Harmful is an adjective that allows us to mention what is harmful, unhealthy or negative . The term comes from the Latin word nocīvus .
For example: “It is harmful for a child to spend many hours a day in front of a screen,” “According to the economist, the increase in the price of the dollar is harmful to the local economy,” “The authorities prohibited the marketing of a toy that “It has harmful components.”
Generally the concept is used to refer to that which harms health . Take the case of tobacco consumption through cigarettes . The action of smoking involves incorporating nicotine and other toxic substances into the body, which is why smoking is harmful.
Those who smoke are more likely to develop chronic respiratory diseases, tumors and oral disorders. They may also suffer from infertility, headaches and other problems. Due to these consequences, it can be said that smoking is a harmful act.
Premature death is one of the risks that is largely associated with tobacco consumption, both for those who do so directly (active smokers) and indirectly (passive smokers). The most common diseases that arise from smoking and cause death in young people are heart disease, cancer and lung disease.
Specialists assure that smoking is harmful because it damages various organs and systems in our body, so that it attacks health in general. Far from being harmful only to the lungs and heart, it also affects the kidneys, liver, stomach, pancreas, uterus, intestines and larynx.
Alcoholism is another problem that can have a strong impact on health. It is not simply about drinking alcohol , but about excessive consumption, something that can begin with emotional discomfort and lead to death for different reasons.
Among the disorders that excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages can cause, especially if it is prolonged for too long, are bleeding from the esophagus or stomach, inflammation of the pancreas, malnutrition and various types of cancer , such as esophagus, colon, neck and liver.
For those who are fortunate enough not to have fallen into the clutches of any addiction , it's easy to see why they shouldn't; But when depression invades us, precautions sometimes do not seem relevant and that is why we need our environment to help us get out.
Harmful damage can also be symbolic (non-material) or damage that is difficult to quantify. Suppose a sports journalist argues that, for a football club, it is harmful to replace the team's technical director every four or five months. This is due, according to the communicator, because the change of coach prevents the development of a serious process and the definition of a style of play. Other drawbacks can also be mentioned, such as the payment of various severance packages for layoffs. The continuous replacement of DTs is ultimately harmful.
In this sense, a person can also be accused of being harmful if their way of being inevitably causes discomfort to those around them. This can be due to many reasons, such as hurtful comments for no apparent reason, constant bad mood, lack of dedication to your job to the detriment of your colleagues, etc. It can also occur in a romantic relationship, in which one of the parties hurts the other just by approaching them.
It should be noted that there are elements that are positive or harmful depending on the context. The rain is welcomed by an agricultural producer who needs water for the development of his crops, but harmful to a street vendor who works on the beach , where people stop going due to the rainfall.