Source summary: 2004 Surgeon General’s Report on The

This is a report summarizing the findings of the 2004 Surgeon General’s Report on The
Health Consequences of Smoking. The Report discusses various aspects of cigarette
smoking and the effects if has on the body, but I focused on the section addressing
women and reproductive health. The report documents that smoking harms every phase
of reproduction, increasing the risk of complications during pregnancy; It raises the risk
of premature birth, low birth weight infants, stillbirth, and infant mortality. This
information was helpful, and I was also able to get some background information about
Luther Terry, the first Surgeon General in the US who linked cigarette smoking to 3
major health problems.

Citation:


U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The Health Consequences of
Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004. 9 Jan. 2007. Office of the
Surgeon General. 5 Feb. 2007.

Source Summary: Maternal Smoking and Other Factors in Low Birth Weight

FORCES is an acronym of Fight Ordinances and Restrictions to Control and Eliminate Smoking. Forces is a pro-tobacco website, based on the values of liberty for every individual in his personal choices. Forces is aligned with those who fight the antismoking cartel, which they feel are basically false and oppressive. I found this website to be one of the better anti-smoking sites because it provides research and covers a wide variety of topics related to smoking. The articles definitely come across as bias, and sometimes offensive, however the information is presented in a somewhat educational manner. Most of the articles also include bibliographical information. I was able to use this site for my “anti-paper” but also got a good look into how it might feel to be on the other side; from a smoker’s view. I’m a non-smoker, so it put my thoughts about smoking into perspective and allowed me to look at it in a different light.
I used one main article from this site, titled Maternal Smoking and Other Factors in Low Birth Weight. The author, Wanda Hamilton is basically trying to say that there must be other explanations as to why LBW rates are so high in the United States, aside from maternal smoking. She includes statistical informaton showing that the rate of maternal smoking is going down, while the rate of LBW babies is going up. Wanda also includes information suggesting that socioeconomic status is the single greatest risk factor for preterm birth and LBW.

Citation:

“Hamilton, Wanda.” Forces International. 12 Mar. 2007.

Source Summary: National Center for Health Statistics

Health, United States, 2006 is the 30th report on the health status of the Nation and is
submitted by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to the President and Congress of the United States. The Health, United States series presents national trends in health statistics. The information pertaining to prenatal smoking and low birth weight was especially helpful because I was able to obtain current data and statistics. This research material is important and necessary because it explains different trends in maternal smoking based on criteria such as race, age, and education of mother, as well as birth weight determined by the smoking status of mother; Helpful background information.

Citation:

National Center for Health Statistics. 24 Jan. 2007. Health, United States, 2006. U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. 14 Apr. 2007.

Blog Summary: What is Nicotine Withdrawal Syndrome?

While searching for more research about prenatal smoking, I discovered an interesting blog on the web that talked about the withdrawal symptoms associated with smoking cessation, and the experiences of people who try to stop smoking. I believe this article is helpful in explaining why it is so hard for mothers (or anyone) to quit such an addictive habit and also in emphasizing that the negative symptoms will not last forever.
Nicotine Withdrawal Syndrome is caused by the absence of the drug nicotine (an addictive substance put into cigarettes) and researchers know this because the symptoms stop only when nicotine is administered, for example through some other form such as the nicotine “patch.”
The main withdrawal symptoms highlighted in the article were reported as irritability, restlessness, depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, poor sleep, hunger, and craving for tobacco. Professor John Hughes of the University of Vermont studied this phenomenon extensively, concluding that half of the six hundred people in his study who quit smoking without any help, experienced a significant increase in at least four of these symptoms within two days of quitting. On the bright side, after 30 days most were finding it much easier and less than one in five were still suffering from an increase in four symptoms. The author of the blog entry, Dr. Foulds, begins his article with personal experience right after quitting, “I was like a bear with a sore head - even the dog stayed out of my way - but after a couple of weeks the dog was back at my side and I knew I was over the worst.”
In conclusion the article points out the fact that not everyone experiences the same degree of negative withdrawal symptoms, however most people experience the worse just after quitting, with each day getting better. Nicotine takes about 24 hours to leave the body and for withdrawal symptoms to reach their peak. It is clear that most withdrawal symptoms return to normal within a month. A couple of months after quitting, most ex-smokers experience fewer unpleasant symptoms, and actually feel that their mood is better than while they were smoking.

Citation:

Foulds, Jonathan. “What is Nicotine Withdrawal Syndrome?” [Weblog entry.] Freedom from
Smoking. Healthline. (26 Mar. 2007). 11 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.healthline.com/blogs/>

What is low birth weight and how does smoking have an influence?

There has been enough research to safely conclude that smoking while pregnant affects the developing fetus, but in what ways exactly, and to what extent are the questions we have to ask. The most commonly reported side effect of smoking while pregnant is a low birth weight baby. “Infants born to smokers were more than twice as likely to have low birth weight as were infants born to nonsmokers” (Effects). Prenatal smoking is thought to account for an estimated 20 to 30% of cases of low birth weight (primary), and some may wonder what actually classifies as low birth weight, why it’s dangerous, and how exactly smoking affects this outcome.

