Why People Smoke

I. Introduction

We did this survey about Smoking because it is a serious problem in most countries. Smoking affects the smokers and people around them and affects the environment. For example in social terms, people will stay away from you because of the bad smell of smoke, and some people think that people who smoke are bad people or smoking is bad behavior. In health terms, most people know that smoking can cause lung cancer, but it can also cause many other cancers and illnesses as well as reproductive problems. In economic terms, smokers will spend more money on cigarettes, so they will have low income and smokers will have trouble with money in the future. In these days both men and women are smoking; “about 35 percent of adult men and 25 percent of adult women in the United States smoke cigarettes” (Seal, 1998, p-31). People start smoking, often when they were teenagers, for different reasons; some smokers smoke because their parents smoke, and some of them smoke because they have stress in their life and some of them smoke because they have family problems or because of divorce. It is difficult for smokers to quit smoking after they start to smoke. “People become psychologically dependent on smoking as a way of reducing anxiety and coping with different situations. Because of these physiological and psychological forces, quitting is difficult and the relapse rate is high” (Seal, 1998, p-31).

II. Purpose

We did this survey for only smokers, to know why they smoked, how often do they smoke, where they smoke, with whom they smoke, who smokes more, males or females, and what the best way to quit smoking and what they feel when they smoke. Also we do this survey to find solutions to this common problem in most countries and to reduce the number of smokers in the further. Y. Ababatin, F. Al Alqussab, K. Urdaneta, and W. Chin did this survey.

III. Hypothesis

I thought males would say that they smoked more than females because females cared about their lives more than males. I thought half of males would be smokers. I thought most smokers smoke every day and most of them smoke with friends. I thought most smokers feel relaxed when they smoke. I thought most students smokers smoke because of study stress and most smokers who have a job and are married smoke because they have job stress and family problems like divorce. In general, I thought most smokers know that smoking affects their body and it may kill them because of smoking, and most smokers try to quit smoking but they can’t control themselves.

IV. Materials

In our survey we asked six questions for only smokers, to get specific information about specific people, and the questions were: Do you smoke? How often do you smoke? How do you feel when you smoke? Have you ever tried to give up smoking? Why do you smoke? and do you smoke mostly alone or with people?. The types of questions were yes/no questions and multiple-choice questions.

V. Methods

We asked 20 different people from different places around SIUC like Faner building, the library and the student center. We went outside and we asked only smokers. We asked males and females of different ages and from different countries to get different answers. We gave the survey and waited until they filled it out to have the result at the same time. I think we had a good survey about smokers, because we asked different people in different places and the people were very kind to do the survey. We think our choices on where we did it could have influenced the result in why people smoke.

VI. Data

See Appendix A

VII. Results

According to our survey, 70% of smokers have tried to stop smoking. 90% of smokers smoke every day. 37% of smokers smoke because they feel relaxed when they smoke. 22% said they feel nervous or smell bad when they smoke, and 19% of smokers feel satisfied when they smoke. 41% of smokers smoke because of stress, and 36% of smokers smoke because they think it’s relaxing, and 18% of smokers smoke for fun, and only 5% of smokers smoke because they can’t control themselves. 55% of smokers smoke with people, 35% of smokers smoke alone. In general, most smokers have tried to quit smoking, but they did not stop and about half of smokers smoke with people.

VIII. Conclusion & Discussion

According to the result, my hypothesis was right, that most smokers smoke every day and they smoke with people. I don’t think that our survey was perfect, because we asked only 20 people, which is not enough for an excellent survey. I think people told me the truth because they didn’t have to provide their names. In my opinion, the best way to have more people is to put the survey online to have more people from all over the world. Next survey I would like to make more questions to learn more about them, and concentrate on only teenage smokers to have specific information, and also to learn more about what the reasons people smoke.

IX. References

Seal, B. (1998). Smoking. In Academic Encounters: Human behavior. pp. 31–33. New York:

Cambridge University Press.

