Escamilla 1

Maricela Escamilla

Professor Roberts

HLTH 1050

Reflection Paper

Power, privilege, and economics interlace in the world of the drug society. Prior to taking

this course, I seldom had any knowledge in regards to the origin of drugs or how they are

created. Since taking this course and now finished, my understanding and knowledge has grown

tremendously. The subjects that was primarily focused on were the cartels, opiates,

amphetamines, marijuana, tobacco, alcohol and more. As well as learn the vulnerability of

people, the long-term and short-term effects, different ways of consumption, the overall negative

impact it has not only in our community but also globally. Another subject that was discussed

were the laws and regulations that were implemented in society, in order to create stability while

reducing the mortality rate. Each topic had affected the countries differently and brought

awareness. One particular topic that I would like to focus on is the tobacco industry, only

because this drug is legal and available to purchase to people of 18 years of age or older. The fact

that tobacco causes more sickness and preventable death around the world than all illegal drugs

combined is outrageous. (1) According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, estimate

that by the year 2030 tobacco will cause more than 8 million deaths annually. While globally,

any smoking related diseases kill about 1 in 10 adults. (5) As for the non-smokers, more than

600,000 die each year from second hand smoke world-wide. While one third of that 600,000 are

children. (1) Those diseases consist of cancer, lung disease, heart disease and more. Nevertheless,

to mention that smoking also affects children and worldwide, between 80,000 to 100,000

children will begin smoking with every passing day. (2) The reason behind people’s addiction to
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smoking it is due to the physical and psychologic affect from the nicotine, it is often thought to

be just as addicting as heroin or cocaine. Psychologically, it allows the users to feel freely, and

distracted from any unpleasant feeling they may have. Within seconds the nicotine can reach the

brain after only one puff, but the effect only lasts a few minutes. The user’s body will get

accustomed and build tolerance towards the nicotine therefore they will need to increase the

amount of tobacco to achieve the same effect. The physical symptoms with withdrawal that the

user will experience if they attempt to quit can include chest tightness, nervousness, constipation,

gas, irritability, and more. (3) The harsher reality is if they do not stop the long-term, they will

face cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cancer, and more. Not to mention it will also

affect newborns and women who are pregnant such as ectopic pregnancy, low birth weight,

stillbirth, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and more.

A strategy that United States implemented to combat the use of tobacco, is called The

1998 American Tobacco Settlement. This means that an agreement was made between major

tobacco corporations and all fifty states of American, about a compensation that the states will

receive for the cost of treating people with smoking-related illness. The corporation would then

have to do the following; pay $246 billion dollars in annual installment over 24 years course, pay

24 million annually over the course of 10 year for research purposes, and refrain from marketing

to those of 18 years or younger. With time the evolution of tobacco marketing has changed, from

sponsoring to marketing, but that does not stop them to achieve their goal of recruiting new

consumers. Their strategies consist of free giveaways, not of cigarettes but products that have

their brand on it, discounts towards cigarettes, adult only tent, lounge or truck that are brought to

events and more. With their marketing skills the are still able to lure new consumers into trying

tobacco. The advantage in the United States is that with the regulations implement they were
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able to reduce the mortality rate. (5) Which now tobacco industries have shifted their focus

towards other countries who are unaware of the dangerous effects of tobacco, such as Thailand

where it is socially acceptable to smoke anywhere. Not to mention that they do not believe that

smoking brings any harm to their bodies. Smoking tobacco is even smoked by lawmakers so

their focus is not at tobacco.

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Works Cited
(1)
Global Smoking | Gateway To Health Communication | Cdc
https://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/toolstemplates/entertainmented/tips/GlobalSmoking.
html
(2)
“Why People Start Using Tobacco, and Why It's Hard to Stop.” American Cancer Society,
www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/tobacco-and-cancer/why-people-start-using-tobacco.html.
(3)
Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking | Cdc
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking/inde
x.htm
(4)
How Tobacco Companies Use Experiential Marketing
Truth Initiative - https://truthinitiative.org/news/how-tobacco-companies-use-experiential-
marketing
(5)
Drugs, Behavior, and Modern Society
Charles Levinthal - Pearson - 2016