Smoking: Difference between revisions

[[Image:Papierosa 1 ubt 0069.jpeg|thumb|300px|An industrially manufactured [[cigarette]] burning in an ashtray; today the most common form of smoking.]]

'''Smoking''' is a practice where a substance, most commonly [[tobacco]], is burned and the [[smoke]] tasted or inhaled. This is primarily done as a form of [[recreational drug use]], as [[combustion]] releases the [[active substance]]s in drugs such as [[nicotine]] and makes them available for absorption through the [[lung]]s. It can also be done as a part of rituals, to induce trances and spiritual enlightenment. The most common method of smoking today is through [[cigarette]]s, primarily industrially manufactured but also hand-rolled from loose tobacco and [[rolling paper]]. Other forms, though not as common, are [[smoking pipe|pipes]], [[cigar]]s, [[hookah]]s and [[bong]]s.

 

The history of smoking can be dated to as early as 5000 BC, and has been recorded in many different cultures across the world. Early smoking evolved in association with religious ceremonies; as offerings to deities, in cleansing rituals or to allow [[shaman]]s and [[priest]]s to alter their minds for purposes of divination or spiritual enlightenment. After the European exploration and conquest of the Americas, the practice of smoking tobacco quickly spread to the rest of the world. In regions like India and [[Subsaharan Africa]], it merged with existing practices of smoking (mostly of cannabis). In Europe, it introduced a new type of social activity and a form of drug intake which previously had been unknown.

The cultural perception surrounding smoking has varied over time and from one place to another; holy and sinful, sophisticated and vulgar, a [[panacea (medicine)|panacea]] and deadly health hazard. Only recently, and primarily in industrialized Western countries, has smoking come to be viewed in a decidedly negative light. Today medical studies have proven that smoking is among the leading causes of diseases such as [[stenosis]], [[lung cancer]]<ref>[[American Legacy Foundation]] [http://www.americanlegacy.org/PDF/Lung_Cancer_Fact_Sheet.pdf factsheet on lung cancer]; their cited source is: <u>CDC ([[Centers for Disease Control]]) The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. 2004</u>.</ref>, [[heart attacks]]<ref name="Nyboe-1989">{{cite journal | author=Nyboe J, Jensen G, Appleyard M, Schnohr P. | title=Risk factors for acute myocardial infarction in Copenhagen. I: Hereditary, educational and socioeconomic factors. Copenhagen City Heart Study. | journal=Eur Heart J | year=1989 | volume=10 | issue=10 | pages=910–6 | pmid=2598948}}</ref> and [[chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]]<ref name="dev">Devereux G. ''ABC of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Definition, epidemiology, and risk factors.'' [[British Medical Journal|BMJ]] 2006;332:1142-1144. PMID 16690673</ref>, and can also lead to [[birth defects]]. The well-proven health hazards of smoking have caused many countries to institute high taxes on tobacco products and anti-smoking campaigns are launched every year in an attempt to curb smoking. Several countries, states and cities have also imposed [[smoking ban]]s in most public buildings. Despite these bans, European countries still hold 18 of the top 20 spots, and according to the ERC, a market research company, the heaviest smokers are from Greece, averaging 3,000 cigarettes per person in 2007.<ref>http://www.gadling.com/2008/05/12/which-country-smokes-the-most/</ref>