Tobacco- Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tobacco- - Research Paper Example Soon after its arrival in Europe, the crop became widely cultivated. The growth of its popularity in European nations was due to the supposed medicinal capability of the plant. In 1571, Nicolas Monardes authored a book on medicinal plants in which he praised tobacco as a medicinal plant. According to Monardes tobacco would cure approximately 36 health problems. It is such popularization, which spurred the use of tobacco in 1600’s to an extent that tobacco was used as a value exchange product. Tobacco was as good as money in the early 1600 period. The world did not know that what had become misleadingly acceptable would become a leading respiratory disease causing agent with carcinogenic effects (Randall 1). Currently, there are millions of men and women across the globe that smoke, chew and sniff tobacco products. However, smoking is the most popular form of tobacco use, and among the leading causes of preventable health conditions and death (Jiloha 64). This is partly due to the fact that there are numerous cigarette manufacturing firms, and cigarettes are easily available in most retail points. All these factors coupled with prolific advertising, encourage the development of smoking habits among the youth. According to Jiloha (64), an estimated 1.3 billion people smoke tobacco worldwide, and half of this population will prematurely succumb to some form of tobacco-related illness. Tobacco smoking accounts for 5 million deaths annually, with tobacco related illnesses being the second major cause of death (Jiloha 65). Modest estimates show that if the current trend persists, tobacco may cause approximately 10 million deaths per annum by 2020. The health sector is the most affected by th e use of tobacco because it causes many health problems such as respiratory and cardiovascular complications. The most common respiratory conditions resulting from prolonged tobacco use include chronic bronchitis, emphysema, cancer, and airway