Ch. 10 Tobacco

Question 1

Who uses tobacco?

Answer 1

• CDC estimates that as of 2020, about 12.5% of adults regularly smoke cigarettes; historically low, in 1965 42% of adults smoked
• smoking rates decrease with increased education
• more men than women smoke
• 50-70% of cigarettes smoked by people with mental illness
• smoking is number one cause of preventable death and is believed to cause about 20% of deaths

Question 2

What was tobacco used for initially?

Answer 2

it was used in the form of snuff medicinally and recreationally

Question 3

How was tobacco grown?

Answer 3

tobacco was a valuable cash crop and it grew well and developed optimal flavor in the sandy soil of the American east coast. after the Civil War, much tobacco growing shifted away from plantations to smaller farms

Question 4

What did the Revolutionary War bring?

Answer 4

• chewing tobacco and smoking
• use of moist snuff
• tobacco was smoked generally as cigars or pipes, but by the end of the 1800’s cigarettes were becoming popular

Question 5

what did Europeans think tobacco was useful for?

Answer 5

• pain relief
• burns
• to whiten teeth
• syphilis
• bubonic plague
• worms
• gangrene
• sores
• lice infestation
• resurrecting victims of drowning

Question 6

what did Europeans believe tobacco could cause?

Answer 6

• infertility
• brain damage
• liver damage
• fainting
• drying of blood
• insanity
• sexual perversion

Question 7

what are the legal issues regarding tobacco?

Answer 7

1964: first report from Surgeon General suggesting serious health risks associated with smoking
1971: TV and radio advertising of cigarettes banned
1990: smoking banned on domestic airline flights
1998: Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, in which the four largest tobacco companies settled multiple potential lawsuits for 206 billion over 25 years
2004: Federal prisons became completely smoke-free

Question 8

how does nicotine work?

Answer 8

nicotine activates a specific acetylcholine receptor in the PNS and CNS

Question 9

what symptoms can nicotine cause?

Answer 9

• novice user will experience nausea and salivation
• increased heart rate, blood pressure
• a paradoxical combo of increased focus and wakefulness and relaxation
• increased memory and cognitive ability
• decreased appetite
• nicotine has an antidepressant effect and depressed people find tobacco use more rewarding than non-depressed people

Question 10

what problems can tobacco use cause?

Answer 10

• increased blood clotting, cardiovascular disease and stroke
• increased cancer risk, especially if the person drinks heavily
• smoked tobacco can cause emphysema and lung cancer, reduced oxygenation of the blood
• oral tobacco can cause oral cancers and tooth damage
• dependence (physical and psychological)

Question 11

what are the withdrawal symptoms of tobacco?

Answer 11

• depression and anxiety
• agitation and insomnia
• increased appetite and weight gain
• irritability
• difficulty concentrating
• craving
• physical symptoms will generally subside over a week or two; psychological symptoms can last for months

Question 12

issues in stopping tobacco use

Answer 12

• newly quit should prepare for withdrawal, depression and anxiety in particular
• behaviors to replace smoking or avoid area where one smoked
• medications such as Chantix or Zyban
• Nicotine replacements in gum or patches
• apps that help with quitting
• benefits of quitting emerge in days and after 15 years of cessation, your health risks are similar to someone who never smoked

Question 13

is the solution vaping?

Answer 13

• “vaping” is inhaling an aerosolized form of nicotine (or THC)
• the majority of cases of lung damage are linked to THC, rather than nicotine and are thought to be caused by a form of vitamin E: vitamin E acetate
• vaping is not harmless, but is safter than smoking