around them. It has many ill-effects on the human body which we will go through in the essay on smoking.

Ill-Effects of Smoking

Tobacco can have a disastrous impact on our health. Nonetheless, people consume it daily for a long period of time till it’s too late. Nearly one billion people in the whole world smoke. It is a shocking figure as that 1 billion puts millions of people at risk along with themselves.

Cigarettes have a major impact on the lungs. Around a third of all cancer cases happen due to smoking. For instance, it can affect breathing and causes shortness of breath and coughing. Further, it also increases the risk of respiratory tract infection which ultimately reduces the quality of life.

In addition to these serious health consequences, smoking impacts the well-being of a person as well. It alters the sense of smell and taste. Further, it also reduces the ability to perform physical exercises.

It also hampers your physical appearances like giving yellow teeth and aged skin. You also get a greater risk of depression or anxiety . Smoking also affects our relationship with our family, friends and colleagues.

Most importantly, it is also an expensive habit. In other words, it entails heavy financial costs. Even though some people don’t have money to get by, they waste it on cigarettes because of their addiction.

How to Quit Smoking?

There are many ways through which one can quit smoking. The first one is preparing for the day when you will quit. It is not easy to quit a habit abruptly, so set a date to give yourself time to prepare mentally.

Further, you can also use NRTs for your nicotine dependence. They can reduce your craving and withdrawal symptoms. NRTs like skin patches, chewing gums, lozenges, nasal spray and inhalers can help greatly.

Moreover, you can also consider non-nicotine medications. They require a prescription so it is essential to talk to your doctor to get access to it. Most importantly, seek behavioural support. To tackle your dependence on nicotine, it is essential to get counselling services, self-materials or more to get through this phase.

One can also try alternative therapies if they want to try them. There is no harm in trying as long as you are determined to quit smoking. For instance, filters, smoking deterrents, e-cigarettes, acupuncture, cold laser therapy, yoga and more can work for some people.

Always remember that you cannot quit smoking instantly as it will be bad for you as well. Try cutting down on it and then slowly and steadily give it up altogether.

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Conclusion of the Essay on Smoking

Thus, if anyone is a slave to cigarettes, it is essential for them to understand that it is never too late to stop smoking. With the help and a good action plan, anyone can quit it for good. Moreover, the benefits will be evident within a few days of quitting.

FAQ of Essay on Smoking

Question 1: What are the effects of smoking?

Answer 1: Smoking has major effects like cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and more. It also increases the risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems with the immune system .

Question 2: Why should we avoid smoking?

Answer 2: We must avoid smoking as it can lengthen your life expectancy. Moreover, by not smoking, you decrease your risk of disease which includes lung cancer, throat cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more.

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Smoking and Drinking: A Deadly Combination

Smoking and drinking are seen by many as complimentary: two habits that go hand in hand. while people who smoke are more likely to drink and vice-versa, this definitely isn’t a good idea. smoking is dangerous, drinking is dangerous, and doing both is even worse..

Around 8.5 million people die each year as a result of alcohol and tobacco, according to the World Health Organization . Both alcohol and cigarettes represent serious risks to public health, but for many users, there is an unavoidable sense that these two habits are linked, or even complement each other. This perception may be based on a grain of truth, but smoking and drinking in combination are more likely to kill you than either one individually, but there is evidence that smokers drink more than non-smokers and vice-versa. Finding out more about the link between smoking and drinking shows why it’s a combination we should take seriously.

The Link Between Smoking and Drinking

People who both smoke and drink often say that they two habits complement each other, and feel more like smoking when they have an alcoholic drink and vice-versa. This perception is supported by studies – for example, a study looking at the socio-cultural influences on smoking and drinking found that 36.9 % of adults who were current drinkers were also current smokers, compared to just 17.5 % of never-smokers. This study used data from 1997, and it’s worth noting that more recent polls have shown less of a difference between smoking rates between drinkers and non-drinkers, though drinkers were still more likely to smoke.

This may leave you wondering why smoking and drinking appear to be so closely related. Although there isn’t a definite answer on this yet, research does suggest that nicotine enhances the pleasurable effects of alcohol, and this has been confirmed in research. Another important factor is that nicotine and alcohol work on the same brain systems, which may mean they interact when taken together. Finally, the same genes may be responsible for predisposition to both smoking and drinking, so this could make it more likely for a drinker to smoke and vice-versa.

The Health Risks of Smoking

The health risks of smoking are so well-known that they scarcely even need to be repeated. Smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, COPD, many other cancers and a multitude of health problems. It’s been called the leading preventable cause of death in the world.

The Health Risks of Drinking

Although drinking is much more socially accepted that smoking, it too carries serious health risks. Drinking heavily is known to cause mouth, throat and breast cancer, stroke, brain damage, heart disease and liver disease. While low-risk drinkers drastically reduce their risk of developing such health problems as a result of their drinking, no level of alcohol consumption can be considered safe.

The Risks of Smoking and Drinking

With plenty of risks associated with the individual substances, the fact that combining alcohol and tobacco creates even bigger risk shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. However, since these conditions have many risk factors (things which increase your risk of developing them), it can be difficult to estimate what the effect of combining smoking and drinking will be.

One area where there is solid evidence is for mouth and throat cancers. Both smoking and drinking increase the risks of these conditions, and studies show that people who do both are much more likely to get mouth cancer. Even worse, the risk of mouth cancer from smoking multiplies the existing risk from drinking, rather than just adding to it.

