Every year, a campaign theme is promoted in the
form of a phrase. Posters, banners, advertisements, leaflets, with the theme
are put up in public places. Various events are
organized to highlight the
and to create an awareness on the
growing effects of the problem.
‘No Smoking Day 2017 tries to emphasize to smokers - be it beginners, occasional smokers or chain smokers to ‘Kick the Habit’.’
Kick
the Habit - Theme for 2017
As we know, smoking, a stylish gesture for many
and a relaxation method for some ultimately becomes a habit that hooks a person, making it very difficult
for the individual to let go. It becomes a deadly addiction.
Smoking is the root
cause for various cancers, heart disease and respiratory problems.
These
alarming statistics will help you kick the habit:
- Compared
to non-smokers, those who smoke have a 10 year shorter life expectancy
- Smoking
increases the risk of heart diseaseby 4 times in men
- Smoking
is the main cause of 9 out of 10 lung cancer cases
- Smoking
20 cigarettes or more increases the risk of type 2 diabetes
- Five
million deaths are due to cigarette smoking and 6 million die due to
passive smoking
- Second hand smoke or passive smoking increases the risk
of asthma in children by two times
Types of Smoking
- Active Smoking - It is the intentional inhalation of smoke using
cigarettes and cigars.
- Passive Smoking - It is when
a non-smoker breathes other people's smoke. It is also called as
involuntary or secondhand smoking.
Harmful
Effects of Smoking
Cigarette smoking is harmful to the smoker and
also nonsmokers who are exposed to the smoke.
Smoking has negative health impacts on people at all stages of life. It
harms unborn babies, infants, children, adolescents, adults and seniors.
Those who begin to smoke may experience
coughing, dizziness, headaches. But as it progresses to a habit, heart rate increases due to the
increased blood pressure. As the habit prolongs, the symptoms become
unnoticeable.
The
effects of smoking can be summed to three major
diseases -
cancer, heart disease and impotence/fertility
issues.
Heart Disease: Smoking
causes an acute increase plasma adenocorticotrophic hormone, cortisol,
aldosterone, and catecholamine levels which can in turn lead to indirect
elevation of blood pressure.
Each time a cigarette is smoked there is an acute rise in blood
pressure. Further more studies have shown
that smoking interferes with the metabolism of multiple anti-hypertensive
medications.
Elevated blood pressure is one
of the major causes of heart disease. Smoking accelerates the hardening and narrowing
process in the arteries. It decreases HDL (good) cholesterol. Nicotine in the
cigarette causes constriction of blood vessels which increases blood pressure
resulting in hypertension.
Cancer: Smoking is the leading cause of cancer and causes
many types of cancers including the lungs, mouth, stomach, pancreas, breast and
blood.
Cigarette smoke contains about
4,000 chemical agents, out of which 70 substances are carcinogenic.
A major review by the Government-appointed
Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (SCOTH) stated that passive smoking
is the cause of lung cancer and ischemic heart disease in adult non-smokers,
and the cause of respiratory disease, cot death, middle ear disease and
asthmatic attacks in children. Passive smoking increases the risk of getting
frequent lower respiratory tract infections in children.
Impotence: Smoking increases the risk of erectile
dysfunction because blood flow into
the penis is blocked by atherosclerosis. Smoking causes abnormal sperm shape,
impaired sperm motility damage, reduced number of sperms and reduced volume of
ejaculate.
In women, smoking can reduce the chances of
pregnancy and increase the risk of asthma, obesity in the fetus if the habit
prolongs during pregnancy.
Bottomline
Though there are rules, warnings and tax imposed
on tobacco products, to reduce the smoking population, it is up to the
individual to make a decision. Now a days, teens aged 15 or less also smoke due
to curiosity, peer pressure and other reasons. The risk of disease burden would
be more if they continue the habit to adulthood. So its time to say no for a
day and take efforts to keep smoking at bay.
'Kick the Habit' - means that you forcefully chase the habit
out of your life for good! Many would agree but wouldn't know how. Get help
from a doctor or a clinical psychologist. They can help you find ways to stay
away from smoking again.
Reference :
- Cigarette Smoke Components and Disease: Cigarette
Smoke Is More Than a Triad of Tar, Nicotine, and Carbon Monoxide -
(https://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/brp/tcrb/monographs/7/m7_5.pdf)
- The Health Consequences of Smoking - (https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/access/nnbbsn.pdf)
Source: Medindia
