The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted their statistics on smoking and tobacco use in the Unites States. CDC claims that smoking causes many diseases and affecting the health of smokers in general. They further state that about 443,000 United States deaths are attributable each year to cigarette smoking. That is roughly 1 of every 5 deaths in the United States. CDC is an online communication channel in which its viewers may obtain credible and reliable health information to receive data and statistics related to diseases and conditions. Its viewers total approximately 500 million page viewers annually.
Anyone who is interested in health issues may go to CDC for accurate reports. Their customer satisfaction scores are rated 82 out of 100, making it one of the highest American Customer Satisfaction Index scores among government web sites. In 2000-2004, CDC reported the number of deaths and the diagnosis of its disease as a result of smoking. Lung Cancer accounts for 128,900 deaths. Ischemic heart disease took 126,000 lives. Chronic obstruction pulmonary disease was estimated to be the cause of 92,900 deaths. There were 15,900 strokes. Other cancers accounted for 35,300 deaths. Other diagnoses resulted in 44,000 deaths.
They also report that 46 million people or 20. 36% of adults in the United States smoke cigarettes. Most of us would agree that smoking causes harm to our organs. On the other hand, how much do we know about possible other causes of these diseases that CDC claims are a result of smoking? In addition, could preconditions or predispositions for heart disease be liable for any of the deaths? Out of the 443,000 lives that have been claimed by smoking, how many of them are a result of direct smoking and second hand smoking? Also, how many cigarettes does one have to smoke before being burdened by a disease?
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a federal public health agency of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. They use science to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances. There research covers the association of cancer and exposure levels of carcinogens. However, they state that cancer derives from several factors, including genetic predisposition and age. Although it possible that some deaths reported by CDC may be minimized by potential predispositions or age related deaths, CDC still has the stronger argument.
In addition, ATSDR does state that the exposure to carcinogens over a period of time does result in many diseases. CDC’s statistics do address the exposure of smoking, which contain carcinogens, directly linking to the deaths. CDC does report 46,000 premature deaths as a result of second hand smoke. This includes interference with the heart, blood, and vascular systems that increase heart attacks. They also claim that brief second hand smoke exposure can damage the lining of blood vessels and cause your blood platelets to become stickier.
It is unclear if 46,000 of the deaths caused by second hand smoke are representative in the 443,000 deaths. Nevertheless, the number of deaths are still substantial enough to support their claim. “Current smokers are defined as persons who reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime and who, at the time of interview, reported smoking every day or some days. ” Their statement of this is a bit ambiguous. This is hardly convincing that a person who has smoked 100 cigarettes in their lifetime will die from one of the diseases stated above.
Based on evidence that is supported by the CDC, it would be difficult to argue against their claim that smoking causes many diseases and affecting the health of smokers in general. CDC is held to a high standard of reporting the statistics related to diseases and conditions. The number of deaths that occur due to smoking in the Unites States are horrifically high regardless of the number of deaths that occur as a result of preconditions of certain diseases or other environmental reasons. It can never reduce the number of death the CDC report enough to undermine CDC’s claim.