X. Appendix B

Smoking Survey

I. Introduction

Smoking is a serious problem in most countries. Smoking affects the smoker in social, health and economic terms. Smoking also affects the environment. In social terms, people will stay away from smokers because of the bad smell of smoking. In health terms, smoking causes many diseases like bronchitis, emphysema, larynx cancer, and pancreatic cancer (Seal, 1998). In economic terms, smokers will spend more money on cigarettes, so they will have low income and smokers will have trouble with money in the future. Nowadays both men and women are smoking; “about 35 percent of adult men and 25 percent of adult women in the United States smoke cigarettes” (Seal, 1998). People start smoking, often when they are adolescents, for different reasons; some smokers smoke because their parents smoke, and some of them smoke because they have stress in their life. It is difficult for smokers to quit smoking after they start to smoke. “People become psychologically dependent on smoking as a way of reducing anxiety and coping with different situations. Because of these physiological and psychological forces, quitting is difficult and the relapse rate is high” (Seal, 1998, P-31).

II. Purpose

We did this survey about smokers for both smokers and non-smokers. For smokers, we did it to know why they smoke, where they smoke, with whom they smoke, who smokes more, males or females, and what the best way to quit is. For non-smokers, we wanted to know what they think about smokers and why they start smoking.

III. Hypothesis

I thought males would say that they smoked more than females because females cared about their lives more than males. I thought half of males would be smokers.

IV. Materials

In our survey we asked eight questions, three questions for both smokers and non-smokers. Two questions were for smokers and one question was for non-smoker people, so we could cover all types of people. The types of questions were yes/no questions and multiple-choice questions.

V. Methods

We asked 43 different people from different places around SIUC like Faner building, the library and the student center. We went outside and we asked anyone. We asked males and females of different ages and from different countries. We asked both smokers and non-smokers to get different answers. We gave the survey and waited until they filled it out to have the result at the same time. I think we have a good survey about smokers, because we asked different people in different places and the people were very kind to do the survey.

VI. Data

See Appendix A

VII. Results

According to our survey, 78.9% of smokers are males and 21.1% of females are smokers, so males are smoking more than females. 75% of smokers are smoking equally both alone and with people, and 12.5%, said they smoked mostly alone or mostly with people. 66.7% of smokers smoke both in public and private, and 25% of smokers smoke in private only, and 8.3% of smokers smoke in public only. 42.9% can equal percentage, of smokers smoke because they have too much stress, and because they have friends who smoke. 9.5% of smokers smoke because they have exams, and 4.8% of smokers smoke because they have a family member who smokes. 29.5% of non-smokers think that the smokers start smoking because they have friends who smoke, and 25% of smokers smoke because they have too much stress, and 13.6% of smokers smoke because they think cigarettes are tasty, and an equal percentage of 11.4% of smokers smoke because their friends pressured them to smoke.

VIII. Conclusion & Discussion

According to the result, my hypothesis was right that more males are smoking more often than females. I don’t think that our survey was perfect because we asked only 43 people, which is not enough for an excellent survey. In my opinion, the best way to have more people is to put the survey online. Next survey I would like to concentrate on only smokers to have specific information to learn a lot about why smokers smoke and what is the best way to quit smoking.

IX. References

Seal, B. (1998). Smoking. In Academic Encounters: Human behavior. pp. 31–33. New York:

Cambridge University Press.

My Hard Times In The United States

            When I came to the United States for study I had a hard time to adapt to American culture for many reasons. One of them is the time difference; the time between Saudi Arabia and the United States is different, so I have a hard time when I want to go to bed. Another reason, the food in the United States is very different from that of my country, so I cook, which takes a long time to finish cocking. Third, I have a hard time finding friends in the United States. Fourth, the traffic system in the United States is very different from that of my country. Fifth, I miss my family in the United States. Sixth, the weather is different in the United States than in my country. Finally, at the beginning I had a hard time to adapt in the United States, but now I don’t have any problem in the United States system. 

