Nate Park

Church SAT Class

The Coffin Nails

            Whenever someone smokes a cigarette, he or she drives another nail into his or her coffin. Smoking not only drives oneself to the tomb but others as well. The cigarette expedites the path to death because it harms both the mind and the body. Everyone should raise support for prohibition on the utilization of smoking by raising awareness on the harmful effects of smoking to the mind, the body, and to those around the smoker. 

            First, whenever someone smokes, he or she harms his or her own body and in effect, willingly climbs into a coffin and nails it shut from the inside. It is suicidal and foolish. Smoking will inhibit the respiratory system because it exposes at least 4000 different toxic compounds to the lungs. This causes mucus, a defense mechanism that absorbs and stores contaminated air, to fill the lungs, a tightening of the lungs to set off wheezing and gasping, and prevents nutrients and oxygen from being transported throughout the body. Therefore a regular habit can and will impair the lungs’ ability to breathe in clean healthy air for oxygen. However, smoking does not solely devastate the respiratory system. Smoking can injure the skeletal system, the muscular system, the digestive system, the immune system, and also the reproductive system! Bones will weaken, muscles will slack, bodily defenses will fail, and a desire to raise children will become nonexistent. There is even a chance of contracting cancer! People should understand that they must tend their bodies with the utmost care because each human being will only get one.

            Second, whenever someone smokes, he or she ruins his or her own mind and in effect, transforms into a cadaverous vegetable state. The nervous system breaks down and decelerates into an inefficient machine of the body. Smoking can upset the balance of the body, induce extreme tiredness, slur speech, conjure mirages before the eyes, and hobble other motor functions. Therefore a smoke a day will keep a nice career such as a position on a professional sports team away. Smoking also damages the mental health of a human being. Smokers more likely suffer from depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and drug abuse than a nonsmoker. These mental illnesses can damage friendships, family ties, marriage, and other relationships and in the end, a smoker will find him or herself a social outcast. Not only that, meals and drinks will seem like ashes because the nasal and taste senses will become flawed. Most of the flavor of the cuisine comes from its smell and if the consumer cannot smell the delicious meal lying before him or her, most of the delicious enjoyment will pass into oblivion. The mind is a central control tower that administers the body and thus needs to be kept in a healthy state.

            Finally, whenever someone smokes, he or she injures other people as well with the smoke given off by the cigarette and the smoke that is exhaled from the lungs of smokers. Secondhand smoking, the involuntary inhalation of smoke by nonsmokers, damages the lungs with the same devastating effect. Thus even those that do not smoke will be brought to the grave by the thoughtless actions from an unperceptive smoker. According to the American Lung Association, “Secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 22,700-69,600 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year.” An amazing figure produced from ignorant smokers that wish to gain an ephemeral moment of euphoria and satisfaction. To prevent more deaths such as these, people should desist.

            Each cigarette becomes a nail that a smoker hammers into his coffin. The cigarette slowly but surely seals his or her eventual fate – death. Smoking is the source of infirmities of the body, of the mind, and of other people around the smoker. By raising awareness, smoking will be banned from all public places in order to promote the wellness of the human species.

Works Cited

·         Binkowski, Alison. "Health Effects." The Scoop on Smoking from ACSH. 2000. American Council on Science and Health. 23 Jun 2008 <http://thescooponsmoking.org/xhtml/importantFacts.php>.

·         "Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet." Quit Smoking. 2007. American Lung Association. 23 Jun 2008 <http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35422 >.