Other conditions – like cardiovascular disease and liver cancer – are both affected by alcohol and tobacco, but it’s unclear whether the risk is bigger than the risks from drinking and smoking added together. For liver cancer, there is some suggestion that the combined effect is worse than the sum of the individual parts, but for cardiovascular disease there doesn’t seem to be such “synergistic” effects.

Overall, research has shown that people who both smoke and drink increase their risk of all-cause death more than non-smokers and non-drinkers, or people who drink or smoke without doing the other.

Staying Safe: Reducing Your Risks From Smoking and Drinking

The risks of smoking and drinking are serious, especially if you combine the two habits. This is why reducing your risk is essential, and the best approach is to quit one or (ideally) both habits, or at very least cut back or switch to less harmful alternatives.

Quitting smoking is the more crucial goal, particularly if you aren’t a heavy drinker. There are many approaches to quitting, including alternative nicotine products like patches, gums, inhalers, smokeless tobacco or e-cigarettes, and medications such as Chantix. If you want to maximize your chances of quitting smoking, combining one of these strategies with behavioral counseling gives you the best chance.

Although there may be more of a social expectation that you will drink alcohol at some social gatherings, stopping drinking or cutting down is still important to minimize your health risks. If you can’t or don’t want to stop drinking entirely, simple tips like drinking more slowly, alternating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and drinking with food can help you drink a lot less.

Overall, quitting smoking and drinking is the best thing you can do for your health, but if you can’t do either or both of these, minimizing the risks to your health should be the next big priority.

Essay on Smoking And Drinking Alcohol

Students are often asked to write an essay on Smoking And Drinking Alcohol in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Smoking And Drinking Alcohol

Smoking: a harmful habit.

Smoking cigarettes is a harmful habit that can lead to many health problems, including cancer, heart disease, and lung disease. Cigarettes contain nicotine, an addictive drug that makes it hard to quit smoking. Nicotine also increases your risk of addiction to other drugs. Smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the world.

Alcohol: A Depressant

The dangers of mixing smoking and drinking.

Mixing smoking and drinking alcohol is especially dangerous. The combination of nicotine and alcohol can increase your risk of cancer, heart disease, and stroke. It can also lead to addiction and other health problems. If you smoke and drink alcohol, you should quit both habits to improve your health.

250 Words Essay on Smoking And Drinking Alcohol

Smoking and drinking alcohol.

Smoking and drinking alcohol are two of the most common addictive behaviors in the world. They are both harmful to our health and can lead to serious health problems.

Drinking Alcohol

Drinking too much alcohol can also have serious health consequences. It can lead to liver damage, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. It can also cause mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. Drinking too much alcohol can also lead to addiction.

Smoking and drinking alcohol are both harmful to our health. They can lead to serious health problems, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, and lung disease. They can also damage our teeth and gums, and cause wrinkles and premature aging. If you are thinking about starting to smoke or drink alcohol, please reconsider. These habits are not worth the risk to your health.

500 Words Essay on Smoking And Drinking Alcohol

Smoking: a detrimental habit.

Smoking is a harmful practice that can have severe consequences for one’s health. Cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance that can lead to dependency and addiction. Smoking increases the risk of various health problems, including lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and various types of cancer. It can also harm the lungs, leading to chronic respiratory diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis. Furthermore, smoking can cause premature aging, wrinkles, and other skin problems.

Alcohol: A Double-Edged Sword

Alcohol consumption can have both positive and negative effects on health. Moderate drinking, defined as one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men, has been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. However, excessive alcohol consumption can lead to severe health problems, including liver damage, heart disease, stroke, and various types of cancer. It can also impair cognitive function, leading to problems with memory, attention, and decision-making. Moreover, excessive alcohol consumption can result in addiction, social problems, and relationship difficulties.

The Dangers of Combining Smoking and Drinking

Combining smoking and drinking alcohol amplifies the negative effects of both habits. The toxins in cigarettes and alcohol can interact, increasing the risk of certain health problems, such as mouth, throat, and esophageal cancers. Smoking can also irritate the stomach lining, making it more susceptible to damage from alcohol. Furthermore, smoking and drinking together can impair judgment and coordination, increasing the risk of accidents and injuries.

The Importance of Prevention and Cessation

Smoking and drinking alcohol are harmful habits that can have severe consequences for one’s health. Both habits can lead to various health problems, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, and respiratory diseases. Combining smoking and drinking amplifies the negative effects of both habits and increases the risk of certain health problems. Prevention and cessation are crucial for maintaining good health. Comprehensive health education programs, open communication, and access to cessation programs can help individuals avoid or quit these harmful habits and improve their overall well-being.

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Ielts writing task 2 sample 916 - tobacco and alcohol are drugs that cause addiction and health problems, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, tobacco and alcohol are drugs that cause addiction and health problems. therefore they should be made illegal. .

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Cigarette Smoking and Heavy Alcohol Drinking: The Challenges and Opportunities for Combination Treatments

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How Smoking and Drinking Affect the Body

Dr Chia Stanley

Cardiologist

Most people are aware that smoking and heavy drinking are unhealthy habits, but not many realise just how much harm they can cause.

Dr Stanley Chia , cardiologist at Mount Elizabeth Hospitals, explains the effects of smoking and drinking on our health.

Growing up, many children may view drinking and smoking as privileges of adults and therefore 'cool' activities to engage in. Media portrayal of smoking and alcohol use has certainly helped to perpetuate the appeal of these social habits. The importance of public awareness about the dangers of heavy smoking and drinking has never been greater.