Ways To deal with Homework

            Do you agree or disagree that children should take homework home every day? We have a survey about two different groups; some of them agree and some of them disagree to have homework (Strauss, 2009). In one of these groups they agree that homework is good for students to improve their skills and learning process, and it helps them to have good grades, and most teachers agree to have homework every day. But in the other groups they disagree with having homework. Most of these groups are parents and they disagree because they think it keeps kids away from reading. There are some studies showing that kids in grades from 2 to 5 do better on tests when they do homework (Strauss, 2009). But a survey shows that 68 of the parents said that teachers give homework to students on subjects they have not finished in class (Strauss, 2009).

            In my opinion, it is good to have homework, but not every day, because if children have homework every day, especially when it is long homework, children will hate to go to school and they will suffer from teachers that give homework. Teachers can give the students homework every day, but it should be short assignments. The teachers can solve this problem in different ways and with different techniques like doing more class work and less homework and giving them games and activities about their homework.     

            First, it is better to have work class more than homework for many reasons. One of them is that children can work with other children as a group, so they can share different ideas and improve communication skill. The second reason is that when students have more homework they can’t read for fun in their home (Toppo, 2008). Also they don’t have time to do different activities in their house; they just have time for study only. So when they come the next day to school, they will hate to have a new subject, because they know that they will have homework. The last one is that when children have a lot of homework they will have some kinds of stress from too much structure, which affects their body and may give them some further illnesses (Toppo, 2008).

            Second, when the teachers give some games and activities in their homework the students will be happy to solve the homework without any problem (Strauss, 2009). In this way we can solve the problem of having parents help their children with homework (Bennett, 2008). So the students can solve the homework without help from parents because it is easy for students to solve homework that has some game activity. Finally, in this way the students will like to have homework, because they will enjoy solving this kind of homework.

            Some people may disagree with me; it is fine for me, because if we don’t have different ideas, we will never develop our community and there will be no debate between people. Some people will argue that if students have more homework they will have more practice. I agree with that, but if students have long homework every day they will hate to solve homework and they will have no time to do fun things like reading books, going out with friends and doing sports.

            In conclusion, there are some people who agree and some of them who disagree with having homework every day. Some people think that some teachers give homework because they did not finish the lesson in the class time, so they give homework to complete what they don't complete. Other people do not like to have homework for their children because if they have a lot of homework the children will not have time to read fun books and enjoy their time inside the house. In my opinion, it is good for students to have short homework every day to ensure that the students understand the lecture.

 

Bennett, S. (2008, September 17). New Survey: 43 Percent of Parents Have Done Their Kids’ Homework. Stop Homework. Retrieved on July 17, 2009 from http://stophomework.com/new-survey-43-percent-of-parents-have-done-their-kids-homework/288

Strauss,V. (2009, January 27). The Homework Debate. The Washington Post. Retrieved on July 14, 2009, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012602012_pf.html

Toppo, G. (2008, January 11). Survey: Homework, ‘Other things ‘ keep kids from reading. USA Today. Retrieved on July 17, 2009 from http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-06-10-kids-reading_N.htm

The Causes of Smoking

            Everyone knows that smoking is not good for our body, and it may cause many diseases like cancer, heart disease and ulcers. In Saudi Arabia, men smoke more than women because it is difficult for women to go out from the house. There are many reasons that people smoke. First, some people smoke because they have stress in their lives and they think if they smoke they will relieve the stress. Second, some people smoke to kill the time and enjoy their lives, but it is wrong because they will kill themselves. Third, many people smoke because they walk with friends who smoke. Finally, smoking is a bad habit for you and people around you stop smoking because it is not good for your body.

Stressors of University Students

According to Emily Bain in “The permanence of university stress’’, nowadays life has become difficult for students. Students should work hard to achieve their goals, which make them very stressful. University students feel that they have freedom to do whatever they want, but few of them have “the burden of real financial responsibility”. Most university students don’t notice that they are under pressure to complete their education. The problem is some students don’t have enough money, so they must work after they finish from university, which makes them very stressful to be students and workers on the same day. Students should improve their skills and have better quality learning experience. The students who work they should take a lighter course load. After graduation, the pressure is still on the students because they have to find jobs, rent apartments and take out government loans. Some students work at a job they don’t like and they are forced to work because they have bills to take care of.

