Cigarettes and Their Destruction of the Brain Essay Example For Students

Cigarettes and Their Destruction of the Brain Essay Smokers generally feel more comfortable after that especially importantfirst cigarette of the day. Within just a few seconds of lighting up, smokingactivates mind-altering changes. Smokers are well aware of the long-term risksof their habit: such as lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and other deadlyillnesses. However, smokers are attracted by the immediate effects of smoking:a stimulant that makes them seem to feel more alert, clearheaded and able tofocus on work. Smoking however, does not really have these effects; what thesmoker perceives is an illusion. Nicotine begins to act on brain cells withinten seconds of inhalation, fitting into keyholes on the surface of the brain;the same keyholes as acetylcholine(an important neurotransmitter), andmimicking epinephrine and norepinephrine, giving the smoker a rush, orstimulation. Within 30 minutes, smokers feel their energy begin to decline, asthe ingested nicotine is reduced. This process continues, as the smokersattention becomes i ncreasingly focused on cigarettes. Nicotine causes smokersbrain cells to grow more nicotinic receptors than normal; therefore, the brainmay function normally despite the irregular amount of acetylcholine-likechemical acting upon it. The brain is reshaped: the smoker feels normal withnicotine in his system, and abnormal without it. A series of tests wereconducted on nonsmokers, active smokers, and deprived smokers. The activesmokers were given a cigarette before each test, while the deprived smokerswere not allowed cigarettes before tests. The tests started simply, and then moved towards more complex problems. In the first test, subjects sat in front of a computer screen and pressed thespace bar when a target letter, among 96, was recognized: smokers, deprivedsmokers, and nonsmokers, performed equally well. The next test involvedscanning sequences of 20 identical letters and as one of the letters wastransformed into a different one, responding with the space bar. Nonsmokersresponded fastest, and active smokers were faster than those who were deprivedfrom smoking. In the third test, subjects were required to memorize a sequenceof letters or numbers, and to respond when they observed the sequence amongflashed groupings on the screen. The purpose of this experiment was to testshort-term memory: nonsmokers again ranked highest, however, deprived smokersdefeated the active smokers. Subjects were required to read a passage and thenanswer questions about it in the fourth test. Nonsmokers remembered 19 percentmore of the most important information than active smokers, and deprived smokersbested th eir counterparts who had smoked a cigarette just before testing. Active smokers tended not only to have poorer memories but also had troubledifferentiating important from trivial details. In the final experiment, acomputer-generated driving simulator(much like a video game) was used to testthe subjects, who were required to operate a steering wheel, gearshift, gaspedal and brake, and to navigate through twisting roads, and sudden appearancesof cars and oil slicks. Deprived smokers had 67 percent more rear-endcollisions than nonsmokers, while the smokers who had just had a cigaretteperformed even worse: they had 3.5 times the rear-end collisions as didnonsmokers. As testing progressed, and became more complex, nonsmokersoutperformed smokers by wider margins. As a smoker, I must state that I am concerned as to the findings of thisarticle. I have an exceptional memory, however, it is not quite as sharp as itonce was. I have considered quitting smoking, yet I have not yet taken anyactions toward doing so; however, I have cut down from the amount that Ipreviously have smoked, and am still progressing in this manner. This articlehas definitely forced me to reconsider my habit, as Im sure it would bebeneficial. I would advise all smokers to read this article and then evaluatetheir personal smoking habits. .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 , .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 .postImageUrl , .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 , .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95:hover , .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95:visited , .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95:active { border:0!important; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95:active , .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95 .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u15778dbbd0e628277f270ed46bb2de95:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Farrington's Character Analysis from Joyce's Counterparts EssayWorks CitedHow Cigarettes Cloud Your Brain. Ponte, Lowell. Readers Digest. March 1995. Category: Science