EMPIRICAL STUDY ON HEAVY SMOKERS

ADDICTION: A PHENOMENOLOGY

Balidoy, Pamela

Balisacan, Erika

Bebing, Noel Vincent

Chan, Rod Angelo

Obumani, Audrey

ABSTRACT

I. Introduction

The cigarette was first made for the women so they may be able to
smoke like male's do, for cigar's and tobacco's are made only for men.
So the cigarette's, a portable, smaller Cigar that was called cigarillo's
was invented. The creator picked the name Cigarillo's because it was
favored by the women by that time, but today it is used by every
gender of any age, who turn abused the usage of cigarette and lead to
millions of death worldwide. So the researchers who were curious
about the experience of heavy smokers and why they are addicted to
cigarettes. Despite knowing the harmful effect it inflicts to not only
their lungs but also their body, they seem to come back and use it to
experience the phenomena thay feel that made the researchers
curious.

A. Background of the Study

Tobacco addiction is probably the most common and problematic form

of addiction. It is now generally accepted that cigarette smoking is
addictive. Nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarette smoke. It is
present in the tobacco leaf and when a cigarette is burnt, nicotine from
tobacco leaf is inhaled in cigarette smoke by the smokers.
Twenty eight percent or 17.3 million Filipino Adults age 15 yrs and
older are current tobacco smokers, according to the results of the
2009 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). The Philippines is one of
the highest smoking rates in Asia.

This Research reviews empirical findings regarding multiple questions

relevant to the issue of free will among addicted smokers: Is smoking
voluntary behavior? Why don’t people quit smoking? Are there some
people who cannot quit? Why would they smoke knowing that it can
kill them? The evidence reviewed here seems most consistent with the
view that smokers retain control over their actions but cannot easily
stop having frequent desires to smoke.

B. Statement of the Problem

General objectives: this study aims to find that the smokers accept the
health risk of their smoking. We what to know the factors that cause of
addicted to smoke, it is begin automatic or unconscious responses.

1. how many times do you smoke

2. what do you feel when you smoke

3. how you thought of quitting

C. Significance of the Study

This study is focus on a heavy smoker’s addiction, so first of all we

what to know what is the benefits of smoking in their life. so we all
know that heavy smoking addiction is probably the most common and
problematic form of addiction worldwide, especially given its adverse
health effects that include millions of premature deaths. This study
should also be encouraged to quit smoker early because the longer the
duration of cigarette use, the greater the risk of developing health
problems.

The benefits of this study is to have a Deeper understanding of the

smoker addiction.

D. Scope and Limitations

This study will focus on people who are addictive and are known as
heavy smokers, the scope area of the study is focused on The National
Teachers College in Metro Manila. Our respondents are specifically
pertaining to Grade (12) Senior High School students. With our
methodology of using Key informant interview it will only take (10)
minutes for every interview of one of our respondents. Our Limitations
are that we will only have 3 respondents maximum, they also would
need to be addicted or considered as a heavy smoker. Our method of
interview is (KII) Key Informant Interview which in terms we would
need our data gathering to be face-to-face.

II. Review of Related Literature

International

Virtual Medical Center (2015), Cigarettes are a small roll of porous

paper containing a rod of chopped up tobacco leaf. Cigarettes are
designed so that the tobacco can be smoked, by lighting the cigarette
and breathing in the smoke. Cigarettes also contain additives such as
sugars and flavoring which are used to increase shelf life, control the
rate at which the cigarette burns and control the delivery of the
chemicals. Cigarettes are portable in size and are made out of chopped
up tobacco leaf, that when burned, can be smoked by lighting the end
part of the stick. It is added with various Chemicals to ensure a long
shelf life and to control the rate on which it will be burned.

Felman (2018), Nicotine is a chemical that contains nitrogen, which is

made by several types of plants, including the tobacco plant. It is also
produced synthetically. Nicotiana tabacum, the type of nicotine found
in tobacco plants, comes from the nightshade family. Red peppers,
eggplant, tomatoes, and potatoes are examples of the nightshade
family. While not cancer-causing or excessively harmful on its own,
nicotine is heavily addictive and exposes people to the extremely
harmful effects of tobacco dependency. Nicotine is an addictive type of
chemical from a plant, it is found in tobacco plants and can be
produced synthetically. Although it is not cancer inducing, people who
are addicted to it may experience harmful effects.

World Health Organization (2018), the tobacco epidemic is one of the

biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more
than 7 million people a year. More than 6 million of those deaths are
the result of direct tobacco use while around 890 000 are the result of
non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. Around 80% of
the 1.1 billion smokers worldwide live in low- and middle-income
countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is
heaviest. Tobacco users who die prematurely deprive their families of
income, raise the cost of health care and hinder economic
development. Tobacco is a known epidemic that is causing death
around the world, more than 6 to 7 million are dying because of it,
most are living in low- and middle-income countries.
Local

Philippine Statistics Authority (2018), Twenty-eight percent or 17.3

million Filipino adults age 15 years and older are current tobacco
smokers, according to the results of the 2009 Global Adult Tobacco
Survey (GATS). Almost half (48 percent or 14.6 million) of adult males
and 9 percent (2.8 million) of adult females are current smokers.
Moreover, 23 percent of Filipino adults are daily tobacco smokers: 38
percent for males and 7 percent for females. Filipinos mainly smoke
cigarettes, which include manufactured cigarettes and hand-rolled
cigarettes. Cigarettes are smoked by 47 percent of men and by 9
percent of women. On the average, male daily smokers consume 11
cigarettes per day while female daily smokers consume 7 cigarettes
per day. Among adults who smoked 12 months before the survey, 48
percent made a quit attempt, while only 5 percent made a quit
attempt and successfully quit smoking. In the Philippines over 17.3
million Filipino adult age 15 and older are considered smokers.

Tobacco Controls Law (2005), Republic Act No. 9211, also known as
the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, in the Philippines, is an omnibus
law regulating smoking in public places, tobacco advertising,promotion
and sponsorship, and sales restrictions, among other requirements.
The Inter-Agency Tobacco-Committee issued Implementing Rules and
Regulations of the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003. The Committee’s
Implementing Rules and Regulations are comprehensive and cover a
broad range of topics on tobacco control. A law was administered to
control the uprising of the tobacco epidemic stating that only 18 years
old and above can smoke and within restricted areas and not public
places.
III. Methodology

The researcher used a phenomenological research design and

methodology to achieve the objective of thus study. The said research
design used helps the researcher to better understand the respondents
thoughts on the research topic. In this study, the chosen respondents
or participant are the grade 12 students of The National Teachers
College whose addicted to cigarette and can be considered as heavy
smokers.

The sampling technique that was used by the researcher is the

purposive sampling technique. It is used in this study to obtain a
reliable source of information. Key Informant Interview (KII) is the
method used to gather data in this study to get more in-depth answers
from the respondent who have a first hand knowledge on the
experience