Influence of smoking on body’s human

1. Youth smoking behaviour is primarily driven by psychosocial motives. Experimenting with smoking usually starts during the teenage years as an act of rebellion or to show they are no longer children. Smoking has also been used to help deal with stress and depression and to help control weight. Teenagers often believe they can quit when they want to, but with frequent smoking, physical and psychological dependence develops.

2. Once smokers become dependant on nicotine, they may experience strong physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms if they try to give up¹. These symptoms may include irritability, dizziness, anxiety, headaches, lack of concentration, disturbed sleeping patterns, feelings of anger, depression, tiredness as well as incredible cravings for more nicotine. Another common health effect of smoking is coronary artery disease. Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches the heart, increases blood clotting and blood pressure, and decreases high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol.

3. When inhaled through cigarette smoking, nicotine is rapidly absorbed into the lungs and enters the blood vessels that are contained in the tissue that line the lungs. From these tiny blood vessels, the nicotine enters the bloodstream and travels directly to the brain. This powerful drug reaches the brain within ten seconds and produces immediate feelings of pleasure or euphoria, amongst other stimulating effects. Nicotine does not stay in the body for very long and is quickly broken down by various enzymes and chemical reactions. It has a half-life of around 40 minutes, which means that after this amount of time the nicotine loses half of its effect and the smoker will soon feel the need.

4. Over time, the body develops a tolerance to nicotine and its pleasurable effects begin to wear off after a while. For this reason the smoker gradually increases the number of cigarettes that he smokes in a day in order to maintain the same feelings of pleasure. Research has proven that nicotine is a highly addictive substance found in cigarettes, which causes chemical alterations in the brain that lead to a constant need for the drug.

5. Smoking has some unpleasant cosmetic effects too. Smokers often suffer from bad breath, yellowing teeth and nails, and early wrinklesaround the mouth. Smoking causes changes in the colouring and texture of the skin, often resulting in an ashy complexion. A smoker is also three times more likely to lose teeth than a non-smoker.

Пояснения к тексту

1. to give up - бросить

Задание 1. Определите основную идею текста

The main idea of the text deals with …

Варианты ответов:

а) the problem of smoking among teenagers;

b) the ways to give up smoking;

c) smoking and health;

d) environment and smoking;