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: How much alcohol is too much?

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.

Drinking 7 or more drinks per week is considered excessive drinking for women, while 15 drinks or more per week is deemed to be excessive for men.

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 can affect 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.

Benefits of kicking the habit

It is important to realise that quitting smoking can improve your quality of life – physically, emotionally and financially. It can help you and those around you breathe better and live longer.

People who stop smoking generally have an improved sense of smell and taste, feel less stressed and become more energetic. They will usually have younger looking skin and improved fertility. Their loved ones will be healthier as passive smoking is reduced.

For people who drink too much, alcohol tolerance can lead to false reassurance that they are drinking within limits, since they do not feel drunk. Health benefits of reducing alcohol intake include weight loss, a reduced risk of many forms of cancer, less anxiety, clearer skin, no hangovers and better self-esteem.

Withdrawal symptoms of smoking

While you're trying to quit smoking, you will experience some withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms are usually the worst in the first week and then gradually improve. Common physical symptoms to expect include:

• Appetite increase. You will feel hungry more often as the effects of chemicals from cigarettes are no longer present.
• Nicotine cravings. Each craving will only last about 15 – 20 minutes but it will happen often and throughout the quitting process.
• Cough. This may last for a few weeks as your respiratory system cleans itself.
• Mild headaches and dizziness. These are often the first withdrawal symptoms to appear but they also resolve quickly.
• Tiredness. In the absence of nicotine, which is a stimulant, you will likely feel tired, restless, and might have insomnia.
• Constipation. This may occur in the first month of quitting.
• Mental and emotional symptoms. These include anxiety, depression, irritability, and mental fog.

How to quit: Smoking cessation

Smoking cessation means abstaining from cigarettes and/or other tobacco products for at least 6 months, but preferably for a year. This can be a challenging attempt as the nicotine in tobacco is addictive and cause dependence. You will experience several unpleasant short-term effects and withdrawal symptoms as you embark on this effort. Nevertheless, smokers can and do quit smoking for good.

Smokers who quit smoking with support are more likely to succeed than those who do it on their own. Hence, it is helpful for those trying to stop to consult a health professional on engage a smoking cessation programme.

For regular, very heavy drinkers, stopping alcohol consumption abruptly can be dangerous. They should therefore consult their doctors to manage the withdrawal symptoms.

Always remember that our health is important to us and our families, and we should take care to safeguard it.

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Alcohol Abuse — The Issue of Smoking and Alcohol Drinking Among Adolescents

The Issue of Smoking and Alcohol Drinking Among Adolescents

• Categories: Alcohol Abuse Smoking Underage Drinking

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Published: Feb 8, 2022

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Concurrent Drinking and Smoking among College Students: An Event-Level Analysis

Katie witkiewitz.

1 Washington State University - Vancouver

Sruti A. Desai

2 University of Washington

Gillian Steckler

Kristina m. jackson.

3 Brown University

Sarah Bowen

Barbara c. leigh, mary e. larimer.

Katie Witkiewitz and Gillian Steckler are in the Department of Psychology at Washington State University - Vancouver. Sruti Desai and Mary Larimer are at the Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. Kristina M. Jackson is at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies in the Department of Community Health at Brown University. Sarah Bowen is in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington and Barbara C. Leigh is at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington.

Cigarette smoking and drinking commonly co-occur among college students, a population that is at high risk for developing alcohol and nicotine use disorders. Several studies have been conducted that have examined predictors of drinking or smoking to gain a better understanding of the antecedents of engaging in these behaviors. Yet, few studies have examined specific factors that influence concurrent smoking and drinking in this population. The current study used data from a 21-day electronic diary-based study of college students ( n = 86) who engaged in concurrent drinking and smoking to examine event-level associations between alcohol use and cigarette smoking in the student’s natural environment. We specifically focused on within-person analyses of contexts in which students reported smoking and drinking simultaneously in comparison to contexts in which students reporting drinking without smoking. Situational contexts included environmental setting, whether s/he was alone or with others, and changes in stress and urges to smoke before initiating drinking. Results indicated that students drank more while smoking and smoked three times as many cigarettes, on average, during drinking episodes. Being with others at a party or a bar was associated with increased odds of smoking while drinking. Likewise, increased stress since the prior assessment predicted a greater likelihood of smoking while drinking. Based on the findings from the present study, it is important for future prevention and intervention efforts to consider social settings and heightened stress among students as potential risk factors for engaging in concurrent drinking and smoking.

Cigarette smoking is strongly associated with alcohol use in young adults, particularly those attending college who are beginning to experiment with smoking ( Harrison, Hinson, & McKee, 2009 ; Reed, Wang, Shillington, Clapp, & Lang, 2007 ). A large body of work has examined predictors of drinking and of smoking to gain a better understanding of the antecedents of engaging in drinking or smoking. However, few studies have examined the specific factors that influence concurrent smoking and drinking among college students. The current study was designed to examine contextual correlates of concurrent drinking and smoking among college students using ecological momentary assessment (EMA; Stone & Shiffman, 1994 ), a method that can capture fine-grained information about behavior in the student’s natural environment.

