United States, each year. Second-Hand smoke, or passive smoke, is not as hazardous as mainstream smoke, it is still a dangerous matter.

More people die each year from second-hand smoke than from car accidents. A report by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, declared that second-hand smoke had killed 62,000 people from heart attacks and had caused 200,000 nonfatal heart attacks. Half of all American children live with a person who smokes and nine million kids breathe cigarette smoke regularly. Recently, there has been a law passed to protect waiters and waitresses from second-hand smoke. There have been several other efforts to control second-hand smoke. One act to stop non-smokers intake of cigarette smoke happened in 1969. ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) filed a petition to stop people from smoking on airlines. It passed and now there is no smoking on publiSmoking is a bad habit, which plagues the young, as well as the old. It is the largest source of preventable mortality in North America1. Not only does smoking lead to an early grave, but it can also influence one's

13 Waldum, Helge L. et al. "Long-Term Effects of Inhaled Nicotine," Life Sciences v58 no.16 (Mar. 1996), p1345.

a pure substance. Another aspect of the effects of nicotine on weight is what happens when the body is no longer exposed to nicotine. Many smokers who have quit found that they gained weight. In fact, it has been calculated that the average weight gain after quitting smoking is 2.3 kg (5 lbs) 14. This fear of weight gain can make smokers not want to quit smoking. A British study found that 42% of Canadian girls who smoked worried about their weight15. This shows a mild paranoia towards quitting smoking, and fear of body appearance. These effects of nicotine, if used right, could make a very good weight loss drug. It could be especially helpful in sport, where the athlete wants to be able to stay thin. Since studies have indicated that nicotine itself is not harmful to the body, it could be administered without tobacco products16. The athlete would not have the physical strains of smoking on the body, but still have the weight controlling nicotine. In such sports as boxing where the athlete wants to be at the top of his or her weight class, they could take nicotine supplements to rapidly decrease their weight and get into the lighter category. It could also be used in training in the "off-season" so when an athlete is not working hard, they will not gain any weight. Smoking can have many different effects on the human body. It can influence it in ways, which can either be detrimental, or beneficial. It affects the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood, as well as the lungs themselves. This alone hinders performance in physical activities. Nicotine, on the other hand, is not actually harmful to the body. When used correctly, it can be a powerful weight loss agent. These two effects of smoking on the body causes one to make serious decisions on whether or not they should smoke. If you smoke for the weight loss aspect, nicotine by itself it betters for your body. But many feel a physical pleasure in smoking, which cannot be met by just nicotine supplements.

8 Marti, Bernard et al. "Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, and Endurance Capacity: An

12 Waldum, Helge L. et al. "Long-Term Effects of Inhaled Nicotine," Life Sciences v58 no.16 (Mar. 1996), p1345.

Second-Hand smoke causes 3,000 deaths from lung cancer, 13,000 deaths from other cancers, and 37,000 deaths from lung disease in the United States, each year. Second-Hand smoke, or passive smoke, is not as hazardous as mainstream smoke, it is still a dangerous matter. More people die each year from second-hand smoke than from car accidents. A report by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Some common words found in the essay are:
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