Smoke Free Living

2. Harmful Effects of Smoking Cigarette contains nicotine, an extremely addictive stimulant that causes psychological and physical dependency. Cigarette smoking has been linked to 11 types of cancers, including cancer of the kidney, bladder, pancreas, mouth, esophagus etc. Recent study suggests that smokers are 26 times more prone to die of lung cancer than non- smokers. Smoking reduces high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol, increases blood clotting and blood pressure, and significantly decreases the amount of oxygen that reaches the heart. The two most hazardous health effects of smoking are emphysema and lung cancer. Emphysema is a chronic disease which destroys parts of the lungs and results in asthma-like attacks, hyperventilation, and shortness of breath. Lung cancer is the No.1 cause of cancer deaths for men and women, worldwide. Other serious side effects of smoking are back pain, peptic ulcers, high risk of stroke, reduced fertility, cataracts, coronary thrombosis, kidney failure, gangrene etc.

3. Smoking Ban Smoking ban is a public policy, comprising occupational safety and health regulations and criminal laws, which prohibit or restrict tobacco smoking in public spaces and/or workplaces. It is essential to enforce smoking ban as the practice of smoking kills millions of people worldwide. Researches reveal a strong association of smoking with lung cancer, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and cardiovascular diseases. There are many scientific organizations which have stated that tobacco smoke adversely affects the health of a person in the vicinity of a smoker as well as pollute the environment. The stringent anti-smoking laws will reduce the tobacco use to a large extent. Since ages, smoking bans are evident. Mexican ecclesiastical council banned the use of tobacco in Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and in all churches in Mexico. The Pope also prohibited smoking.

4. Lung Cancer Lung cancer is the main cause of cancer deaths for men and women, worldwide. The greatest factor behind the occurrence of this form of cancer is smoking. A disease in which the cells of lung tissues grow up uncontrollably and form tumors is known as lung cancer. It is most common between the age group 40 -70. Lung cancer is of two types: - primary and secondary. Primary lung cancer begins in the lungs. Secondary lung cancer begins in any part of the body; cancerous cells then spread to lungs which are termed as Metastasis. Lung cancer kills more than 1.3 million people worldwide every year

5. Heart Diseases–Vulnerable to smoker’s heart The risk of coronary heart disease is increased by smoking cigarettes. Smoking increases the tendency of blood to clot; decreases exercise tolerance and increases blood pressure. Cigarette smoking also increases the risk of recurrent coronary heart disease after bypass surgery. The connection between heart disease and passive smoking or second hand smoke is significant. Every year due to other people’s smoke, more than 69,600 deaths from heart disease are caused. Second hand smoke contributes to heart problems of people who are frequently around smokers.

6. Women and smoking The risk of heart disease is 50% greater in women smokers than in men smokers according to researchers in Denmark. This may be due to the interaction of estrogen with the toxins ingested when they smoke. Approximately 34,000 women smokers die of heart disease – attributed to smoking – each year in North America alone. And it’s not just an old persons’ problem; the risk of heart disease is very high for young women smokers.

7. Harmful Effects of Smoking Smoking damages blood vessels and speeds up atherosclerosis. This can reduce blood circulation resulting in peripheral arterial disease. Peripheral arterial disease can lead to amputation, gangrene, infection and blood clots. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of heart stroke by three times and heart attack by two to six times. Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide which is a poisonous gas that replaces oxygen in the blood and makes heart beat faster. The other ingredients of cigarette such as tobacco, nicotine and tar are also very harmful to the heart. Research implies that smoking may create irregularities in the timing of heartbeats, decreases oxygen supply to the heart, tightens major arteries and increases heart rate, all of which make one’s heart work weaker. Smoking adversely affects fibrinogen, which is a blood clotting material. As a result, the risk of blood clot increases which leads to a heart attack.

8. Facts about Smoking Tobacco smoke contains nicotine which is an addictive and harmful drug and reaches brain within 10 seconds of inhaling it. Smoking kills over 440,000 people in the United States, 106,000 people in the United Kingdom and 990,000 people in India every year. Smoking has been recognized as the most significant source of premature mortality and preventable morbidity across the world. Cigarettes contain 43 known carcinogens and more than 4000 harmful chemicals. A major chemical component in urine – “urea” is added in cigarettes to enhance flavor. Cigarette is the most “buy and sell” product on the planet and one of the worlds growing industries. According to a research study at the 14th World Conference on Health, 250 million women and 1billion men use tobacco every day around the world. Before the age of 18 years, most smokers smoke their first cigarettes.