In my opinion, I agree with the author that students have stress when they study in universities. But they can cope with stress in different ways. One of them, students can cope with stress by dividing the time and organizing the time of study. Second, students should learn how to manage their money. Third, students should find good friends to help them to study.

First, a student can be away from stress if he divides and organizes his time. When the student organizes his time he will finish at an exact time, so he will have free time to do a different activity he likes to do like sports, exercise and going out with friends.

Second, if a student spends his money, he will need to work and if he works he will have more stress, because he has to study and work on the same day. But if the student learns how to control himself and buy only important things that he needs, so he will not need to work and he will have more time to study.

Third, if a student has good friends they can help to study and work as group, and also if the student has some problems they will help him to solve it. Having friends is very important to share and learn from other.

In conclusion, all students should know techniques that help them to study well, and also to cope with stress. The students must organize their time and balance their money. The student should choose friends carefully because if you choose good friends they will help you when you are in trouble.

Bain, E. (2006, November 1). The permanence of university stress. The Strand Retrieveon Jul 14,2009,from http://media.www.thestrand.ca/media/storage/paper404/news/2006/11/01/Opinions/The-Permanence.Of.University.Stress-2414966.shtml

How You Can Get Away From Stress

            The author told about two young lawyers who are told that they have only the weekend to prepare a report on a complex case. One of the lawyers feels threatened and fears that she might not solve this complex case. The other lawyer feels challenged and excited. As this example helps to show stress comes from the way in which people react to the events. According to author, a sense of control can help to reduce the negative consequences. The rats that could exert control had less ulceration than their helpless partners. It is easier to cope with the expected death of a loved one than the sudden death of a loved one. For example, students have more stress when they have surprise quizzes. The research proves that some people have a relatively stress-resistant personality. To control one's stress depends on whether people feel in control of things that give them stress, what they are doing and whether they welcome a moderate amount of change. According to the author, healthy people are more likely to cup with stress. Finally, people have different ways to cope with stress, so each person chooses the best way for him to control his stress.

            In my opinion, I disagree with the author that healthy people are more likely to cope with stress. I think it depends on the personal behaviors and how they react to a sudden situation, whether if he is a healthy person or not. In my county we divide people into hot people and cold people. Hot people are people who react very fast with any situation and cold people are people who do not react at all about anything; that are a bad thing for cold people, but it is very good for not having stresses for cold people. I will talk about different ways to avoid stress or at least reduce the amount of stress, like exercise talking with friends when you have stress, and always being ready to accept sudden change in your life.

            First, the research comments that when people do exercise they are less likely to have stress, especially relaxing exercise like yoga and similar exercises, because it helps the body to be productive in a sudden situation. Also when we do exercises we balance our body. For example, when we do exercises our blood pressure is balanced, and your body will be always active and ready for any sudden bad news.

            Second, if you have stress, the best way to reduce that stress is to talk with other people like friends or parents, and explain to them what your problem is and you will feel better to share your problem and get advice from different people to solve your problem. Also, when you are nervous, angry and upset, remember that it is better to change your place to another place you like. For example go out with your friends to a comfortable place to reduce the stress.

            Finally, when your body is ready to accept any change in your life, it helps to reduce the amount of stress. For instance, when people laugh at someone, he or she should be relaxed or not care about them. So, people should not be serious all the time about small situations.       

            In conclusion, we can avoid the stress with different ways. It depends on the personality of people, and not all people have same amount of stress-resistant personality. Each person has to learn the technique of how to cup with stress. In my opinion, smoking, drinking alcohol and using drugs will not help you to cup with stress.

 

Seal, B. (1998). Coping with stress. In Academic encounters: Haman behavior. (pp. 15-16).

            New York: Cambridge University Press.