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Citation Brody, Jane E. "Smoking’s Gender Gap Closes." Well Smokings Gender Gap Closes Comments. The New York Times, 18 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. Summary This was a report published last month in The New England Journal of Medicine. Half a century ago, the risk of death from lung cancer among men who smoked was five times higher than among women smokers. But now the risk equalized and the risk is 25 times greater than non smokers. Some of the data showed that today, women smokers face 17 times greater risk of dying of lung cancer than women who do not smoke. On average, your life expectancy is 10 years shorter if you smoke daily. Smoking doesn't only cause lung cancer, bu also hear disease, stroke, cancer including breast cancer. Also changes in the way cigarettes are made, increased the amount of nicotine going into your body. But in US, the percent of adults smoking have decreased dramatically. In 1970, 42% smoked but now it is down to 19%. They found that raising taxes help decrease the number of smokers. The state with the highest prevalence of smoking have the lowest tax on cigarettes.

I chose this article, one because I think that it fit well to what we are going to learn in health class. But also because I was surprised that before, it was said that there is higher risk on men. Also I was surprised how the percent of smokers have decreased by about 20% i 50 years. I think that countries all over the world should try to decrease the number of smokers.

Belluck, Pam. "People With Mental Illness More Likely to Be Smokers, Study Finds." The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/health/more-smoking-found-by-mentally-ill-people.html?ref=mentalhealthanddisorders&_r=0 Found from the Center for Disease Control and prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, people with mental illnesses are 70% more likely to smoke cigarettes than people without mental illnesses. As there are nearly 46 million adults with mental issues in the United States, most of them smoke more cigarrets per month and are less likely to quit than people without mental issues. For patients with mental issues, the marketing by the tobacco industries and the historical use of cigarettes as an incentive to improve behavior in psychiatric hospitals cause them to have substance abuses. At the same time, the nicotine in the cigarettes mask some of the negative effects of mental illnesses. The continuous substance abuse of cigarettes result in making medications less effective. As the patients experience the "positive" affects of cigarettes on their mental issue, they realize that smoking helps them cope with the stressful symptoms of their illness.  

I believe that this issue can lead to large negative consequences for the patients and the health industries that take care of these patients. Even though the tobacco industries benefit from this current issue, as it is receiving a lot of profit, the patients' health is deteriorating. Even though their mental illness is already causing pain and trouble in their lives, if they start abusing cigarette substances, their mental and physical health will cause large consequences. If both their mental and physical health is damaged, their lives will be in great danger. The nicotine in the cigarettes may make the pain deteriorate for a little while, however, the long term effects of nicotine will not only damage their physical health, but will also slow down the process of recovering their mental illness. For the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration and the doctors that deal with these types of patients, they should further research about the substance abuse occurred with the patients with mental illnesses, and should securitize the patients by making them not have access to any drugs that could slow down their recovery process.