The co-occurrence of smoking and drinking among college students has been shown in many studies (e.g., Dierker et al., 2006 ; Jackson, Colby, & Sher, 2010 ; Reed et al., 2007 ; Weitzman & Chen, 2005 ). Using a nationally representative sample, Weitzman and Chen (2005) found 98% of student smokers drank alcohol. College student smokers drink significantly more per occasion, drink more frequently, and have significantly more alcohol-related problems than non-smoking student drinkers ( Reed et al., 2007 ; Wetter et al., 2004 ). Jackson and colleagues (2010) used a daily web survey and found that drinking and smoking tended to co-occur and that students drank significantly more drinks per day when smoking and smoked significantly more cigarettes when drinking. Unfortunately, the daily surveys did not provide information about the contexts in which concurrent drinking and smoking occurred in their sample.

Contextual risk factors are defined as those environmental characteristics (e.g., a party) and/or individual experiences (e.g., stress) that facilitate drinking and/or smoking. Parties, drinking/smoking with others (versus alone), and sporting events are all associated with higher rates of drinking and smoking ( Colder et al., 2006 ; Etcheverry & Agnew, 2008 ; Grossbard, et al., 2007 ; Piasecki, McCarthy, Fiore, & Baker, 2008 ; Stromberg et al., 2007 ). Recent EMA studies of smoking or drinking in college students have found that being outside, being in the presence of other smokers, and being in a location where smoking was permitted were the strongest predictors of smoking ( Cronk & Piasecki, 2010 ). Thus, several EMA studies have provided information about the contextual influences on smoking (e.g., Cronk & Piasecki, 2010 ) and drinking (e.g., Mohr et al. 2005 ) in the daily lives of college students. However, few studies have evaluated the contextual influences on concurrent drinking and smoking episodes.

Understanding the factors that predict concurrent heavy drinking and smoking may provide valuable information for efforts to reduce smoking-related and drinking-related morbidity and mortality. For example, among nicotine-dependent drinkers, it has been shown that drinking is a predictor of smoking relapse (e.g., Borland, 1990 ). Drinking has been associated with increases in cigarette craving and subsequent increased risk of smoking ( Piasecki et al., 2008 ), perhaps due to cueing, given the evidence that alcohol may act as a cue for tobacco use in both laboratory (Gulliver et al., 1995) and field settings (Shiffman et al., 1994). It has been proposed that nicotine and ethanol may stimulate the same dopaminergic pathways and might result in cravings for one another (Wise, 1988). Cigarette craving has been shown to increase during drinking among social smokers ( King & Epstein, 2005 ). In general, individuals may develop a learned association between smoking and drinking (e.g., smoking while at a bar).

Importantly, programs that target concurrent smoking and drinking may have the net effect of reducing population-level smoking and drinking. Further, decoupling smoking and drinking is an important goal due to findings that concurrent smoking and drinking has been associated with a heightened risk for cancer and neurocognitive deficits, as well as an attenuation of the cardiovascular benefits of drinking alcohol (e.g., Pelucchi, Gallus, Garavello, Bosetti, & La Vecchia, 2006 ), with an estimated 50% increase in health risk when the behaviors are combined, in comparison to the sum of their independent risks (Bien & Burge, 1991).

Using data from a 21-day prospective electronic diary-based study, we examined the event-level associations between alcohol use and cigarette smoking in a college population. We specifically focused on within-person and between-person analyses of contexts in which the individual was smoking and drinking simultaneously in comparison to contexts in which the student drank and did not smoke. Situational contexts included environmental setting, whether s/he was alone or with others, and changes in stress and urges to smoke before initiating drinking. The current study focused on two primary research questions. First, we were interested in replicating the finding that individuals tend to smoke more cigarettes during drinking versus non-drinking episodes and drink more alcohol when smoking (e.g., Jackson et al., 2010 ). The second question was whether contextual factors predicted smoking cigarettes during drinking episodes, as compared to episodes of drinking without smoking. Finally, the effects of contextual factors on both drinking and smoking might vary across gender and level of smoking (daily vs. non-daily smoker; e.g., Cronk & Piasecki, 2010 ; Todd, 2004 ). Thus, we were interested in whether the effects of contextual factors were moderated by gender or daily smoking status.

Participants in the current study were college students enrolled at a large public university in the northwest of the United States. Eligibility criteria for study participants included drinking more than 5/4 drinks per drinking occasion (men/women), at least once in the past month, and drinking alcohol and smoking concurrently at least once per week. Participants were recruited through flyers, advertisements, and email invitations (to students who had been screened as concurrent drinkers/smokers from another ongoing study) and asked to complete an online screening survey. Students who completed the survey were entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate. Participants who met inclusion criteria (69%, n =111 of 160 screened) were routed to an online baseline assessment for which they received $20 to complete. Of those, 108 completed the baseline assessment, and 86 enrolled in the daily monitoring study. Reasons for not enrolling included: not coming into our offices for a training session ( n = 20), lack of time for monitoring ( n = 1), and quitting smoking between baseline and the training session ( n = 1).

After baseline, participants attended in-person training on how to complete daily diaries via a web-enabled phone. Beginning the next day, participants were prompted randomly via email or text message to complete a survey three times per day for 21 consecutive days. Participants had two hours to complete each random survey and were sent one reminder within one hour of the initial prompt. Over 75% of reports were completed within 5 minutes after the initial prompt. They were also instructed to complete a survey during each drinking or smoking episode. For both random prompts and participant-initiated reports, drinking and smoking within an episode were defined as the number of drinks and/or cigarettes since the prior report (either via random prompt or self-initiated survey). Students received $3 for each random report, plus a $21 bonus for every week they completed at least two of three random surveys per day. In total, participants could earn $252 for the monitoring period (see response rates below).

