A leading cause of preventable death

The World No Tobacco Day is observed on the 31st of May every year to apprise the general public of the potential dangers to health from the use of tobacco in various forms and dissuading people from using tobacco products, thus preventing development of the consequent health hazards in the individuals as well as the society at large.

Amongst the various forms of tobacco use like chewing, sniffing, etc., smoking is the most common and dangerous form contributing to enormous ill-health globally, and stands as the leading cause of preventable death. Smoking tobacco is done in various forms like cigarettes, beedis, cigars, pipe, hookah, etc., and all of them are almost equally detrimental to our general health and the lungs in particular.

WHO estimated that there are about 1.5 billion smokers worldwide out of 7.5 billion population (about 20%). Smoking is more common in men particularly in India where about 20% of the males above 15 years are smokers. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death, accounting for one death for every 10 deaths. One person dies every 6 seconds from tobacco related diseases. And tobacco kills almost half of its users accounting for about 7 million deaths every year out of which 6 million are smokers and up to 1 million are non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke.

Why do we smoke?

Nicotine is present in tobacco. When the tobacco is burnt, the nicotine is released in the smokers. When we inhale the smoke, nicotine gets absorbed into the body and stimulates the brain. So, we get that buzz or kick after smoking and we get addicted to it. But along with nicotine the smoke also contains about 5,000 odd toxic chemicals which get deposited in the body to cause various harmful effects on the body such as:

1. Cancers of the lungs, mouth, tongue, throat, stomach, pancreas, bladder, etc;
2. Respiratory diseases – COPD, Asthma, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Pneumonias;
3. Vascular diseases- heart attack, stroke, gangrene, Hypertension; and,
4. General problems like – skin wrinkling, bone weakness, muscle pains, gastric ulcers, dental diseases, Impotence in males, miscarriages in pregnant, psychotic problems.

Second-hand smoke

When the smoke is inhaled indirectly (from smoking in public places and in our homes by our family members) also we are at similar risk of developing the harmful effects of smoking. So, you have to keep in mind that by smoking you are not only harming yourselves but the others around you, your friends, family and the society as well.

Studies have shown that with spousal exposure, women have 25% increased risk of harmful effects of smoking if married to a smoker. Similarly, with parental exposure, children have high risk of respiratory infections, Pneumonia, Asthma and lung cancers in the long term. Exposed pregnant women carry high risk of miscarriages and delivering babies with low birth weights, congenital anomalies.

How to Quit

Anyone can quit any time. There may be a temporary restlessness for 3-4 days and craving for smoking for about 3-4 weeks. All you need is determination to quit. Think of your health in future, and the risk you are posing to your innocent family members and friends. If your addiction is dominating your determination and effort and you have difficulty in quitting, Doctors can always help you achieve it.

They can give Medicines to stop the craving for smoking. They will counsel you to motivate you to quit smoking. If you are a smoker, pledge immediately to give it up. Even if you are not a smoker get aware of the smoking risks and propagate that Smoking is the king of killing. (Writer is Consultant HOD of Pulmonology, CARE Hospitals, Banjara Hills)

It is never too late to stop

1. You can start appreciating the benefits of stopping smoking almost instantly.
2. 20 minutes after stopping – BP stabilises, heart rate normalises,
3. Within 24 hours – oxygen levels improves,
4. Within 48 hours – you can taste and smell better,
5. Within 1 month – cough and chest congestion improves,
6. In about 1 year- heart disease risk reduces to half,
7. In 5 years – stroke risk gets nullified,
8. In 10 years- cancer risk diminishes by half,
9. In 15 years – death risk due to smoking related diseases almost disappears.

By Dr TLN Swamy