smoking

In today's society it is widely accepted to smoke. Employees, students, parents, and teachers often have to put on hold whatever they are doing for a quick smoke. However, we all know it is unhealthy to smoke. About 70% of smokers say they want to quit (thetruth.com).


Cigarettes contain ingredients from antifreeze and gasoline to rat poison and dynamite (thetruth.com). Everyday more and more people in the world pick up the habit of smoking tobacco. It is believed that peer pressure, stress, and self-esteem issues can cause some to begin to smoke.


The streets and pavements of cities are littered with cigarette butts from people throwing away their no longer wanted cigarettes. The air is polluted from the smoke issued from cigarettes. These factors cause the environment to be destroyed.


Many parents and teachers discourage children from picking up the habit of smoking cigarettes. They scare them as children about the harmful effects of smoking. As the get older they tell children not to get sucked into peer pressure, telling them that it is not cool to smoke despite what people may say. And when they get even older they warn them of the medical risks that come along with smoking. Also, television ads, magazine, and many other media sources spill out facts about smoking and it’s effects on the human body.


When I walk through St. Louis University’s campus I see many students smoking at the designated smoking areas. They are usually chatting with the person next to them while clouds of smoke issue from their mouths. Many people ask others for a light because they forgot their lighter or ask for a cigarette because they are all out. Usually people only smoke one cigarette while they are sitting in the smoke area. However, I often see many people smoke up to three or four.


Once they are done with their cigarettes they through the butts on the ground and walk away. After a few days, even hours, the ground that surround the designated smoking area are covered in cigarette butts. Maintenance sweeps the ground daily and throw away the unwanted cigarettes from the campus’s floor.


I decided to blog about people who smoke because I see it at college more than I ever have in my life. It really interested me how many students and faculty members at St. Louis University smoke. I came from a very small high school of about 600 and hardly anybody I knew smoked. Therefore, coming to a new institution that has a wide variety of students from all over made me see how many people in our world smoke cigarettes despite the knowledge and facts they know about them.