Measures of gender and daily smoking status (assessed by the question “Do you smoke every day?”) were collected in the baseline survey. The other measures were derived from the random and event reports. At each report, the students were asked the number of drinking occasions since the prior report (time and day of prior report was shown to the student), how many drinks they consumed per occasion, how many cigarettes they smoked since the prior report, and whether they smoked cigarettes while drinking. From these items we created the outcome measures used in the current study: any drinking/smoking, number of drinks/cigarettes, and concurrent smoking while drinking (yes/no).

Contextual variables assessed at each report included where they were drinking during each occasion (if drinking was reported), including at home, at a party, at a bar 1 , at a restaurant, at a sporting event, outside, or other, and whether they were drinking alone or with others. In addition, single item measures of stress (“Since the last report have you dealt with anything stressful?” rated on a 5 point scale from “not at all” to “very much”) and urges to smoke (“I have a strong urge for a cigarette right now” rated on a 5 point scale from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”), adapted from a prior EMA study ( Muraven, Collins, Shiffman, & Paty, 2005 ) and the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges ( Cox, Tiffany, & Christen, 2001 ), were used as predictors of drinking and smoking episodes. Specifically, we calculated the within-person difference in stress and urge ratings between reports to assess whether changes in stress and urges over time impacted subsequent drinking and smoking episodes.

The mean age of the sample was 20.1 (SD=1.7) and 42.1% were female. The sample was 77.4% White, 13.4% Asian, 2.3% American Indian/Alaskan Native, 1.9% African American, 1.1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 3.8% “unknown,” and 3.5% of the sample identified as Hispanic or Latino. Consistent with the screening criteria, 4.2% drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes concurrently every day, 51.4% drank alcohol and smoked at the same time a few times per week, and 44.4% drank and smoked at the same time at least once per week. Average number of drinks per drinking day was 5.74 (SD = 2.20), average number of cigarettes per smoking day was 3.08 (SD = 2.77), and 28.1% of the sample were daily smokers.

Over the 21 days of monitoring for 86 participants, 86.2% of random reports (4670/5418) were obtained and 51 participants (59.4% of the sample) also completed 217 participant-initiated reports at times of drinking (68 reports), smoking (96 reports), or drinking and smoking (53 reports). Preliminary analyses revealed no significant differences in drinking/smoking rates or any other variables of interest across random and event reports, nor between those participants who did and did not provide event reports. Given these findings, data from random and event reports were combined for all analyses. The total number of reports was 4887, including 864 occasions of drinking (17.7% of reports), 1706 occasions of smoking (34.9% of reports), and 383 occasions of concurrent drinking and smoking (7.8% of reports). Smoking occurred on 44.3% of all drinking occasions. Daily smokers and females were more likely to smoke cigarettes during drinking episodes than non-daily smokers (χ2 (1, N = 86) =44.18, p <0.001) and males (χ2 (1, N =86)=5.99, p =0.02), respectively. Daily smokers reported smoking while drinking across 60% of drinking occasions versus 47% of non-drinking occasions. Non-daily smokers reported smoking while drinking across 37% of drinking occasions versus 15% of non-drinking occasions.

The average number of drinks consumed while smoking was 5.16 (SD = 3.68), as compared to an average of 4.05 (SD = 3.57) drinks consumed while not smoking. The average number of cigarettes smoked during periods in which drinking occurred was 3.35 ( SD = 3.12), as compared to an average of 0.85 (SD = 1.78) while not drinking. Participants who reported concurrent drinking and smoking ( n = 70, 81.4%) were asked at what point during the drinking episode they started to smoke. Participants responded that they started smoking after starting to drink on 54.9% of occasions, started smoking before starting to drink on 23.9% of occasions, and started smoking and drinking at the same time on 21.2% of occasions.

Bivariate associations between drinking and smoking are provided in Table 1 . The between-subjects correlations (above the diagonal), which were estimated by taking the mean of all occasions averaged across people, indicated strong direct associations between all measures of drinking and smoking. The magnitude of the correlations at the within-subjects level (below the diagonal), which takes into account occasions nested within people, were consistent with the between-subjects associations. The intraclass correlations (ICCs) indicated that 7% of the variability in drinking and 34% of the variability in any smoking was within-person variability.

Between-Subjects (Above Diagonal; N=86), Within-Subjects (Below Diagonal; N=4,887), and Intraclass Correlations among Measures of Drinking and Smoking

Given that occasions of drinking and smoking were nested within students we used multilevel modeling ( Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002 ) to account for the dependence of observations. Specifically, multilevel models provide estimates of the variability within each person (Level 1) and between individuals (Level 2) across occasions. All models were estimated in Mplus version 5.21 ( Muthén & Muthén, 2009 ) using maximum likelihood estimation, which allowed for missing observations and varying numbers of occasions within and between individuals. A logit link function was used for models with binary outcomes (e.g., any drinking) and a log link function was used for models with count outcomes (e.g., number of drinks). Level 1 variables were centered within person and Level 2 variables were grandmean centered.

A series of four models were estimated in an attempt to replicate the analyses conducted by Jackson and colleagues (2010) : (1) drinking predicting any smoking; (2) drinking predicting number of cigarettes; (3) smoking predicting any drinking; and (4) smoking predicting number of drinks. For all models we included the effect of weekend occasions (defined as Friday, Saturday or Sunday) 2 on Level 1 and we included gender as a Level 2 effect. The results, presented in Table 2 , indicated that any smoking, number of cigarettes, and the weekend were significant predictors of any drinking and number of drinks per occasion. Any drinking and number of drinks, but not weekend, were significant predictors of any smoking and number of cigarettes smoked when smoking. Level 2 estimates were also consistent with prior findings ( Jackson et al, 2010 ) with males drinking significantly more drinks per occasion than females.

