|
|
|
Smoking: is injurious to health
When your parents were young, people could buy cigarettes and smoke pretty much anywhere — even in hospitals. Today we are more aware about how bad smoking is for our health. Smoking is restricted or banned in almost all public places and cigarette companies are no longer allowed to advertise on buses or trains, billboards, TV and in many magazines.
Almost everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema (breakdown of lung tissues), and heart diseases, that it can shorten your life by 14 years or more. So, how come people are still lighting up? The answer, in a word, is ‘Addiction.’
Now the question is: how can smoking cause addiction. For this we have to see the chemical constituents of tobacco and you would be amazed to know that tobacco smoke contains tar, which is made up of over 4,000 chemicals, including 43 known to cause cancer. Some of the chemicals and gases found in tobacco smoke include:
• Cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol, acetylene (the fuel used in torches) and ammonia.
• Nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide (poisonous gases), and
• Nicotine (an addictive drug).
The most common and universal tobacco habit is smoking cigarettes, cigars, bidi, hookah, chillum, pipe; chewing tobacco in itself or with pan, chalia, choona or their combinations is a common habit in Pakistan, India and in other countries in South East Asia. Nowadays the use of niswar, another common practice, is causing major health concerns.
There are no physical reasons to start smoking, the body doesn’t need tobacco the way it needs food, water, sleep and exercise. In fact, many of the chemicals in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are actually poisons that can kill if taken in high doses. The body’s smart, it goes on to defence when it’s being poisoned. For this reason, many people find it difficult to start smoking. Remember, each time a smoker lights up, that single cigarette takes about 5-20 minutes off the person’s life.
Smokers not only develop wrinkles and yellow teeth, they also lose bone density which increases their risk of osteoporosis (a condition that causes older people to bend over and their bones to break more easily).
Smokers also tend to be less active than non-smokers because smoking affects lung power. Smoking can also cause fertility problems in both men and women.
The consequences of smoking may seem very far off to many teens, but long-term health problems aren’t the only hazard of smoking. Teen smokers experience many of the following problems:
Unhealthy skin: Because smoking restricts blood vessel, it can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin, which is why smokers often appear pale and unhealthy. An Italian study also linked smoking to an increased risk of getting a type of skin disease called psoriasis.
Bad breath: All those cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath.
Bad smelling clothes and hair: The smell of stale smoke tends to linger not just on people’s clothing but on their hair, furniture and car. And it’s often hard to get the smell of smoke out.
Reduced athletic performance: People who smoke can’t compete with non-smoking peers because the physical effects of smoking, like rapid heart rate, decreased circulation and shortness of breath impair sports performance.
Increased risk of illness: Studies show that smokers get more cold, flu, bronchitis and pneumonia than non-smokers. Their body lack the nutrients they need to grow, develop and fight off illness properly.
Smoking and cancer: Smoking is responsible for almost 90 per cent of lung cancers among men and more than 70 per cent among women. Smoking is a major risk factor for cancer of mouth, larynx, oesophagus, kidney, bladder, pancreas, uterine and cervix.
Smoking and respiratory diseases: Tobacco smoking causes several lung diseases that can be just as dangerous as lung cancer. Chronic bronchitis is a common ailment for smokers. Smoking is also a major cause of emphysema. This disease slowly destroys a person’s ability to breathe. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, kills about 81,000 people each year.
Smoking and pregnant women: For a pregnant woman, the risk is not just to herself but to her unborn baby too. Women who smoke have a greater chance of losing the baby during pregnancy.
Why do people smoke?
With so much information showing that smoking is harmful, why do people still smoke? People who smoke can quickly list several positive effects.
• Smoking may reduce anger, stress and anxiety.
• It can lessen boredom, depression and help one deal with pain.
• It can help someone have more energy and feel more relaxed.
• For some people, smoking helps to control their weight.
• It also can improve learning and memory and also help one stay alert.
With so many good things that smoking provides, why would one ever want to quit?
Why should you quit smoking?
The benefits of giving up smoking far outweigh the temporary pleasure of smoking. Here is a list of some reasons to quit smoking:
• You will live longer and live better.
• Quitting will lower your chance of having a heart attack, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, stroke or cancer.
• The people you live with, especially your children will be healthier.
• Food will taste and smell better.
• You will have extra money to save or to spend on things other than cigarettes.
• Your home, car, clothing and breath will smell better.
• You can stop worrying about quitting.
• You will set a good example for your children.
• You will do better in physical activities.
• You will have less wrinkles / aging of skin.
|
|
|
|