An infant is classified as having low birth weight if the baby weighs less than 2500g (5 ½ pounds). Most infants weigh around 3400g which is an average of 7 pounds. Why is having a small baby so dangerous anyways? Babies born with lower-than-average birth weight are more likely to get infections and have other health problems (Primary). Also, infants weighing less than 2500g are at a greater risk of death within the first month of life, as well as increased risk for developmental disabilities and illness throughout their life.

What exactly do we know about the way cigarettes affect a baby’s size and birth weight? Nicotine and carbon monoxide appear to have the most significant effects on a developing fetus. When nicotine is inhaled, the arteries inside the placenta constrict and tighten up, reducing the normal blood flow to the fetus. Carbon Monoxide effects the development of a fetus by reducing the adequate delivery of oxygen to fetal tissues (Pergament).

Decreasing the number of cigarettes smoked per day can lessen the risks of smoking, but it is important to encourage women to quit smoking all together in order to completely eliminate the adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight (Pergament).

Reflection

So far, my research process is going pretty well. I have been able to find numerous sources about the health risks of smoking during pregnancy, and I’m learning a lot of useful information. Up until this point, I have developed a research topic, found two different sources and summarized them, and also located information about 2 important figures that have made landmark contributions in the study of health risks of smoking.

Most of my research has been done from the comforts of my own home. I try to avoid the long hike to the library, fighting campus traffic, and also parking 10 miles away (well not quite that far). I do access the library’s website though, so I feel some justification in boycotting the library building. When using the library search engine I tend to have a hard time searching for scholarly research articles and finding exactly what I’m looking for. I know the research is there, but I must not be putting in the right combinations of key words. In that case, I do a Google or yahoo search which provides hundreds of related sites. I do recommend this way to other students, but with caution. If a website is reputable, they will almost always have references listed at the end of the article. I just take these citations and cut and past the journal name into the library search engine to retrieve the original document, then I print it out for my own use. I have found this method to work very well in finding research journal articles because it saves me a lot of time, and I get less frustrated because I feel like I’m actually making progress, and not just sitting in front of my computer for hours getting no results.

Overall, the research process is going smoothly, however I have one worry. I’m afraid that I might get bored with my topic, not because it isn’t interesting but because I feel like there is only so much I can learn and there isn’t a lot of room for new discovery or approaching the topic from a different angle.

Public Views on Cigarettes and health, Changed

Today, “everyone knows how bad smoking is, but it’s actually worse.” This statement comes from a discussion out of the Surgeon Generals report on The Health Consequences of Smoking in 2004. The main job of the Surgeon General is to educate the American people, and provide the best scientific information available on how to improve health and minimize the risk of illness and injury (Health). The Surgeon General has a long history in exposing the risks of tobacco use, and In 1964, Surgeon General Luther Terry released a groundbreaking study. Terry's study exposed the dangers of cigarette smoking and concluded that there was a causal relationship between smoking and three diseases. In releasing this information to the public, Terry knew he would have to call for a fundamental change in the way our country viewed tobacco at the time. In 1964, Smoking was quite popular and more than 42% of Americans smoked (Health). Up until then, people were generally un-aware of the health risks caused by cigarettes. A clear connection was made between cigarette smoke and health risks, and Luther Terry's report would become a stepping stone to new and future health discoveries.
Terry's report sparked an increased concern about tobacco that led to a broad-based anti-smoking campaign (Luther). Even after leaving the post in 1965, Luther Terry continued to play a leading role in the campaign against smoking. His report was responsible for passing the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 which mandated the familiar Surgeon General’s warning labels on cigarette packages. Terry also helped to obtain a ban on cigarette advertisements on radio and television which was put into effect in 1971 (Salter).

Another landmark event that affected the way we view cigarettes today was attributed to a man named Jeffery Wigand who was a top CEO at Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation. Wigand essentially exposed Big Tobacco and went public about inside information he knew about the company, and their scandal to illegally alter and raise nicotine levels put into cigarettes. He received death threats, and his coming out ultimately changed his life and the life of Big Tobacco. Wigand's confessions led to FBI investigations and as a result, tobacco companies ended up paying out billions of dollars in health costs (Salter). Jeffery Wigand has become a widely known figure in the fight for educating the public about the dangers of smoking.

These landmark events and two important individuals have made crucial contributions in informing the public the truths about tobacco use and cigarette smoking in our country today.

Works Cited:

Salter, Chuck. “Jeffrey Wigand: The Whistle-Blower.” Fast Company. (April 2002).
11 Feb. 2007.
<www.fastcompany.com/articles/2002/05/wigand_Printer_Friendly.html>

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking:
A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004. 9 Jan. 2007. Office of the Surgeon General.
5 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/news/speeches/SgrSmoking_05272004.htm>

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Luther Leonidas Terry (1991-1965).
4 Jan. 2007. Office of the Surgeon General. 5 Feb. 2007 <http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/history/bioterry.htm

Picture Citations:

Peradotto, Nicole. JeffreyWigand.com. 6 Feb. 2007.
< http://www.jeffreywigand.com/insider/index.php>


U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Surgeongeneral.gov. 3 Jan. 2007. Office
of the Surgeon General. 6 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/history/sglist.htm>