Causes & Effect of Smoking on Working Adults-Samples for Students

Question: Analyze the Causes and Effect of Smoking on Working Adults. Answer: Introduction Smoking is a controversial topic in many countries especially in office settings. Many countries have set up rules and regulations regarding smoking. Offices and different work places have also set up restrictions on smoking. This is due to the fact that secondary smoke id believed to affect different people in different ways including causing different dieseaes. Smoking is believed to have many negative effects to those who directly smoke and is known to affect work especially over a long period (Hall, 2015). This leads to reduced productivity in some workers and the final effect is that it makes the company suffer too due to low performance of employee. It also leads to absenteeism when workers miss going to work due to health issues which are related to smoking. A high number of deaths have been associated with smoking due to the diseases which are eventually contracted by those who smoke. This has brought a great concern to many organizations as they feel that it can be prevented if addicts can be rehabilitated or rate of smoking can be reduced. A study was done among various workers in Singapore on the causes and effects of smoking on working adults. The study used a sample size of 60 respondents who were drawn from random offices in Singapore. A questionnaire was administered to the respondents and they were to answer various questions on smoking that would lead to the researcher knowing what caused the smoking and what kind of effects it had on the respondents. The effect on the day to day work of the respondents was also queried (WHO, 2015). The results were then presented in forms of charts and graphs and each was analysed separately so that different factors that affected workers in terms of smoking could be determined. Findings Gender The findings show that most respondents were male at 67% and the remaining were 335 made up of females. This shows that most of the smokers were men. Age of Respondents The findings show that the highest percentage of respondents were aged 30-44 years and made up 42% of the sample. Respondents aged 18-29 made up 33% while 17% were aged 45-64 years. Those above 65 years were 8%. Frequency of Smokin According to findings, most of the respondents smoked daily while some smoked occasionally. 75% smoked everyday hence showing that a large number of respondents were actually addicts. Those who smoked occasionally were quite few out of the sample size of 60. Sticks Smoked per Day Respondents were asked how many cigarette sticks they smoked per day. A large number smoked 11-20 sticks daily and this made up 67% hence showing that most of the respondents were addicted to smoking. 25% of the respondents smoked 1-10 sticks and 8% did more than 20 cigarette sticks a day. This shows that a large number of people at the work places are addicted to cigarettes and there may be some underlying factors causing this. When One Started Smoking Many of the respondents began smoking when aged 16-19 years as this makes up 67% of the sample population. This shows that many started smoking while still in school, and this was most probably due to peer pressure and other teenage issues that they may have faced. 17% of the respondents started smoking while they were 11-15 years, 8% started smoking while they were 20 and above and another 8% started smoking at below 10 years. Monthly Expenditure on Cigarette Purchase The questionnaire also sought to find out the amount of money that respondents spent on cigarettes each month. From the findings, a majority of respondents spend between $201 and $250. This is followed by the second group of about 13 who spend $251-$300. This shows that most respondents spend a lot of money on cigarettes hence showing that they are highly addicted. Reasons for Smoking The research also sought to find out why the respondents smoked. Most of the respondents smoke so that they cope with problems and they relieve stress. This shows that the work place leads to stress and many workers resort to cigarette smoking so that they cope with the same. People also resort to smoking cigarettes so that they can cope with different problems that they face in their lives. Greatest Source of Stress The respondents were asked what was their major source of stress. Most respondents are stressed by the work that they do. A number are also greatly stressed by finances.The rest of the respondents were stressed by family, peers and studies. The greatest cause of stress was therefore work and this caused many to smoke so that they could relieve some of this stress. Effects Experienced after Smoking The respondents were asked what effects they may have experienced due to smoking. Most of the respondents experienced bad breath and increased blood pressure. A high number of respondents also suffered from coughing and lack of appetite. This shows that those who smoked suffered from a number of negative side effects and this was most probably caused by the addiction that led to chain smoking. The chain smoking after a number of years led to these effects. Diseases Caused by Smoking The respondents were asked whether they were aware of the effects of smoking in terms of the diseases that they could suffer from. Findings show that most respondents felt that smoking led to diminished health and absenteeism from work. The other respondents felt that it also led to cancer, stoke and coronary heart disease (Eriksen, Mackay Ross, 2013). This means that smoking is believed to negatively affect health hence leading to high absenteeism from the workplace. This affects processes and efficiency at places of work. Whether One Can Quit Smoking at Anytime The respondents were asked about their feelings on whether one could quit smoking easily. The majority of respondents strongly disagree that it is easy to quit smoking, A very small number of respondents say that it is easy to quit smoking. This shows that a very large number of workers are addicts and find it very difficult to quit smoking. It means that the thought of quitting gets them stressed up and they do not think it can be done Whether Smokers should be allowed to Smoke Anywhere Freel According to the findings, 93% of respondents feel that they should be allowed to smoke anywhere. Only 7% feel that there should be restrictions on smoking. This goes to show that a large number of workers actually feel that they are restricted and this affects their patterns of smoking. They feel that they should be allowed to smoke anywhere they want to and only a few places should be restricted. A very small percentage of smokers are actually sensitive to the needs of non-smokers. Conclusions The study shows that a large number of people who work turn to smoking due to the stress and pressures of the work place. Many of the respondents were addicts and generally felt that quitting smoking would be impossible (WHO,2015). As much as the dangers of smoking were known, many find it quite difficult to quit the habit. Many workers are aware that smoking leads to diminishing health and can greatly affect work performance and patterns but they still carry on with the behavior. Recommendations The study was done on workers and it is recommended that a further study be extended to business owners and managers so that further causes and effects of smoking can be ascertained. There should be talks in workplaces and within the community on the negative effects of smoking to health and how it affects work (Hall, 2015). Those who are addicted should be encouraged to stop and this should be done through rehabilitation centers that can be organized through various workplaces. As different studies are done, recommendations should be given to assist workers in turning to healthy lifestyles. References Eriksen, M., Mackay, J., Ross, H. (2013).The tobacco atlas(No. Ed. 4). American Cancer Society. Hall, W. (2015). What has research over the past two decades revealed about the adverse health effects of recreational cannabis use?.Addiction,110(1), 19-35. World Health Organization. (2015).The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: 10 years of implementation in the African Region. World Health Organization.