Unstandardized Estimates (Standard Errors) from Multilevel Models Predicting Smoking and Drinking Behavior

The second goal of the current study was to examine the contexts in which drinking and smoking tended to co-occur, in comparison to contexts when students only engaged in drinking without smoking 3 . We were specifically interested in four different contextual variables: who the student was with while drinking (alone or with others); where the student was drinking (at home, at a party, or at a bar versus all other locations) 4 ; and whether the student reported an increase in stress or urges to smoke since the report prior to the occasion in which drinking was reported. Number of drinks, weekend, smoking level, and gender were also included as predictors.

Results, shown in Table 3 , indicated that concurrent drinking and smoking occasions can be differentiated from occasions in which individuals drank without smoking. First, being at a party or at a bar was associated with significantly greater odds of smoking while drinking, such that individuals who were at a party were 3.57 times more likely to smoke while drinking and individuals who were at a bar were 2.17 times more likely to smoke while drinking. Increased stress from the prior assessment and number of drinks consumed were both associated with concurrent drinking and smoking occasions, such that individuals who experienced an increase in stress and individuals who consumed more drinks were more likely to smoke while drinking.

Multilevel Models Predicting Concurrent Smoking and Drinking Occasions versus non-Smoking Drinking Occasions

Est. = unstandardized estimate; SE = standard error; OR = odds ratio.

The final goal in the current study was to examine whether results from the models of concurrent smoking and drinking were consistent across gender and levels of smoking (non-daily vs. daily smoker at baseline). Estimates of cross-level interactions using random slopes revealed two significant effects by smoking status and no significant moderation effects by gender (all p > 0.10). A significant interaction between urges to smoke and smoking status in the prediction of concurrent smoking and drinking (B (SE) = 0.38 (0.13), p = 0.005), indicated that daily smokers reported a greater decrease in urges to smoke prior to drinking without smoking, whereas non-daily smokers reported an increase in urges to smoke prior to drinking without smoking. Follow-up analyses indicated that daily smokers reported significantly greater urges to smoke than non-daily smokers (β = 0.44, p < 0.001), regardless of the context. Finally, daily smokers were 6.2 times more likely to smoke while drinking at bars versus other locations, as compared to non-daily smokers who were not significantly more likely to smoke while drinking at bars.

The results from the current study add to prior research on the strong association between drinking and smoking among college students ( Dierker et al., 2006 ; Jackson et al., 2010 ; Reed et al., 2007 ). In the current study, students were significantly more like to smoke more cigarettes when they were drinking, and drink more alcohol per occasion when they were smoking. We also extended recent research by identifying contexts in which students were more likely to smoke while they were drinking. Students who drank at a party were over three times more likely to smoke while drinking. Being at a bar was associated with increased odds of smoking while drinking, particularly among daily smokers. Students were significantly more likely to smoke while drinking if they experienced an increase in stress since the prior report.

The results from the current study are consistent with interviews of college students who indicated that smoking while drinking at parties was socially acceptable ( Nichter, Nichter, Carkogle, Richardson, & TERN, 2010 ) and that smoking played an important role during times of stress ( Nichter, Nichter, Carkoglu, & TERN, 2007 ). Thus, interventions that target smoking might be particularly important in social settings and at times of heightened stress among students. Implementing such interventions in real-time via cell phones in response to fluctuations in stress or changes in environmental contexts may be beneficial. Non-daily smokers reported increased urges to smoke if they did not smoke while drinking, while daily smokers had higher levels of urge to smoke, regardless of the context. Importantly, daily smokers only drank without smoking if they reported a very large decrease in urges to smoke since the prior report and, in general, the daily smokers reported more cigarettes smoked between reports. Meditation-based urge surfing exercises have shown efficacy among college student smokers ( Bowen & Marlatt, 2009 ), and may be beneficial for both daily smokers and non-daily smokers.

The current study had several strengths, including multiple daily assessments and the opportunity to capture the contexts in which smoking and drinking occurred in near real-time. The present study also had limitations. To minimize assessment burden, only a few contextual influences were examined in the current study. Because the design was correlational, it is impossible to disentangle whether being in a context (e.g., at a bar) leads to concurrent drinking and smoking or whether individuals selected environments that permitted drinking and smoking. Finally the current study did not evaluate whether characteristics of the students (e.g., motives, sensation seeking) predicted concurrent drinking and smoking. It may be important to determine whether these factors play a role in order to better tailor prevention and intervention efforts.

Decoupling drinking and smoking is an important target for several reasons. Among many individuals who are trying to quit smoking they find drinking to be a high-risk situation for relapse. Furthermore, for individuals who only smoke when they drink, it is important to determine the situations in which they are most likely to smoke while drinking. Individuals who smoke while drinking are still at greater risk for morbidity and mortality related to smoking (than those who drink without smoking), thus understanding how, why, and when these two health risk behaviors co-occur is an important public health goal.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA018336). Special thanks are due to Kim Hodge for her invaluable assistance in executing the procedures of this research.

1 Local ordinance prohibited smoking in bars and restaurants, thus it was assumed that reports of smoking at a bar or restaurant occurred in designated smoking areas, not within the bar or restaurant.

