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What Are the Effects of Smoking? (Grades 5 to 6)

What Are the Effects of Smoking? (Grades 5 to 6)
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.53

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    compounds, nitrogen, hydrogen, cigarettes, emphysema, nonsmokers, short-term, smoker, difficulty, carbon, pipes, airway, ammonia, harmless, wrinkling, statistics
     content words:    American Cancer Society, United States, Cancer Society

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What Are the Effects of Smoking?
By Jennifer Kenny 		  
1     Years ago, people smoked because they enjoyed it and they thought it was harmless. Smoking was believed to relieve tension. No one thought it had any ill effects. Then scientists noticed how many more people were suffering from lung cancer after 1930 than ever before. The American Cancer Society and others began studying all of this information. In 1964, the Surgeon General's report offered statements indicating smoking was indeed a health hazard.
 
2     The ingredients of tobacco smoke are chemically active. They can start dramatic and fatal changes in the body. There are over 4,000 chemicals, which can be damaging to the smoker's body. They include tar, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen cyanide, metals, ammonia, and radioactive compounds.
 
3     Scientists and doctors know so much more about the effects of smoking today than ever before. They know smoking causes immediate effects on the smoker's body. It constricts the airways of the lungs. It increases the smoker's heart rate. It elevates the smoker's blood pressure. The carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke deprives the tissues of the smoker's body of much-needed oxygen. All of these are dangerous short-term effects.

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