2 Time of day was included in initial analyses, but was not predictive of concurrent drinking/smoking in the current sample. Interestingly the drinking occasions and concurrent drinking and smoking occasions were rather evenly distributed across different times of the day.

3 The contextual questions asked during the random and event prompts limited our analyses to comparing the drinking plus smoking occasions versus the drinking-only occasions, because the questions inquired about whom a person was with and where they were “when they were drinking.” Thus, we do not have data on contextual influences on occasions of smoking, unless the participants reported drinking while smoking.

4 Other drinking locations were assessed, however, being at home, at a party, or at a bar represented 82.2% of all drinking occasions and thus we focused on these contexts in the current analyses. Other locations included being at a restaurant (4.9% of drinking occasions), at a sporting event (1.2% of drinking occasions), outside (4.5% of drinking occasions), and “other” (7.2% of drinking occasions).

Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/pubs/journals/adb .

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Alcohol and Smoking Abuse: Negative Physical and Mental Effects Essay

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In the current world alcohol and smoking have led to addictions in many young people which in turn cause a lot of long term psychological and physical complications. Addiction to alcohol or heavy alcohol drinking normally impinges on judgment, reaction and the way of thinking. Alcohol consumption also triggers risky behaviors that can cause harm. Among other things alcohol abuse is related to unprotected sex, the shutting of the nervous systems causing instant death, drunken driving causing bodily harm in accidents and death and a lot of other severe health effects.

Smoking on the other hand has its fair share of detrimental effects on individuals; this is evidenced by Grey (2002) who shows that:

Smoking causes addiction, constant coughing, bronchitis, asthma, damage to your lungs, smelly hair and clothes, yellow teeth and bad breath. And those are just the short term effects. The long term effects include cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes), lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, emphysema (a lung disease where a person has really hard time breathing), reproductive problems, and birth defects in kids (Grey, 2002).

Therefore this paper is going to focus on the negative physical and mental effects of long term alcohol abuse and smoking, show how the unhealthy lifestyles impact on people today and finally conclude by proposing a solution for curbing this situation.

High quantities of alcohol intake are interconnected with a high level risk of developing cardiovascular ailments, “malabsorption, chronic pancreatitis, liver disease and cancer. Central nervous system and peripheral nervous system damage can also occur from sustained consumption. Long-term use of alcohol in excessive quantities is capable of damaging nearly every organ and system in the body” (Lacoste, 2001). Lacoste also showed that “the developing adolescent brain is particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of alcohol”.

Constant alcohol usage and abuse has severe impacts on physical and psychological health. The following is a range of effects of heavy alcohol intake as shown by Lacoste (2001), they include:

Neuropsychiatric or neurological impairment, cardiovascular, disease, liver disease, and neoplasm that is malevolent. The psychiatric disorders which are associated with alcoholism include major depression, dysthymia, mania, hypomania, panic disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, personality disorders, schizophrenia, suicide, neurologic deficits (e.g. impairments of working memory, emotions, executive functions, visuospatial abilities gait and balance) and brain damage. Alcohol dependence is associated with hypertension, coronary heart disease, and ischemic stroke, cancer of the respiratory system, cancers of the digestive system, liver, breast, and ovary cancer. Heavy drinking is also associated with liver disease, such as cirrhosis (Lacoste, 2001).

Heavy intake of alcohol is seen to temper with normal brain development. Difficulties in information retrieval and visual performance were found in several studies carried out on people with a record of heavy alcohol consumption. “During adolescence for example critical stages of neurodevelopment occur. Binge drinking which is common among adolescents interferes with this important stage of development. Heavy alcohol consumption inhibits new brain cell development as well” (Taylor, 2005). Additionally heavy alcohol intake damages the development of the brain, these effects are caused by “brain shrinkage, dementia, physical dependence, increases neuropsychiatric and cognitive disorders responsible for distortion of the brain chemistry” (Lacoste, 2001).

Excessive drinking often leads to cardiomyopathy or “holiday heart syndrome.” This is supported by Sienkiewicz (2009), who shows that:

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is characterized in a manner clinically identical to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, involving hypertrophy of the musculature of the heart that can lead to a form of cardiac arrhythmia. These electrical anomalies, represented on an EKG, often vary in nature, but range from nominal changes of the PR, QRS, or QT intervals to paroxysmal episodes of ventricular tachycardia. The path physiology of alcoholic cardiomyopathy has not been firmly identified, but certain hypotheses cite an increased secretion of epinephrine and norepinephrine, increased sympathetic output, or a rise in the level of plasma free fatty acids as possible mechanisms.

Another effect evident in alcohol abusers is anemia originating from several causes; alcoholics are also diagnosed with thrombocytopenia from through megakaryocytic noxious effects.

Psychological effects associated with alcohol are evident in the occurrence of high depressive disorder in alcohol abusers. Recent studies have now certified that high alcohol consumption is directly responsible for the increase of depressive disorders in many alcoholics. Consequently alcohol abuse is responsible for a lot of psychological disorders with “alcohol abusers having a very high suicide rate. A study of people hospitalized for suicide attempts found that those who were alcoholics were 75 times more likely to go on and successfully commit suicide than non-alcoholic suicide attempters” (Gitlow, 2006). Again as shown by Lacoste (2001) “long term use of alcohol can lead to damage to the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system resulting in loss of sexual desire and impotence in men”.

Fetal alcohol syndrome which is an impairment characterized by lasting birth defects is also a common effect resulting from alcohol consumption in pregnant mothers, as alcohol consumption is in a way responsible for the damage to the fetus.

Smoking on the other hand has toxic effects on human beings. While smoking, it is the respiratory system that gets most affected, the toxins in smoke flowing in the lungs is a formula for adversity. Pneumonia and bronchitis of chronic nature are some of the many ailments brought about by smoking. Smoking also brings about emphysema, a devastating disease of the lungs that is very fatal.

Other effects of smoking arise due to the extra work done by the heart and vascular disease. Smoking is also responsible for triggering coronary disease that in turn activate heart attack. Many types of cancers are brought about by smoking, “lung, mouth, throat, stomach, bladder, cervix and more. Due to the reduced blood flow to the body’s extremities like the legs and feet, vascular disease in these areas can cause painful ulcers that are often impossible to cure” (Grey, 2002). “Frequent smoking has also been linked to panic attacks and panic disorders in young people.” (Hales, 2010)

Heavy drinking and smoking are some of the major causes of death that can be otherwise prevented. Research reveals that heavy drinking and smoking are responsible for one in every thirty four deaths in the world. The research also shows that six percent of disability cases are as a result alcohol intake.

Therefore as shown in this paper heavy drinking and smoking have no positive impacts on the community and should be shunned at all costs. Countries should put up policies to regulate these behaviors and ban drinking and smoking especially in people under 21 years. When this is done the impacts of alcohol consumption and smoking can be regulated.

• Gitlow, S. (2006). Alcohol abuse and suicide. Journal of the effects of alcohol 53 (7), 104-122.
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• Smoking Should Be Banned in Public Places Words: 952
• Problems of Smoking in Public Places Words: 1318
• Ban on Smoking in the Workplace Words: 1310
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• Smoking-Related Harmful Health Effects Words: 1920

Should Smoking Be Illegal?

Should smoking be banned? What are the pros and cons of banning cigarettes in public places? If you’re writing an argumentative essay or persuasive speech on why smoking should be banned, check out this sample.

Smoking Should Be Banned: Essay Introduction

Reasons why smoking should be banned, why smoking should not be banned: essay arguments, why smoking should be banned essay conclusion.

Smoking involves burning a substance to take in its smoke into the lungs. These substances are commonly tobacco or cannabis. Combustion releases the active substances in them, like nicotine, which are absorbed through the lungs.

A widespread technique through which this is done is via smoking manufactured cigarettes or hand-rolling the tobacco ready for smoking. Almost 1 billion people in the majority of all human societies practice smoking. Complications directly associated with smoking claim the lives of half of all the persons involved in smoking tobacco or marijuana for a long time.

Smoking is an addiction because tobacco contains nicotine, which is very addictive. The nicotine makes it difficult for a smoker to quit. Therefore, a person will become used to nicotine such that he/she has to smoke to feel normal. Consequently, I think smoking should be banned for some reason.

One reason why smoking should be banned is that it has got several health effects. It harms almost every organ of the body. Cigarette smoking causes 87% of lung cancer deaths and is also responsible for many other cancer and health problems. 

Apart from this, infant deaths that occur in pregnant women are attributed to smoking. Similarly, people who stay near smokers become secondary smokers, who may breathe in the smoke and get the same health problems as smokers. Although not widely smoked, cannabis also has health problems, and withdrawal symptoms include depression, insomnia, frustration, anger, anxiety, concentration difficulties, and restlessness.

Besides causing emphysema, smoking also affects the digestive organs and the blood circulatory systems, especially heart arteries. Women have a higher risk of heart attack than men, exacerbating with time as one smokes. Smoking also affects the mouth, whereby the teeth become discolored, the lips blacken and always stay dry, and the breath smells bad.

Cigarette and tobacco products are costly. People who smoke are therefore forced to spend their money on these products, which badly wastes the income they would have otherwise spent on other things. Therefore, I think that smoking should be forbidden to reduce the costs of treating diseases related to smoking and the number of deaths caused by smoking-related illnesses.

However, tobacco and cigarette manufacturing nations would lose a lot if smoking was to be banned. I, therefore, think that it should not be banned. Some nations largely depend on exporting cigarettes and tobacco products to get revenue.

This revenue typically boosts the economy of such nations. If smoking were banned, they would incur significant losses since tobacco companies are multi-billion organizations. Apart from these, millions of people will be jobless due to the ban.

The process by which tobacco and cigarette products reach consumers is very complex, and it involves a chain process with several people involved in it. Banning smoking, therefore, means these people will lose their jobs, which most may depend on for their livelihoods.

In conclusion, the ban on smoking is a tough step to be undertaken, especially when the number of worldwide users is billions. Although it burdens nations enormously in treating smoking-related diseases, it may take a long time before a ban can work. Attempts by some nations to do this have often been met with failures.

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StudyCorgi. (2020, January 12). Should Smoking Be Illegal? https://studycorgi.com/should-smoking-be-banned/

"Should Smoking Be Illegal?" StudyCorgi , 12 Jan. 2020, studycorgi.com/should-smoking-be-banned/.

StudyCorgi . (2020) 'Should Smoking Be Illegal'. 12 January.

1. StudyCorgi . "Should Smoking Be Illegal?" January 12, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/should-smoking-be-banned/.

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StudyCorgi . "Should Smoking Be Illegal?" January 12, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/should-smoking-be-banned/.

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Drinking And Smoking In Students

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